Whether for your own use, or a holiday rental, it’s important to create a space that’s welcoming and calming, yet practical.

Interior design for your second home

For your private use, a second home on the Isle of Wight should be designed to suit your taste. However, it is a great opportunity to try something different to what you’d normally have in your main residence. Holidays are about fun and spontaneity, and nothing shouts a good time more than some injection of colour and some characterful accents here and there.

A holiday home tends not to have all the paraphernalia we accumulate in our main homes. But you still need to think about good storage so you can put things away, dust free, for the periods the property isn’t being used. You will also need plenty of seating and beds if you want to have family and friends join you.

Your Isle of Wight holiday let

Whether affordable, or high-end, a holiday rental should appeal to most tastes. The interior must be fresh and clutter-free, but at the same time it needs to feel cosy and welcoming too.

For a budget end property that is let out to holiday makers for short breaks, you can probably do the interior for yourself, providing just the bare essentials.

However, for a high-end rental with a commensurate rental price, make it discerning and sumptuous. It needs to outshine not just other local rentals, but boutique hotels too so it needs to exude luxury and charm.

Offer something that guests might not have at home. A hot-tub, a sauna, an outdoor kitchen, a games room with the latest technology and luxury gadgets, and high-speed WiFi. The outside should have an outdoor kitchen or cooking area, plenty of seating and outdoor play equipment if you’re appealing to families.

It needs to have stunning lighting, stylish curtains and blinds, carpets that your toes sink into, walk-in shower rooms, and a focus on luxury designer brands.

Artwork on the walls should celebrate local artists and photographers.

You might want to consider offering quests experiences, so team up with a local company that can provide that service.

Adding the right touches and the important essentials

It is important that holidaymakers feel at home and have everything they need. This can just be everyday basics or the full monty so they can cook gourmet meals. But there are also some additional touches that make a holiday extra special for guests.

You need to consider all seasons if you wish to rent the property out all year round. It must feel cosy in the colder months. Add all those special touches, to ensure guests have everything they need to make their stay really enjoyable and memorable.

Having a holiday let of my own here in Ventnor, I know what to provide for guests. I have also installed hundreds of buy-to-let properties for private landlords over the years. So I have a great deal of experience in pulling together a ‘house pack’ of everyday basics, from crockery and pots & pans, to bed linen and towels. Having dressed showhomes for house builders for more than 30 years, presenting a property for visual appeal is something I can almost do in my sleep.

Turn-key installation

Whether you intend to start from scratch, or mix new with a few pieces from your existing home, I will help pull everything together into a cohesive design aimed at easy living. That might just be curtains and blinds but I can also provide furniture, bed linen and towels, kitchenwares, decorative accessories, pictures on walls and lighting.

If you are having major work done, and your permanent home is on the mainland, it is challenging to oversee work being done here on the Island. I can help take that worry away by liaising with your builder and tradespeople, and send you regular video updates so you can visually check how things are progressing.

When it comes to the interior design, As part of my installation, furniture will be placed in position, kitchenwares unboxed, washed, and put away in cupboards, bulbs added to lighting, towels laid in place, bedding ironed, and beds made. Curtains and blinds will be fitted and artwork hung on the walls.

After installation all packaging and rubbish are taken away and disposed of according to local regulations, and the property is dusted and vacuumed ready for occupation.