Oh, I love a beautiful, well appointed vacation rental with a focus on design and comfort! I’ve stayed in two different ones recently and I’m taking notes on what I liked and what didn’t work that well, not only as a guest, but as a designer of all-things-home.
These vacation rentals were big winners in my book!
I’ve stayed in some that were so disappointing, so now I look for specific features to make sure we get the kind of experience we are looking for.
In this post, I’m sharing about the airbnb we stayed in back in September, on the Oregon coast.
Oregon Airbnb
Front porch of Airbnb on the Oregon coast
I’ve always wanted to see the Pacific northwest coast and this year seemed like the perfect time. It is a little isolating up there, not that much was open in full force, but we like cooking and being together in the rental house when we stay, so that was not a problem.
We love coastal views, the mountains and a slight chill in the air when fall turns the corner. We were planning for summer, but had to postpone to mid-September. That was really great timing as the NW heat wave was gone, they’d gotten some rain finally after a dry summer, and the scenery was just really spectacular.
This property is just about a block from the beach, a beautiful little walk and you’re right on the sand. We had views from the deck and loved all the windows and light that poured in.
Deck with views at Oregon coast Airbnb.
Walk to beach from the house
Oregon coast view
This was a really modern property, a newer listing on the market and was super clean and well appointed. The furniture and beds were really comfy, something I have learned to value highly in a rental. You could tell it had some professional design input, with some of the features incorporated.
It had an open plan, with kitchen, living and dining all in one space. We did use the fireplace and tv, I loved the design of that wall. A loft area was open to below and it had the most gorgeous wood plank ceiling and special sconces and lighting.
With a modern kitchen, high end appliances and plenty of cookware, dishes, and utensils (even an Ann Sacks tile backsplash:-), everything was there to make you feel right at home.
Modern coastal look rental property fireplace wall with stacked wood, shiplap and tv.
I loved the wood ceiling and shiplap in this coastal look home. The large island had great storage and was the center of activity.
It had a Bosch induction cooktop which was interesting to use and an Ann Sacks tile backsplash. The Liebherr refrigerator was a good idea, it was more narrow, not a standard 36” wide bulky fridge like you normally see in the US.
The rift cut oak cabinetry was beautiful, but touch latch hardware is not the best idea for kitchens. Every time we got close to the countertop to chop or cook, the drawers would pop open. :-)
Touch latch hardware on the kitchen drawers popped open frequently when cooking.
I loved the casual but simple style throughout. The primary bedroom and bath repeated this look as well. Loved the wood ceiling and those curvy balsa wood sconces. The oriental style rug was the perfect touch.
The primary bathroom had a floating vanity, a big shower and washer/dryer in a closet. Loved the touches of wood at the mirror and bench. The large format tile worked well on the floor and shower. Wood ceiling in the bathroom too!
Using this bathroom really sold me on large format porcelain tile. This was really beautiful and I imagine, really easy to keep clean with such little grout.
Love the touch of wood at this little bench and the soft taupe is a good option for pure white towels.
You can use large tile on a shower floor if using a linear, wide drain. You can also get these drains any custom length to span the entire width of the shower, so the shower floor only has to slope one or two directions, avoiding cuts like this on the sides of this drain.
There was another bedroom downstairs and a full bath. The stone sink was nice, although it was so small and shallow, it caused a lot of splash when used.
There was a stone vessel sink on top of a floating vanity with a Kohler Purist wall mount faucet in the guest bath downstairs.
The upstairs loft was open. A little hard to sleep in here as any noise from the kitchen below went straight upstairs. There weren’t any window treatments up here either, so you were up with the sun. :-)
Loved that wood ceiling!
Lots of space in the loft upstairs with three beds and a seating area.
A vintage trunk doubled as a nightstand upstairs.
We really enjoyed our stay here and made ourselves right at home. It was a great location and so nicely designed and appointed, probably one of the nicest vacation rentals we’ve ever stayed at in the US. I’d go back, for sure!
We love cooking and making little cheese boards and charcuterie for our game playing sessions.
We always do a nice breakfast when we stay at short term rentals, and good coffee makers are a must! I love it when hosts provide a secondary coffee maker, like a plunger pot, as sometimes these coffee machines can be too complicated to figure out first thing in the morning. :-)
Design take aways for vacation rental design
With all the lovely details and such at this property, I learned a few things I would do if I had my own vacation rental or that I would use if designing one for another owner.
Invest in upgraded appliances and outfit the kitchen for a cook. All of the properties we book do just that and they make these homes so desirable for us. Since we often cook in these rentals, I want a kitchen that functions well and has plenty of cookware and dinnerware to use.
Go for white or light colored bedding. I always look for white-ish sheets on the beds, as then you can know they are clean. This is one of the key features I look for in a vacation rental, it just provides a level of security of cleanliness to your guests. White bedding feels so luxurious and makes me want to dive into that bed.
Get comfortable seating that doesn’t look old and haggard! Do you know how many rentals I look at online that have basic, hard plastic or wood chairs and ugly, dated, worn sofas? I stayed in a rental in California once where there were only two acrylic chairs at the small dining table and then a daybed in the living room. There was basically no comfortable place to sit and watch tv or scroll the phone. I like to put my feet up, but not crawl into an awkward daybed in the living room…..no, thank you. A chair with an ottoman, dining chairs with seat cushions (for our game playing at night), and a comfy but supportive sofa is perfect.
Candles and a lighter are good to have on hand. The power went out for a few hours one evening on us in Oregon and it was great to have a good flashlight, candles and a lighter. It kept us going until the power came back on later that evening.
Good quality durable surfaces in the kitchen and on dining and coffee tables are best. (It doesn’t have to be spotty granite, either!) I really liked the worn, rustic farm table in this Airbnb. We didn’t have to worry about it as it already had rings and marks on it. Playing games and leaving a glass of wine sitting out might happen, so better be prepared!
Intuitive, user-friendly everything is best. While I love to read all about the property in the handbook, I don’t like having to read every manual for every device in the house before I can function there. Try to get the most easy-to-use products and systems in the home, as no one wants to do homework on their vacation. :-)
Develop a design aesthetic that works with the location. This home spoke to the Pacific coast region with the materials and finishes as well as the simple, clean furnishings choices here. The shiplap walls, wood floors, mix of white and wood elements, the cedar shake exterior, were all good regional choices. It just enhanced the whole experience for us.
Want to see another rental we loved equally, located in Sonoma wine country? I have some vacation rental essentials that I’ve featured also, below.
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A vacation rental property with a focus on design. Come see this home and learn their secrets to a luxury home stay Airbnb / VRBO for design lovers! Short term rentals at the luxury level are winners! carlaaston.com
We are just back from a family trip that we organized in San Diego, California this year, staying in a lovely vacation rental that turned out as one of the best ones we’ve tried so far.