Accessories – a few bits and bobs we pick up at a local store and scatter around before taking photographs, right? Well, it depends on your chosen style and what experience you’re offering to guests. While not all types of glamping will use accessories, for those that do, it is worth choosing them carefully, as part of an accommodation’s design scheme, a wise use of accessories could:
- Create a unique holiday experience for your guests
- Tell your story
- Affirm your brand
- Contribute to your USP
- Increase rental fees
- Improve occupancy rate
- Set you apart from the competition
Demand for Design
Thanks to TV shows and magazines more of us are design-savvy these days and take an interest in how we express our taste and personalities through our living spaces, which in turn affects how we choose our holiday accommodation. Glamping takes this to a different level however because it offers a more individual experience and attracts people who appreciate the unusual, making design and accessories even more important.
Self-Styled Glamping
I always encourage new glamping owners to forge their own style and pay attention to detail, drill your look right down into every purchase, even everyday things like plates, cups, glasses, and seek out the unusual. They should reflect the design theme or even the structure – enamelled plates and mugs would sit happily in a rustic style cabin, whereas a vintage style virtually demands pretty china. Sometimes, I wonder whether we forget about the ‘glamorous’ part of ‘glam-ping’. The UK glamping industry is forging way ahead of some countries in terms of numbers, yet overall we play safe with our interior design. There’s no need, in fact your glamping accommodation will shine brighter than the rest if you don’t play safe and carve out your own style.
So don’t be afraid to express some personality or go a bit over the top with your accessories – after all they help create your individuality and ultimately, your guest experience. It’s helpful to think about what message you want your ‘look’ to get across – natural and rustic? Stylish and elegant? Fun and friendly? Cool and contemporary? Quirky and offbeat? Depending on what you’re trying to create, some or all of these tips might be helpful.
Top Tips:
- Work within a tight colour palette (unless you’re going for a boho rainbow look!) use a colour wheel and the coordinating rules
- Choose your fabrics first then plan everything else, like paint colours and accessories, around them !Use accessories to express your design scheme, add depth with relevant pieces
- Think about how your accommodation will photograph, arrange accessories in groups and use an eye-catching accent colour
- Weave in items from the locality; local crafts, rugs, pottery, throws, prints, cards
- Don’t include family heirlooms or expensive items – accidents happen, you’ll be upset and your guests will feel dreadful
- Tempted to follow a current design trend? Use inexpensive items that can readily be replaced when it becomes passé !Think big, sometimes a well-placed oversized piece in an interior adds interest and a sense of extravagance
- Get inspired! Check out Pinterest, Flickr, Instagram, Google images, related lifestyle magazines, blogs
- If you’re on a tight budget, get creative! Scour charity shops, boot sales and auctions, get painting, upcycling and re purposing create something totally unique
- If you have a generous budget, hire an interior designer, aim high, add designer features, add luxury and create something totally outstanding.
Practicalities & Guests Comfort
It all the excitement of pulling together the ‘look’ let’s not forget that accessories also need to be practical and easy to maintain. Before you buy that perfectly co-ordinated accessory think about maintenance – will it
be a devil to clean, is it going to get bashed about, will it need replacing during the season, if so and it’s expensive, do your rental fees justify that? Accessories also need to be easy for your guests to live with and use. For example is there a power socket for hair dryers at one end of the hut and a mirror at the other? Are there cushions and blankets for those hard, wooden patio chairs and loungers?
10 things to remember
- Chose accessories that suit your guests, a family accommodation needs to be more robust, a couples retreats can be more detailed and less hard-wearing
- Rugs on wooden floors add warmth, colour and reduce clatter
- Think plush and comfort all the way – there’s something deliciously satisfying about being in the middle of a field and feeling as cosy as you would on your own sofa!
- Make outside as comfortable as the inside with generously sized patio furniture, throws and lanterns
- Lighting can be used to great effect to create a specific mood, atmosphere or style
- Soft furnishings – keep spares, accidents happen
- Dogs – if you accept pets buy especially easily washed rugs
- Candles, lamps and fires are an essential part of some glamping sites and add oodles of atmosphere. They can be used to good effect for photographs.
- Always keep safety in mind.
- Are the switches on the bedside lamps easy to reach and use?
Happy Glamping
Kate
About Kate: As one of the UK’s leading glamping specialists, Kate draws on years of experience in design, property restoration and marketing to advise landowners on glamping diversification, and curates the Quality Unearthed portfolio”. www.qualityunearthed.co.uk
