Nicole Arnold Interiors  -  Dallas Interior Design News

When you’re designing your vacation home, or as we like to say “your home away from home,” why not make it EVERYTHING you’ve always imagined? Designing a second home is a great opportunity to do all the things you couldn’t or wouldn’t do in your existing home for one reason or another. It allows you to access a whole other persona or style, if that’s your jam; or it could be an “amped up” or “lite” version of what you have created in your primary home. The possibilities are all over the map, which is precisely why hiring a vacation home interior designer to find out all the “must haves” is key in optimizing your investment and attaining all the goals you’ve set out to achieve in this haven!

Let’s review some of the most common requests we receive when designing additional residences for our clients:

1. Dreamy Bedrooms: Comfy mattresses, motorized shades and sumptuous sheets are top of the list so that getaway allows our clients to get a great night’s sleep.

2. Spa-like Bathrooms: Luxury linens like thirsty towels, an aromatherapy shower head, a bidet toilet and a jetted tub are popular picks. In a cooler climate, a heated floor is also quite coveted!!

3. Sit Back and Relax: Comfortable upholstery/seating that can accommodate lots of lounging, naps or entertaining guests, complete with reading nooks, movie-watching circles or gaming pits top the charts. This gives multiple guests their own zones to break away when needed and the ability to enjoy independent activities.

4. Gourmet Kitchens: Calling all chefs…! For these folks, it wouldn’t be a vacation without all the culinary conveniences to entertain themselves or others while away. Features such as a large griddle, refrigerated beverage drawers, double ovens, two dishwashers, a wine fridge and an ice maker (unless the staff chef/bartender is bringing it!) are awesome treats to keep all cooks enjoying the kitchen.

5. Enviable Outdoor Living Spaces: Invest in furniture that’s as comfortable outside as it is inside. After all…this is your extended living space! Swivel chairs, sectionals…maybe a fire pit and a hammock for a snooze on a warm day are just what connects you best to the outdoors! A more recent request is an outdoor pizza oven integrated into that outdoor kitchen…yum! And, for those who prefer polar opposite experiences, include a hot tub and cold plunge. Relax and recharge!!

6. Technical Difficulties…NOT!: Connectivity and Wi-Fi are important when you need it for streaming service or otherwise and whole-house speakers are a nice way to ensure you can set the music mood for anywhere in the home. Integrate a system like Lutron so you can simply turn off all the lights at bedtime from your app without having to go into every room.

7. Don’t Forget Functionality: Last, but not least, from a practical standpoint, ample storage to completely unpack and/or store items for short-term rental guests is tantamount in the planning stages. A tankless water heater serves multiple guests (because no one likes a cold shower) and a generator for those ultra-remote locations comes in very handy, because when you least expect it, you’ll need it!

Ready to get away yet??? Now that you know some great things to consider for your next vacation home, who’s ready to start designing? Let’s create that next home that says I never want to see my 1st home again. Contact Nicole Arnold Interiors today for a consultation!