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Airbnb Design Project: A Vacation Rental In West Palm Beach

The Barefoot Bungalow is my latest Airbnb design project and I’m so excited to share it with you! If you’ve been here before, you may know how much I love coastal home designs and that definitely carries into my newest addition to my Airbnb listings. This 4 bedroom / 2 bathroom home had so much potential when I saw it for the first time, it just needed a little love. In this post, I am sharing some of the before and after photos and details on what I did to transform the space.

For some other ides, my first Airbnb The Beach Life Bungalow has been live for almost 3 years now. Check out the simple refresh things we did to make this one stand out. The backyard was the biggest transformation over there and people that stay there love it!


Entryway & Welcome Table

The space when you first walk in the house would be boring without a welcome table. I have something very similar at the Airbnb in Lake Worth Beach. In this welcome table, I added a fun customized surfboard sign with the name of the house – The Barefoot Bungalow!

Also, a House Manual and a guest sign in book are essential. I’ve learned that guests will always look for house information like Wi-fi, local restaurants, or trash and recycling schedules. Might as well has it right when they walk in!

barefoot bungalow airbnb welcome table

Coastal Inspired Bedrooms

As you can see in the before picture below, the rooms were just a little boring. The blinds needed to get replaced, the walls needed to be painted, and the floors needed a good deep clean.

I always like to check out some other coastal bedroom designs for a little inspiration before I pick colors and furnishings! When you’re furnishing on a budget, you may not be able to go high end, but you can try to replicate a look and feel.

I chose to use a light seafoam green color for the walls. This color always reminds me of the beach! I know that potential guests like the coastal colors when looking at pictures of an Airbnb design… I’ve gotten a few comments about it from The Beach Life Bungalow!

Before & After – First Bedroom

Barefoot Bungalow Bedroom BEFORE
Before – Master Bedroom
barefoot bungalow airbnb main bedroom
After – Master Bedroom
barefoot bungalow airbnb sail away pillow
After – Master Bedroom
barefoot bungalow airbnb palm leaf rug
After – Master Bedroom

Secondary Bedrooms

barefoot bungalow airbnb blue and coral bedroom
barefoot bungalow airbnb palm tree bedroom

The Master Bathroom

One of the biggest projects I tackled in this house was the master bathroom. When I purchased the home, it was tiny and had a shower that you could barely stand in. I knew that vacationers or future buyers would be turned off by this bathroom.

I decided to completely gut it, knock out the small closet that was in the bedroom, and create a more tranquil space. Side note, this was my first full bathroom renovation and picking out tiles, vanity, flooring, etc was no small project. I wanted to make sure it turned out clean and beachy.

Here are some before and after pictures! On the left, you can see how small the shower was. By knocking out that wall that used to be a closet, we were able to add a large walk in shower.

BEFORE coastal bathroom renovation
coastal bathroom renovation - after pictures - palm leaf tile, turquoise vanity, black mirror and light
barefoot bungalow airbnb shower

Yes, I decided to eliminate the closet in this bedroom. I went back and forth on this but ultimately the bathroom was more important and the closet was TINY. The solution for this was adding an extra wardrobe for this bedroom for Airbnb guests to hang their closet.

Black Vanity Light Fixture // Oval Wall Mirror // Sea Glass Vanity // Frameless Shower Door // Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring //


Hallway Bathroom

We decided to just do some cosmetic updates in the hallway bathroom. In the future, a new vanity or tiles would be a good idea but we saved a little money by not completely gutting it.

We used the same paint color that is in most of the house… a light seafoam green.

The floors were one thing that looked really bad. They needed a good cleaning (which we did).

I decided to also go with a gray and white vinyl peel and stick tile over the existing floors. These are a great way to add character and you can also lay them yourself over the floor that’s there!

Hallway Bathroom Airbnb Barefoot Bungalow
Hallway Airbnb Bathroom

The Backyard and Patio

The backyard at this house was a complete blank slate. When I first looked at the house, I knew it was another space with potential for a short term rental.

The first big thing here was adding a door from the living space to the backyard. There was only one on the opposite side that didn’t even lead to the large yard.

Once that was complete and we had the exterior painted, we added a covered patio area with brick pavers, a lounge chair patio, and a 3 hole backyard putting green!

Before & After

backyard before barefoot bungalow airbnb
backyard before barefoot bungalow
barefoot bungalow airbnb covered patio table area

Large Living Space

This large living space was one of the things that I liked about this house to start. As far as Airbnb design goes, I knew there was opportunity to make this a highlight for the listing.

Barefoot bungalow living room before picture

Since it is so big, I was able to split the area into a comfy space with couches and another area with a foosball table and shelf for other games and books.

barefoot bungalow airbnb beach style living room

A Dedicated Coffee Station Area

There was an area that seemed like dead space in this house originally. I knew immediately that it would be perfect for a dedicated coffee bar area that Airbnb guests would love.

A coffee bar or area dedicated to coffee supplies is a must in a short term rental property!

Coffee bar area before picture
barefoot bungalow airbnb coffee bar stocked

Kitchen & Dining Room Area

The kitchen was renovated by the previous about 5 years so we didn’t have to do much.

One thing I did decide to add was a fun coastal backsplash.

In this kitchen, we used the Neptune Herringbone Mosaic Tile from Floor & Decor.

Airbnb Kitchen Before Updates
barefoot bungalow airbnb breakfast bar blue barstools

The dining area is open to the kitchen and breakfast bar. I love that we were able to add 4 bright blue barstools to make this space stand out even more.

We painted the inside and outside of the front door to almost match the bar stools. It makes things bright and beachy!

Dining Area Before Picture
barefoot bungalow airbnb dining room
barefoot bungalow airbnb dining and entryway

The dining area just needed some new blinds, a coat of paint, and a Florida style dining set. Since I was trying to get a lot of things on Facebook Market place, I found this awesome old school (from the 70s) rattan table and chairs.

When I first got the chairs, they were a dark brown color. To brighten up the space even more, I took on a little DIY project and painted the chairs white. What do you think??


Thanks for checking out my latest Airbnb project. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

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