When I received a phone call last year from Ideal Properties ~ Minneapolis, Minnesota (www.idealpropertiesmn.com) asking if they could hire Blue Star Collections to stage this 1916 vintage complex I jumped on the chance to do some magic! I felt like I hit the jackpot and it was my lucky day to have the opportunity to work with a great company and stage an awesome building.

This completely renovated 4-plex in the fantastic located in the Lexington/Hamline neighborhood. Each unit included 2 bedrooms, 1 full & 1 half bathroom, sunroom that could be 3rd bedroom, spacious open dining/living rooms with hardwood floors, plus stunning remodeled kitchens & bathrooms. Blue Star Collections was ready to take this staging project on!

This beauty was sold to a local Minneapolis investor not only looking to add to their portfolio, but also to make a few people happy as well. Their goal was to place it in the pool of Airbnb’s rentals.

Blue Star Collections job would consist of staging from top to bottom with furniture, kitchen, bath necessaries and more to make these renters feel at home. The budget was low and there was not much room for error so I had my work cut out for me. I tapped into my years repurposing and recycling mode to make this work for all parties involved. Having a bit of experience of staying at a few Airbnb’s in our travels, I also knew having the necessary essentials were important.

My first line of action was to visualize who would be renting these rooms? The property was close to several colleges, a few breweries, shopping, and fun entertainment located in St.Paul, MN. My thoughts were parents coming to visit for the weekends, students overnighting to check out colleges, or maybe just a fun group wanting to explore the area.

Right away I also knew I was going to fall in love with the building while working this project. Excitement grew after walking through the empty rooms in this vintage apartment building making my mind wander to know what the story was behind beauty.

The colors were neutral. Fresh white paint, floors were original and each had been updated. It was Blue Star Collections job to bring this place alive with comfort and fun!

The kitchen was set up for the connivence of cooking if you wished or just having that first cup of coffee in the morning. Dishwasher was available so there would be no work involved in the clean up. Just come to enjoy ~

Knowing I had a clean slate, strict timeline and a slim budget, my mind raced to add the special touches it needed to make a difference. I was off and running with my shopping lists!

Gathering my thoughts I knew I needed 9 queen size beds, 3 dining tables, 3 sofas, at least 6-9 side chairs, 3 sets of dishes, 3 coffee makers, 18 sets of sheets, 36 bath towels as well as others linens, at least 24 area rugs. Whew my head was spinning. Just those necessary purchases was going to take a big chunk from my budget.

To make this a success, tapping in on my relationships with past vendors was going to be prominent. Also, would they have the amount of these items I needed in stock to meet my timeline?

My first stop was to search for new mattresses and headboards without breaking my bank. I didn’t need a couple, I needed 9 sets. Katie at Ashley Furniture a friend of mine I had dealt with in the past helped assistant in filling my request. After purchasing these sets I was assured they would be delivered by the end of the week. Keeping the “show on the road” was a must!

Shopping for headboards made it fun to see each room start to come alive. A small hiccup, and challenging was working around with old iron heating radiators in each room. Exact measurements needed to be respected to make it all fit.

Mattresses were in place ✔️. Next was setting the tone with coverlets, duvets, and pillows. Because I’m a pillow fanatic, each bed received at least 4 pillows with at least a couple accents to carry the theme. Right under 50 pillows were purchased. Needless to say I bought several places out and had to make many stops to meet my needs.

Bedrooms were under control ✔️, next it was moving into the dining and living areas. Tallying up the dollars I had spent on the beds and linens I knew I need to stick to my budget find three preferable new sofas at a reasonable price. I put all my feelers out to my possible contacts and prayed I could accomplish this next task.

My mind was racing! Each room would need accessories to pull off this project but had I to be smart and keep it fun. No buying “just because its cute”. It had to be productive, clever and eye appealing pieces that was able to work in this Airbnb rental property.

Not only did I tell you I had a tight budget but my timeline was 2 weeks until the first renter was arriving. Think I had a few meltdown moments? So it was on with the mission of completing these Airbnb’s and having the pieces delivered in time.

Since there is lots to cover in this staging project, I decided to break up this blog and share in a couple posts. Please join me for Part II as I continued to bring this beauty alive. I hope you will come back ~