Virtual Design
Remote packages with mood boards, layouts, and shoppable sourcing lists. Built for owners who want a clear plan and like to execute it themselves.
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Short-Term Rental Interior Designer · Wisconsin Based
Short-Term Rental Design
engineered to earn.
A short-term rental interior designer for hosts who treat their property as a business. STR-focused interior design that lifts ADR, occupancy, and reviews without the hospitality budget.
Book Your Strategy Call
No commitment required. Just clarity and direction.
What does a short-term rental designer do?
A short-term rental designer plans and furnishes a rental property around revenue rather than personal taste — listing photo conversion, nightly rate positioning, sleeping capacity, guest reviews, and durability under constant turnover. Designed by Ash is an investor-led short-term rental interior designer based in Wisconsin, offering full-service STR design and install across Wisconsin and the Midwest, plus virtual short-term rental design nationwide.
Why short-term rental design is its own discipline
Short-term rentals compete on two screens before they ever compete in person. The search-result thumbnail and the listing photo carousel decide whether a guest books you or scrolls past. Short-term rental design starts with that conversion problem from the first sketch, not after photos are scheduled. We layer in everything generic residential design misses: durable upholstery for cleaner-friendly turnovers, layouts that maximize sleep count without feeling cramped, amenity moments that justify a higher nightly rate, and finish-level decisions that hold up to back-to-back guests.
Built for Airbnb, VRBO, and direct booking
The STR landscape is not just Airbnb anymore. VRBO drives family and group bookings. Direct-booking sites give you margin back. Designing a property that performs across all three means thinking about a wider guest range, more sleeping configurations, and amenity packages that travel well across platforms. We design with all of that in mind so you are not locked into one platform's algorithm.
Design decisions that show up in your P&L
Three levers move short-term rental revenue: nightly rate, occupancy, and how much of both you keep after costs. Design touches all three. Nightly rate follows perceived quality, so the money goes into the moments that photograph and the moments guests touch — beds, seating, lighting, and one memorable space per property. Occupancy follows capacity and reviews, so sleeping plans are drawn against the group sizes your market actually books and the review-killers get engineered out early. Margin follows durability and turnover speed, so performance fabrics, washable rugs, hard-wearing floors, and generous supply storage aren't afterthoughts — they're line items in the plan.
How we work with short-term rental owners
Most projects start with a strategy call. We look at your property, your market, your numbers, and what success looks like for this asset. From there you can engage on virtual design (nationwide), full-service design and install (Wisconsin), or a one-off consultation if you just need direction. Every engagement starts with comps and numbers before we touch a furniture board.
What's included in an STR design project
Every project begins with a strategy call. Scope from there depends on whether you want the plan or the finished property.
- Comp and revenue review
- Where you sit against competing listings on rate, capacity, amenities, and photo quality.
- Layout and sleeping plan
- Floor plans and sleeping configurations sized to the group bookings your market rewards.
- Design concept per room
- Palette, materials, and the specific hero moments the listing photos will be built around.
- Sourcing list with quantities
- Furniture, lighting, textiles, art, linens, and kitchen inventory, with alternates for anything backordered.
- Operations layer
- Cleaner workflow, supply storage, linen par levels, and durable surfaces planned into the design.
- Procurement and install (full-service)
- We order, receive, assemble, install, and style to photo-ready in Wisconsin projects.
- Portfolio systems
- For multi-property owners, a repeatable design spine so each new listing launches faster.
- Launch support
- Shot list, photo sequencing guidance, and amenity copy points for the listing itself.
How STR design pricing works
We quote per project rather than publishing one number, because a two-bedroom condo refresh and a five-bedroom group property furnished from empty are different jobs. Strategy calls are a flat fee and get credited toward a design engagement if you move forward. Virtual STR design is priced per room, so you can start with the rooms that carry your listing photos. Full-service design and install is quoted after the discovery call based on square footage, room count, and how much procurement and project management we take on. Furnishings sit in a separate budget you control. We size it against your target nightly rate and the finish level your comps support, then show you which upgrades pay back and which ones don't.
Project example
Wildwood Retreat — short-term rental design
Color, art, and pattern used deliberately to give the listing a scroll-stopping hero photo, backed by finishes chosen to survive weekly turnovers.
See the projectHow It Works
Our Design Process
A clear, repeatable framework that takes the guesswork out of design. You stay focused on the investment side while we turn the property into an asset that actually earns.
