To ensure that your guests get the most value out of their experience and that you get the most value out of your apartment, you need to optimize your space. You can do this by maximizing occupancy, comfort, feel, and appearance of your home: each of which can be accomplished by small investments in time and effort.

There are certain interior design strategies you can apply to your property in order to get the most out of the space that you have. While the incentives are clear, renovating and redesigning one’s home is clearly not the best case scenario for the average Airbnb host. But, have no fear: here’s a journey of the best apartment design ideas sans construction that will lead you straight to space optimization.

1. Lay Down The Mattress & Roll Out The Room Dividers

No matter the size, your property value is optimized when it accommodates the maximum number of guests. The higher you set your maximum number of guests, the wider the variety of guest combinations will be seen for your apartment in the search results (provided these details are accurate, of course). For instance, the apartment below has only one bedroom and a couch, yet it can match personalized searches up to 3 guests (each shade represents a possible booking combination).

This is why hosts are encouraged to calculate a listing’s maximum occupancy based on not only the number of beds but also on couches, pull-outs, futons, and the like.

You have the power take optimum guest occupancy to the next level by maximizing the number of listable rooms for each property. The more available rooms in any given apartment, the more Airbnb listings are possible for that apartment (and the more potential bookings for you). Consider the apartment pictured above. By simply subdividing that one bedroom into two, you can almost double your entire property occupancy and almost triple your degree of flexibility for multiple bookings and group accommodations:

Without getting overly technical in the process, it’s possible to subdivide a bedroom by implementing a simple room divider. I suggest soundproof options, so you can ensure that your guests will still be able to enjoy quiet time and privacy with the new design. If you prefer to stay low-key about the divider and to keep the cost down, take a stab at some easy room dividers. Remember, a bonus to having these sort of flexible dividers is the freedom to employ them as you wish. If you choose to remove a room divider (or opt out of the divider all together), you can still optimize your second bed by tagging your apartment under “shared room”.

Want to start optimizing the performance of your Airbnb listing now? That’s what we’re here for. Contact us

2. Everything’s Bigger In Plexus

“Plexus” is an anatomical term that refers to an intricate web formation. Consider applying this sort of structured design layout to your apartment: creating any kind of organization or compartmentalization not only reduces clutter but also is one of the easiest ways to give your guests the impression of extra space.

As it turns out, those room dividers discussed above can be used for many purposes. In a similar fashion to room subdivision, you can compartmentalize different, small areas of your home in order to mimic the feeling of easy, breezy, beautiful extra space. Limiting the chaos in your apartment will create a serene environment for your guests, allowing them to focus more easily and to relax. After all, they are on vacation.

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Click here for more examples of room dividers that maximize space.

You can also add serenity to your home with strategic rug placement: instead of covering a large general area with a single rug, divide and segment the space into a plexus with a few small rugs. This creative design process of breaking down a sizable space into small compartments adds value to the minor areas of the room, which, in turn, adds depth.

3.  Thank Your Lucky Stripes

What if you could convince guests that your apartment is longer or wider than it appears? Though derived from a sci-fi show, this phrase suggests a very real concept that can be repurposed into an apartment design idea: the illusion that the interior of a home is larger than the exterior. Dimensional transcendence is different from the plexus approach, as it does not repackage your home in a way that seems roomier, but rather alters guests’ perceptions to make them believe it is actually so. A little visual trick never hurt anyone.

To allow your space to seemingly exceed its actual size potential, you can add stripes to furniture, decorations, and what have you. There are a few different ways that you can orient stripes to create this dimensional transcendence:

The horizontal stripes will visually widen a small narrow room. Vertical stripes will make a low ceiling seem taller. A small room will open up with the use of big prints. Avoid tiny prints; they will be too busy and chaotic in a small space.

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You can manipulate lighting to add apparent room volume, as well. There are a variety of different ways to influence your space with lighting, such as the placement of small lamps on walls and in corners in order to expand the walls of the room. Because every apartment has unique dimensions, you may want to use the trial-and-error method or even consult an architect in order to decipher the best way to upsize a small space through lighting.

4. Rely On Emotional Support

It’s actually possible for you to guarantee a positive experience for your guests: by sprinkling designs around your apartment that will arouse positive emotions. Though it sounds ambitious, it’s simple. For one, a house plant can lower stress, which is important as your guests are traveling and most are looking to unwind.

Color coordination is the most promising design technique to impact certain emotions. Believe it or not, there’s actually a psychology behind colors: different hues evoke particular emotions. While I’m not suggesting you repaint your entire apartment, it will be beneficial to add a dose of certain colors in the rooms where you are hoping to make your guests feel or think a certain way.

Use this key to optimize your space by getting the most value out of every room:

One way to add a splash of color here and there is to scatter color-specific flowers in the appropriate room. For example, blue hydrangeas for the office and lavender in the living room. The added benefit of color-specific flowers is that it, of course, kills two birds with one stone: as the color impacts the guests according to its respective virtue, the plant removes tensions from the environment.

There are other ways to contribute to the atmosphere of each room, such as statement design pieces like color-coordinated candlesticks, picture frames, pillows, and throws. Bed, Bath, and Beyond is a promising resource for statement design pieces, as you can filter by color (as well as price and other important criteria).

The Bottom Line

You want your guests’ experiences to be the at their best potentials; this yields positive feedback and in turn, a steady cash flow from your Airbnb listings. Thus, a small time (and even money) investment in enhancing your space will prove to be a sound one. That’s why you should take careful consideration of these apartment design ideas and keep in mind that they may be the stepping stones needed to transform your hosting venture into a lucrative business. In short, make the most out of your space in order to make the most out of your experience hosting on Airbnb.

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