a boho glam makeover for a picky host - Upgrade My Stay!
If you’re not familiar with our new series, Upgrade My Stay is a show where we check into vacation rentals with the goal of upgrading the stay experience with some DIY, design, and decor, all before check-out. You can watch the first episode here!
This week we tackle a loft space in the west end of Toronto for our host Naya, who is a super entrepreneur and future vacay rental host. She has a multi-functional space that acts as a home, hair salon, sewing room, jewelry-making studio AND event space… whew that’s a lot of uses for one space! But we *might* know a thing or two about making over lofts (check out our Loft Vibes series here) so we were ready to take on this fun challenge of turning her dysfunctional home into a boho glam room guests will adore.
SEPARATING BUSINESS FROM PERSONAL
To start this makeover, we installed a giant accent wall with some patterned wallpaper. This added much needed warmth and colour to the room and helped highlight Naya’s sewing corner, where she spends a lot of her time. Next we installed DIY floor-to-ceiling white flowy curtains to make use of the stunning high ceilings, and to also act as a barrier between the rental space and Naya’s hair salon. When converting your home into a vacation rental, you want to make the space feel less like you live there, but still feel cozy for guests, so sectioning off some personal items is always a good idea.
MAKE NEW FRIENDS BUT KEEP THE OLD
Our host already had some amazing pieces in the space, but they needed a little Sorry Girls love. The first was this beautiful teak credenza that had some pretty bad water stains on the top. To fix this, we sanded down the top, cleaned off the dust and then refinished it with teak oil. We also fixed up Naya’s sewing bench which was only half-upholstered and needed new wood for it to function better. To do this, we cut a piece of plywood to perfectly fit the top of her bench, then glued some upholstery foam on top. To finish it off, we covered the whole thing in faux leather fabric, stapled it into the wooden base on the back side, and installed hinges for the top to open. Voilà! A custom piece for a custom room.
DIY DIVIDERS
To close off the kitchen and make it it’s own space, we DIY’d these gorgeous dusty rose fabric dividers using a DIY wooden frame, staples, and some fabric that we wrapped around the whole frame.
FINISHING TOUCHES
Finally, we added a chic emerald green futon with some storage underneath that guests can use to sleep on, and brought in a tall bar table with some glam gold and green bar stools. This table is perfect for a multi-functional space, since Naya can take business meetings here and also use it for her guests to eat. All that was left to do was add some decor pieces, a gallery wall and of course, plants! Can you spot all the DIY’s?
We are so pleased with how this space turned out and can’t wait for Naya to host her first guests in her boho glam dream loft. If you want to see how Naya reacted, check out the episode below!