The design rules are different when furnishing a rental | Home/Garden

The place came fully furnished. That’s the good news and the bad news. While I don’t strongly dislike any furnishings in the beach rental property my husband and I just bought, which is instantly livable and rentable, I wouldn’t have picked them out either. 

Although I yearn to redecorate, a little voice inside me, the one that can only be called my better judgment, tells me I need to follow my own advice. 

Oh bother.

I am jonesing to replace the dark brown fake leather sofa set with a lighter-colored sectional, to update the kitchen, to change the wall color and to revisit the artwork.

But interior design Rule No. 1 is to not buy anything until you have the whole plan in mind. The good, if annoying, reasoning behind this advice is that when you have a master plan, your design is more likely to cohere. Piecemeal decorating rarely works. Decorating without a plan is like flying a plane headed for Miami and winding up in Detroit. 

So, I am sitting tight, like a hot tea kettle on the verge of a whistle. 

To get my decorating ducks in a row, I called interior designer Alex McBride, program design manager for Vacasa, a full-service property management company that handles every aspect of vacation home rentals for 40,000 places throughout North America. 

Among the company’s services is interior design consultation, which McBride oversees. “My job is to help new owners optimize their property by thinking of everything from headboards to pizza cutters,” she told me.

Her goal is to design places that have wide appeal, high durability and repeat customers. I’m in! Unfortunately, this service is available only to Vacasa clients, which means I’m out.

Although I sort of know what I’m doing when designing and decorating my own home, I also know that rules change when you’re outfitting a place you’ll be sharing with strangers. You can’t be weird.

“In your own home you can unleash as much of your individuality as you like,” McBride said. “But decorating a rental home is different. For starters, no family photos.” Got it.

What other differences should DIY decorators keep in mind when furnishing a vacation rental home?

RESIST THE URGE TO JUMP RIGHT IN: Get to know the place, then let the locale lead you. Whether your getaway is a beach condo, a cozy cabin, a rural farmhouse or an urban loft, lean into what makes your destination special and take your design direction from that. If you’re on the coast, for instance, pull in shades of blue, as well as natural tones of sand and driftwood. If you’re in the mountains, incorporate cool greens and earth tones.

BUT DON’T GET TOO KITSCHY: Avoid overtly themed décor like pillows that say: “Life’s a…