Airbnb & Short-Stay Styling
in Melbourne
A guest decides whether to book your place in about the time it takes to scroll past three photos, and they decide whether to come back the moment they walk through the door. We style for both of those moments, so your property looks right online and feels right in person, whether it's a city apartment, a weekender on the Peninsula or a cottage in Daylesford.
Dear Design has spent ten years styling real homes for the people who live in them. Short-stay is the same skill pointed at a different question: what does someone need to feel looked after in a place that isn't theirs?
Why Dear Design
Styled by someone who designs homes, not listings
A lot of short-stay furnishing is packaged as an add-on to property management. Ours starts somewhere else. Every property gets a considered concept built around where it is and who's going to stay there, then we source, install and style it properly, down to the things guests actually notice: a good reading lamp by the bed, enough hooks for wet towels, a kitchen you can cook a real meal in.
The result photographs beautifully because it's been designed to be lived in, even if only for a long weekend.
Who it's for
You've just bought and want it booked from day one. We take the property from empty to guest-ready, so your first listing photos are the right ones.
Your listing is live but sitting quieter than it should. We look at what's there with fresh eyes, keep what's working and fix what's holding it back.
You manage, sell or advise on short-stay properties. If your client needs the place set up properly before it lists, we're the call you can hand over with confidence.
Where we work
Airbnb styling across Melbourne and regional Victoria
Based in Melbourne, we style short-stay properties across metropolitan Melbourne and the places people go to get away from it: the Mornington Peninsula (Sorrento, Portsea, Red Hill, Flinders and Mornington), the Bellarine and Surf Coast, the Great Ocean Road, Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges, the Yarra Valley and Phillip Island. A travel fee applies to regional properties and is included in your quote up front.
SERVICES
Ways we can help
The Full Fit-Out
From empty to first guest. Concept, furniture, linen, kitchenware, art, lighting and every finishing touch, sourced, delivered, installed and styled. You hand over the keys and get back a property ready to photograph and book.
The Listing Refresh
For a property that's already furnished but not performing the way it should. We edit what's there, rework the layout, and bring in only what's missing, so it feels finished without starting from scratch.
Photo-Ready Styling
Styling for the listing shoot, so the photos do the work. Ideal before a relaunch or a new season, and we can organise the photographer too, so the shoot happens while every room is at its best.
The Short-Stay Design Plan
For hosts who'd rather do the buying themselves. A considered concept, layout, room-by-room sourcing list and a styling guide to follow, so every decision is made before you spend a dollar.
Sleep On It: The overnight guest experience review
Some things you only find out by staying. A property can photograph beautifully and still have a shower that takes five minutes to run hot, a bedside with nowhere to charge a phone, or a kitchen missing the one pan you need for breakfast.
So we stay. We check in the way your guests do, spend a night or two in the property and use everything: the bed, the shower, the kitchen, the heating, the wifi and the TV, the instructions you've left and the ones you haven't. Then you get a written review of the whole stay, with clear recommendations on the styling and the experience itself: what to fix, what to add, and what's already working beautifully.
You can book Sleep On It on its own, with no styling work attached, and the review is yours to act on however you like. Or, if you'd like us to carry out the recommendations, it takes the place of the site visit and everything that follows is built on what we found by staying. It suits any property that's already furnished, whether it's a listing that isn't getting the reviews it deserves or a place you've bought furnished and want to get right before you list it.
FAQ
Questions hosts ask us
What is Airbnb styling?
Airbnb styling is the design, furnishing and styling of a short-stay property so it photographs well, books well and holds up to guests. Dear Design styles Airbnb and holiday rental properties across Melbourne and regional Victoria, from full fit-outs of empty properties to refreshes of listings that are already live.
What is an overnight guest experience review?
An overnight guest experience review is when a stylist stays in a short-stay property for a night or two as a guest would, uses everything in it, and then gives the owner a written review with recommendations on both the styling and the guest experience. Dear Design offers it on its own or alongside its styling services, for Airbnb and holiday rental properties across Melbourne and regional Victoria.
How much does Airbnb styling cost in Melbourne?
It depends on the size of the property and how much it needs. A design plan you carry out yourself sits at the lower end, a refresh of an existing listing sits in the middle, and a full fit-out is quoted as a styling fee plus a furniture and homewares budget we agree with you up front. A free discovery call is the quickest way to get a clear number for your property.
How long does an Airbnb fit-out take?
Most full fit-outs take 4 to 8 weeks from concept to first guest, depending on stock availability and our project schedule. Refreshes and photo-ready styling usually move faster.
Do you style Airbnbs outside Melbourne?
Yes. As well as metropolitan Melbourne, Dear Design styles short-stay properties on the Mornington Peninsula, the Bellarine and Surf Coast, along the Great Ocean Road, in Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges, the Yarra Valley and Phillip Island. A travel fee applies to regional properties and is included in your quote up front.
Can you restyle an Airbnb that's already furnished?
Yes. A Listing Refresh starts with an edit of what's already there. We keep the pieces that work, move what's in the wrong place and bring in only what's missing.
Can you organise the listing photos?
Yes. We can book and coordinate a photographer for your listing shoot, timed so the property is photographed while every room is freshly styled.
Do I need to be there for the install?
No. Most owners hand over the keys and see the finished property at handover. We look after delivery, installation and styling, and walk you through everything in person or on a call.
Do you work with property managers and agents?
Yes. We work alongside short-stay managers, real estate agents and buyers' advocates whose clients need a property set up properly before it lists.