We originally renovated this adorable little 3 bed 2 bath house to be a rental property. However, the house is nestled in the up and coming Brookside neighborhood in Tulsa and is the ideal location for Airbnb guests. So when we were approached with the idea we jumped on it! Jordan did all of the renovations himself and I love to stage, so when we realized that this property had to be fully staged to be listed as and Airbnb this project became very special and fun for us. With an older smaller house like this one, I love finding new and creative ways to keep the space organized and functional, which is why this living area is one of my favorite rooms in the Rockford Retreat! Read the step-by-step process of the Rockford Retreat renovation
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BE CREATIVE
Design challenges present themselves no matter what house you are staging, but they are especially common in older homes like the Rockford. I was up for the challenge and have some pointers for others working with a tight space. The biggest design challenge we ran into was the living room/dining room area. This living area is unique because it's a very small space and there is not one full wall available for furniture. The Airbnb required us to provide lounge seating for 6 or more with a large TV and dining room seating for 6 or more while maintaining an open airy feeling. This is what we were working with: The front door is in the center of the largest wall, but not symmetrically centered. On either side of the door there are two large windows symmetrical to the door, but not to the length of the room. To the right of the front door there is about 4 feet between the front door opening and the brick fireplace and on the left of the front door there is about 7 feet available for seating. The trick is to get creative with your solutions. While I would have prefered the windows to be centered, I love large windows in a living room because they flood the space with natural light. In this space, the windows also make the space feel bigger. So we decided to bank on that illusion and go ahead andbreak up the already small living room into two sections.
Likewise we created a cozy relaxing seating area with the TV placed in an untraditional place as well as a small little sitting area in front of the ill placed fireplace. I love that it’s different, a little off center, and nostalgic. It’s perfect for this smaller house!
SHOP SMART
Fully furnishing a house is not cheap, but it doesn't have break your bank either! We shopped clearance, Facebook Marketplace, garage sales, estate sales etc. Sure it's more work...but the end result is a home full of charm. This house has a very small dining nook just to the right of the kitchen and open to the living room. As I said previously, we were required to seat 6 but the more we measured and shopped the less I could find a suitable table big enough to seat 6 and small enough to fit the space. In the end I decided to utilize the breakfast nook extending to the living room with two bar stools (that's 2 down) and I got busy shopping vintage tables because they are notoriously smaller! Sure enough I found this little wooden table & chairs (for $90) the diameter of a card table but with two small folding leaves! It sits 4 comfortably and fits in the dining space perfectly!! Of course we couldn't use this as is, we painted it (using our favorite no need for sanding primer) and chose a complimentary two-toned paint.
CHOOSE A COLOR SCHEME
A color scheme keeps the entire house fluid. Allowing matching colors to sweep through the house room by room with a cohesive theme without being too matchy-matchy and boring. We selected to go with various brown & wood furniture pieces (couches, tables, bed frames, night stands etc), White and gray linens, (window curtains, shower, bedding, towels), and selected varying shades of teal decorations ranging from blue hues to emerald hues. These color tones dipped in and out of the entire house giving what we feel is an overall satisfying effect.
Jordan and I loved working on this project, and we had so much fun bringing this vision to life. Airbnb houses may be one of my new favorite property projects! If you find yourself travelling to the Tulsa, Oklahoma area be sure to reserve this Rockford Retreat for your stay!
XO, Jordan & Rachel