Have you recently purchased a second home? If so, you may be feeling overwhelmed with the idea of having to decorate it. However, you should view this as a fun opportunity to get to show a different side of yourself that isn’t shown in the decor of your main house. You want to make sure that everything you put in your second home makes you feel like you’re in the lap of luxury – after all, this will be the place where you’ll take most of your vacations. This is why you should install the best paving stones and best pavers for the patio, as well as purchase top-quality furniture.
“Second homes are all about the three f’s: family, friends and flea markets,” designer Brian Patrick Flynn, founder of Flynnside Out Productions, recently told the Associated Press. “There are really no rules, but the one thing to keep in mind is that second homes are the best place to showcase your personality by filling them with one-of-a-kind pieces packed with sentiment and history.”
Don’t overdo it – The AP also spoke to HGTV host Sabrina Soto, who explained that it can be tempting to decorate your second home with lots of knick-knacks from your vacations, but you don’t want it to look too cluttered.
Look to flea markets – Flynn explained that second homes are often in small towns that have great flea markets. If this is the case with your second home, then you should definitely check out these places to find unique and quirky items to decorate your space with. For example, Flynn said that his living room walls are completely covered with flea-market art. He explained that while his bedroom has new white vinyl plank and custom window treatments, he paired it with a 1960s bubble chair and a 1970s wood dresser that he got from a flea market.
Consider a theme – SheKnows spoke to Taniya Nayak, host of HGTV’s “House Hunters on Vacation,” who explained that if your home is by the beach or in the woods, you should embrace that theme while decorating. You can place a few seashells or pictures of boats around a house by the beach, or collect fallen branches from the woods around you and place them in a vase for a unique piece in a cabin home.
Have some comforts from home – Just because this is your vacation home doesn’t mean you don’t want it to feel a bit like your usual home. For example, Nayak recommended that if you purchase a new bedspread for your main home, you should bring the old one to your second house. She said that these are the little things that can actually help your vacation home feel more relaxing.
Go for dual-purpose items – If the rooms in your second home are small, you’ll want to fill them with items that can serve two purposes. For instance, storage ottomans can serve as a place to sit and store important items.
