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Artwork tips for your vacation short term rental property.

Jennifer White • March 11, 2022

Along with your décor, art can help your rental stand out from the rest.

Looking to update your vacation rental, redecorating a new one you just purchased, or looking to buy one? Along with your décor, art can help your rental stand out from the rest on AirBnb, VRBO and other vacation rental websites.

Stop and think about what you would look for if you were looking for a vacation rental for your family getaway. You know how many beds and bedrooms you'd like and how big of a property you want. You also have an idea on the types of views you'd like to have. But, you also want to see good photos of the property so you can see what it looks like, and you want the interior to be spacious and clean.

So other than hiring a professional photographer to take your property photos, how do you make your property stand out? Your wall art actually makes a difference. You want art that grabs attention, vibrant, exciting and represents the area/style of your short-term rental. You want it to pop in the photos.

Your wall art should reflect not only your décor but also your location. If someone is looking to get away from the country and head to a tropical beach getaway, they don't want to see country style decorations. They want beach decor, or photos from that area. For a Cocoa Beach Florida property, you'll want some photos from the Cocoa Beach area and some basic beach decor that's not location specific but is tropical. While beautiful, you don't want photos of snow capped mountains, or Alaska in a beach house.

Keep your wall art professional. Don't use personal or family photos and don't use photos you have printed at Walgreens or Walmart. Yes, you want to keep your costs down so you don't have to break the bank with your wall art. One way to save is not to buy original, hand signed art. Buying professional prints is not as expensive as original art, but it's professional, unique and will make your property stand out. There are a lot of places out there that sale affordable professional prints specific to your needs.

Don't for forget to think about the type of print(s) you want and the location it'll be hung on the wall. Glossy photos or some glass frames can make it hard to see if there's a window shining on the opposite or adjacent wall. Luster or matte prints, and non-glare glass works well to avoid reflections, (however there are some prints that just look fabulous glossy like a night cityscape).

You also want prints that are easy to clean, especially from little fingers! As you know, people do like to touch even when they aren't supposed to lol. The easiest art to clean are framed prints, acrylic, and metal. Canvas prints work well too as long as you don't try to clean it with anything really wet. Also, it's easier to clean one large photo than a lot of little ones. It also helps the room look less cluttered and open that way.

Keep the different seasons in mind. This isn't something you have to do right away, especially if your the new owner of a short term property, but over time you can collect some seasonal art and swap them out when the seasons change. For example, if your property is in a location where you have all four seasons, you may want to have some photos of the area during the fall, spring, winter, summer and holidays like Christmas. While you don't need to do this with all of the art, maybe just your main living room photo is the one that gets changed out for example.

Here are a few examples of some location specific photos that would be good ideas for affordable art. Click on the image to see the high quality version of that photo, or click the location link to see all photos from that area.

Navarre Beach Florida: