Vacation homes make going away for the summer, or escaping the cold of winter, much easier. But just like any home, you want your vacation property to feel like it’s your space so you can be comfortable and relaxed when staying there.
It may be tempting to just give your vacation home a lick of paint and be done with it but it’s important to impart your sense of style on it. These design ideas can help transform your holiday home into something you are proud to show off to friends and family.

Location, location, location
It’s important to consider the location of your vacation property when making design choices. For instance, if your retreat is a vacation home in Spain, it might be jarring to have designed it in the style of a cosy woodland cabin. Your holiday property mustn’t become a parody of the location it is in but styling it to suit the climate helps to immerse you in your surroundings.
Adopting a coastal style for beachy locations or rustic design for mountainous makes good design sense as it helps you settle quicker into vacation mode. Creating a connection to the outside with your interior design helps anchor you to your new surroundings and allows you to let go of the everyday thoughts of your normal life.

Functionality remains essential
Your vacation home isn’t necessarily somewhere that you will be spending all of your time, unlike your regular home. You want to be able to completely switch off from any stress while on vacation so the design and layout of your home from home are important to consider.
From where your furniture is placed to eating breakfast in the sunshine, how your home functions for your vacation matters. Large living and dining spaces are perfect for hosting and entertaining while keeping at least one guest room free allows you to share your vacation home with friends and family. If the layout is awkward, consider altering your existing floor plan to better utilise the space for your needs.

Be consistent with your theme
The temptation when designing a vacation home is to go wild and do things you wouldn’t in your own house. This is great for letting your creative juices flow but this is still a home and consistency is important. Sure it might be cool to have different rooms decorated in various themes but that may not translate to a peaceful atmosphere.
Reining in your creativity and designing a consistent theme will help your vacation home feel more like a distant retreat and that begins with your colour choices. The general rule when opting for a colour palette is the 60-30-10 rule.
This rule suggests that 60% of a room should be a dominant colour, 30% the secondary colour and the final 10% should be an accent. However, as the colours will be heavily used we suggest using neutral and subtle colours as the dominant and secondary shades to avoid overwhelming your eyes.
As for furniture and finishing touches, try to choose similar items throughout. For example, you could choose country-style items that work together but aren’t necessarily identical.

Control the light
Allowing as much natural light into your vacation home as possible can help boost your mood and make the inside feel just as much of a holiday as what’s happening outside. You may wish to install large windows to increase the light that enters and shutters that open wide to bathe you in it, while still offering protection from the sun when required.
Shutters bring additional style to your windows that other window treatments just can’t. They can complement your theme by following the colour scheme or adding contrast as a secondary or accent colour. When the sun is at its strongest they keep inside cool and can then be opened in the early mornings and evenings to make the day stretch further.

Vacation home entertaining space
A vacation is when you can gather your family and friends for some precious time together so an accommodating space is a must-have. As we already touched upon, large spaces such as open-plan living and kitchen areas are perfect for entertaining in your vacation home.
But you don’t have to limit this to the interior of the property, you can also create wonderful entertaining spaces outdoors. From a cool, tiled patio area perfect for barbecuing to a pool area that accommodates the whole family, entertaining space matters. Whether entertaining indoors or out, consider transforming furniture like extendable tables that provide more places to eat when guests are around.

Allow for creative and luxury design
Ultimately, your vacation home isn’t for everyday living so don’t be afraid to get a little creative. While a consistent and coherent design throughout is important, you can still make your holiday home feel special with your own style. Adding luxury touches and splashes of bold colours through prints, fabrics and furniture help bring your vacation space to life.
Many of us go on vacation to enjoy the luxuries of a hotel or resort so why not bring that into your second home? Building materials such as real wood, marble and granite help to add to the feeling of luxury while high-quality furniture will stand the test of time.
If you don’t have the budget to go all out, small touches of luxury dotted about still make an impact. Whether it be a sculpture from a local artist or some artwork you have specially commissioned, little touches here and there help make your home feel special.

Don’t forget about cosiness
An open-plan vacation home with clean and spacious design choices is great for helping to dissolve those stresses we are trying to get away from. But when the sun goes down and it starts to get chilly, you need some cosiness. Settling down for the evening to watch a movie, read a book or just talk with those around you is better when there is a cosy nook available.
Whether it be the corner of a larger room or a dedicated space just for downtime, important design features for a cosy space should include plenty of textiles like blankets, rugs and throws. You may wish to add warm, yellow bulbs to a light fixture or two in these areas rather than bright white to enhance the cosy feeling.