An AirBnB with a Treetop View
Hi there! I hope you’ve been enjoying the breakdown of the AirBnBs I’ve designed and hosted. In this post, I’ll be unpacking the process of designing The Silver Loft. Let’s dive in!
When I wrapped up the last space of Nakomis Dwellings (you can see all of those blog posts here at the links below), I was definitely tired. But I was also running on adrenaline and so pumped for the next creative challenge. And boy did I get it! The Silver Loft was really something special.
Curious about the Nakomis Dwelling spaces? I wrote a post about each one!
Ok..let’s not waste anymore time! Welcome to The Silver Loft and amazing treetop views!
The Location
This loft sits in the heart of downtown Albuquerque. It’s within walking distance of everything great the area has to offer. It’s got good parking and private access. It’s safe and secure. The owner of this loft was curious about how the whole AirBnB thing worked and brought me and my business partner on to do the design and then host the space. It was a BIG project. Three separate levels, vaulted ceilings...incredible views.
Let’s take it one level at a time…
THE FIRST LEVEL
The first level was made up of a living room, a small storage and a bathroom. There were large floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the private courtyard. One big part of the project was a complete paint job. In hindsight, I should NOT have taken this on. But I did. I had an intern at the time and she and I spent HOURS painting these walls. We did hire a professional painter to do the ceilings, but she and I did the rest of the space. It was so much work...but really did transform the space. It’s amazing what paint can do.
We added a little desk area in the living room. Just a little side note: A desk is a HUGE plus in an AirBnB. Your space will show up better in search results (some people only stay in spaces that have a work area) and you attract those remote workers who generally look for longer stays. You really do want to find a spot for a desk! We found this cute desk at Ikea and it was just perfect for this little spot!
Some cute touches in the little bathroom corner and this first floor was ready! Oh..and I don’t want to skip over the hanging bike! The owner really did have a bike hanging here that he used on a regular basis. We didn’t want to dismantle his bike hanging system, but it looked pretty strange without a bike in it. So I put my own personal bike on it...because it was just sitting in my garage unused! I ride my Peloton everyday...so it served a better purpose in this space than it did gathering dust in our garage. We made sure to put a deadbolt on it so it wouldn’t disappear and I really loved the way it brought an element of surprise to the space...but in a tasteful way. The color of the bike went well with the space. Win-win-win!
THE SECOND LEVEL
Alright...let’s move up to the second level. Welcome to the kitchen! Friends, I wish so badly that I had a before picture of this kitchen. The ceiling was painted to perfectly match the footprint of the kitchen. So there was a rectangular shape on this kitchen ceiling that was the size of the kitchen corner….and it was like dark blue. I appreciate that they tried to do something bold creatively, but it was ROUGH. So we had the ceiling painted and gave the walls a fresh coat of paint. I appreciated the galvanized steel feature on the wall and did my best to build a design around that rustic feel. In the end, I really liked the way this floor came together. We opted to add stools to the bar to create an eat-in kitchen and futon so there could be some extra bed options. There was also a futon on the first floor, in case you missed it. We did our best to optimize sleeping arrangements. These windows included a sliding glass door and led out to a balcony where a guest could stand and enjoy some fresh air and sunshine. So much natural light!
THE THIRD FLOOR
The third floor is the true show stopper! Friend, these windows looked out ABOVE the treetops! There was a tiny balcony area, so guests could step out and look over the shared courtyard and let some fresh air in. The ceilings were vaulted and the space felt open, light and airy. The bathroom was large, had a huge walk-in closet with a washer/dryer and a jacuzzi tub.
I went with a calm, cool and simple design theme throughout this space. There were a couple bold pops of color, but for the most part...I kept it easy and breezy.
This was a very successful AirBnB. The owner ended up needing to move back into the space, so we parted ways. But I’ll always hold a special place in my heart for The Silver Loft and I’ll never forget listening to the sound of the birds singing in the treetops while I painted the walls on the third floor. Just perfect.
And that’s The Silver Loft! Stay tuned, friend...we’ll dig into the cutest and happiest condo ever next week!
And that’s a wrap, friend! That’s the last of the four spaces in Nakomis Dwellings. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour and will stick around for more! Next on the list of spaces is The Silver Loft...a downtown loft space with tree top views on the third floor! Can’t wait to share it with you!
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Weekly tips, Q+As and lots of FREEBIES! Would love to have you, friend!
