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A designer takes a vacation rental cottage from drab to fab.

A designer takes a vacation rental cottage from drab to fab.

How do you decorate a small cottage that will be a haven for travelers from all over the world with different style preferences? Tiffany Leigh Piotrowski, founder and principal designer of Tiffany Leigh Design, took on that challenge when she was handed the keys to this cottage in Sauble Beach, Ontario, Canada.

“I purchased the cottage on my own at the beginning of my career, so I knew that I wanted it to be an income-generating property, ”Tiffany says. “There weren’t a lot of higher-end rentals in the area at the time, so I wanted to make this special for the Airbnb community. I liked that this cottage had a small footprint, which meant that I would be able to renovate it affordably, and it had a nice open floor plan. Its location, less than a two-minute walk to the beach and a five-minute walk to the main strip, was a major appeal.”

But while the cottage had those selling points going for it, the vacation rental also came with less-desirable baggage that required some heavy lifting. “The home was a little bit overwhelming the first time I saw it. In fact, most people thought I was crazy for buying it,” Tiffany says. “It was in its original 1950s condition, with a yellow kitchen, shag carpeting (even in the kitchen), retro wallpaper and too much stuff. It also hadn’t been used in several years, so mice had set up home. I purchased it as an estate sale, so I also had all the previous owner’s belongings to sift through.”

Tiffany says the cottage is a rectangular bungalow, with a front addition that was added in the early 1990s. It totals about 700 square feet and has two bedrooms and one bathroom.

WARM WELCOME. Designer Tiffany Leigh Piotrowski wanted her vacation property’s guests to feel the relaxed coastal vibe as soon as they walked through the door, so she lightened and brightened the original cedar wood paneling on all the walls with paint. However, she loved the warmth of the cedar on the vaulted ceiling, so she kept it there. She added a big bench for baggage and putting shoes on.

COASTAL COMFORTS. Woven baskets are a stylish way to organize and store beach items such as flip-flops and straw hats, says Tiffany, pictured here. Shaker peg wall hooks are perfect for “grab and go” apparel for the day. Tiffany added textural interest with vertical tongue-andgroove molding for a coastal Cape Cod cottage look.

SOFA SO GOOD. Tiffany opted for a pullout sofa for the bedand-breakfast, expanding the number of guests that can sleep there from five to seven. “The gray-blue color of the sofa is more forgiving of lint and stains than a lighter color,” she says. The room is filled with budget-friendly finds, such as a $5.00 thrift-store coffee table that she painted, an Ikea lamp and bird prints from the Audubon website. The Annie Selke rug is made from jute fiber that gives it a coastal feel. The white Ikea unit stretches from wall to wall for extra seating, to hold the TV and to display the sailboats for a coastal accent. BEFORE