HOW TO TURN YOUR RENTAL HOME INTO A COZY NEST?

If you want to create a relaxing and comfortable environment (also suitable for kids), here are some tips on how to do that.

Coziness for many people means warmth - not just a feeling, but physical warmth too.
A fireplace is a great option if you happen to own a cabin or a house where you could place one.
Fireplaces, of course, come with different responsibilities and maintenance, but they will easily upgrade your rental from average to luxurious.

Candles are rarely seen in short-term rentals, and I understand it totally. They are too risky for fire safety. But what if you replaced them with led candles. These days they tend to give almost as realistic light as real candles, and they are pretty inexpensive too but will quickly give your rental a cozy mood.

The same goes with light dimmers. They may add something extra, especially to the living room, if all the other lights are bright. In the bedroom, simple bedside lamps will be enough to bring the nighttime mood in.

Even though mirrors are said to add extra light to the room and amplify the space, I would say in short-term rentals try to avoid too many mirrors. Some may find it stressful if they are continuously looking at themselves from different mirrors.

A messy home makes us uncomfortable and stressed, so to keep the home in order, you can provide more storage space for your guests to put their stuff in. A large closet for the luggage is a great solution for them to hide the mess.

Try to choose more round items for your rental, such as round mirrors, tables, furniture with softer curves, etc. Harder edges tend to add stress to the space and may feel more uncomfortable.

Softness goes for fabrics too. Fabrics that are either lightweight or sheer seem to give a softer touch to the room. This includes fabrics like linen, cotton, hemp, and silk. I don't mean you shouldn't use other fabrics at all, but to create a certain impression and feeling, these fabrics tend to work better than synthetics. Natural fabrics also eliminate the static electricity that can build up in a space, so that will make them feel more comfortable on our skin.

Use soft and sheer fabrics in curtains, blankets, table cloths, etc. Also, you can use fabrics to soften hard edges and colder places. For example, an angular leather sofa will appear much softer if you throw nice pillows and a blanket on it.

Carpets and rugs will also help you to bring more warmth and coziness to your rental. The only disadvantage is that they tend to be hard to keep clean and free from dust. Smaller rugs are easier to take out and dust when needed, and also replace if they get dirty. But nothing beats the feeling of placing your feet on a rug in the morning when you get up from the bed.

Try also layering different fabrics on the bed, on curtains, or even hang some fabrics on the wall. It will immediately soften the look and reduce echoing in a space. You can use thicker curtains under that are able to block the light, and then layer sheer fabrics in front of it, and let the guest decide on which ones they want to use and when.

Keep the colors neutral and close to nature - nature always has a calming effect on us. You can use different colors in different rooms, such a sky blue in the bedroom, beige, brown, dark green, and soft whites in the living room and kitchen.

When choosing the right shade of color, try to go either with soft and light colors or with darker and more muted tones.

When it comes to materials, opt for wood and natural materials and avoid using colder materials, like plastics, metals, and glass (except for windows). Even though wood is not always the most suitable material for a rental as it can easily get damaged, it still provides a certain quality feeling that almost no other material can do. Choose hardwood instead of veneer-covered furniture, and they will last longer and can be fixed easier if needed.

Art portraying green nature is shown to be powerful in healing people in hospitals, and nature sure does have a calming effect on us. Whether it is a painting or a photo, nature themes tend to please the majority of people. What makes art even more calming is a dominating color palette that consists of different shades of greens.

Another great option for art is to hang fabrics on a wall. Macrame handcrafts are very trendy these days, and as a highly-detailed abstract art, they work very well as softening items on the wall. Also, they efficiently eliminate echoing in a place.

Speaking of green, what could be a better way to bring the green in than with household plants. There is just one small issue with the plants: some may be allergic to them. Of course, in short-term rentals, we can never know about peoples' allergies and totally manage to build universally allergy-free spaces, but plants are a group of allergens that tend to trigger many of us.

Better safe than sorry, and choose fake plants when we can't be sure. Similar to fake plants, dried plants are also a great solution to bring the feeling of nature inside, but with low maintenance and low risk of causing allergic reactions to anyone. Besides, in almost any location you can find dried plants for free just when walking in nature.