"Numbers come before nightstands. That is how we build properties that look beautiful and actually perform."
- 01
Discovery Call
We sit down to talk through your goals, the guest you want to attract, and what success looks like for this property. You walk away with direction, even if we never work together.
- 02
Consultation & Property Analysis
We dig into your market, your comps, and your floor plan to pinpoint the design moves, amenities, and layout decisions that will lift ROI and appraised value the most.
- 03
Design & Development
Insights become a plan. Space planning, mood boards, and curated FF&E selections built to balance aesthetics, guest psychology, and what holds up under real use.
- 04
Procurement & Project Management
We own the purchase orders, vendor follow ups, and delivery tracking so the project moves on schedule and on budget while you stay focused on everything else.
- 05
Installation, Styling & Setup
We turn the plan into a guest ready property. Furniture placement, layered styling, and final photo prep are all dialed in for visual impact and smooth operations.
What We Offer
Airbnb & Vacation Rental Interior Design
Short-term rental design built around performance, from first concept to final styling. Virtual design is available nationwide. Full-service vacation rental design and installs are currently offered in Wisconsin only.
Hosting on Airbnb? Start with Airbnb design. Cabins, lake houses, and weekly stays are covered under vacation rental design, and multi-platform hosts can read how we work as short-term rental designers.
Full-Service Design
Concept through install, fully managed. Design, procurement, project management, and styling handled for you. Currently offered for properties in Wisconsin only.
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New Builds & Value-Add Remodels
Layout, finish, and amenity guidance before the first wall goes up, so your build is set up to perform from day one.
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Consultations & Installs
A focused working session to size up your property, market, and best next move. You leave with real clarity in about 60 minutes.
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Why Design with Ash?
Investors, operators, and designers.
Our story is personal, but the work is professional and built around results. As vacation rental designers who are also Airbnb investors and short-term rental owners, we know what it actually takes to launch a property that gets noticed and earns its keep.
Here is what makes working with Designed by Ash different.
01
We live in your world.
Based in Wisconsin, we are active hosts and owners across multiple short-term rental and boutique hospitality projects. We design with cleaner flow, maintenance, and guest experience in mind because we run it ourselves every week.
02
Built to photograph and to perform.
Every room is shaped for two audiences at once. The guest who walks in for the weekend, and the traveler scrolling listings at midnight looking for a reason to stop on yours.
03
Creative ideas, numbers to back them.
We love bold color, layered texture, and unexpected moments. We also love comps, ADR, and occupancy data. Both sides of the brain shape every recommendation we make.
04
Support from concept to keys.
Space planning, sourcing, install, and styling all stay under one roof. You get one team, one timeline, and a single point of contact through the entire project.
05
Designed for real hospitality.
Pets, kids, big groups, and busy cleaners are part of the brief. Durable materials, smart layouts, and amenities like game rooms, spa zones, and outdoor hangouts are baked into the plan, not bolted on.
06
A partner, not a vendor.
Your property is part of a bigger story. Most of our clients start with one project and stay with us as their portfolio grows, because we think about what comes next, not just what closes today.
Our Work
Airbnb & Vacation Rental Designs
Client Stories
Still Not Sure? See Our Reviews.
Don't take our word for it. Here's what our clients say after working with Designed by Ash.
"Designed by Ash refreshed our lakefront rental with luxe furnishings, statement art, and a polished modern Airbnb aesthetic. We raised our nightly rates by 30% after the relaunch and the listing has been booking out ever since."
Lakefront STR Owner, Wisconsin
"The elevated styling completely transformed our listing. The palette, layering, and styling feel like something out of a design magazine, and guests constantly comment on how beautiful and comfortable the space is."
Desert Retreat Host, Arizona
"Every detail was thoughtful and intentional, from the furniture selections down to the smallest accessories. The space feels cohesive, warm, and photographs absolutely beautifully."
Lakeside Cabin Investor, Michigan
"The full-service process was completely stress free and the finished space looks magazine-worthy. Occupancy and revenue are both up significantly since the refresh. It has delivered exactly the ROI we were hoping for."
Mountain View VRBO Owner
FAQ
Questions hosts ask
The answers we give most often when owners reach out about this kind of project.
Ready to Get Started?
Let's Build a Property
That Performs.
One team, one plan, one property dialed in to earn. We take it from the first strategy call through install day and hand you back a space that keeps performing long after the photos are done.
Book Your Free Strategy Call
No commitment required. Just clarity and direction.