Expert Advice

Why Styling Matters?

Name: Dorset Holiday Cottages
Address: 8 East St, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 5ED
Telephone: 01929 481547

Staging a holiday home for professional photos will significantly improve your booking rates, guest satisfaction and holiday home revenue.

However styling a holiday cottage takes years of experience, seeing what works and what does not. Here at Dorset Cottage Holidays we have an in house team of staging specialists who can help you elevate your home to attract customers.

Out Tips

Staging Your Holiday Let

For holiday cottage owners in our portfolio we provide a free styling service. We can provide a room by room mood board to help you gel rooms together, providing a cohesive visual message to potential guests . Styling a home is not all about a great eye for design, its also about styling with your target audience in mind. A beautiful home needs to remain practical for young children or the older generation. With over 25 years of experience, we are able to arrange a visually stunning property, that doubles as a really comfortable and inviting places to stay in Dorset.

Clear your rooms of clutter – remove bins, toilet brushes and remote controls
Tidy – your home should be clean ready for photos.
Is your cottage suitable for your target audience? If your home has a spiral staircase – so you want to aim photography at young families with childrens books and teddies in your photos?
Do i need a professional photographer? We only use a professional photographer, we know and trust their work.
What colours should i use in a holiday home? There is no hard and fast rule on this but rooms need to tie in artwork on the walls with your cushions, curtains and throws.
Tell a story. Try to imagine you are taking a holiday in your cottage – stage your home so that it shows guests cosying up by the fire or perhaps binoculars to enjoy the sea view. Is your cottage in a seaside town – will your guests be enjoying a traditional fish and chip supper?

Let Us Guide You

Expert Styling Service

This lovely little Swanage cottage was a joy to style. The owner asked us to help bring out its seaside charm while keeping the look fresh and family-friendly. We developed a soft coastal colour palette and introduced new furnishings, artwork, cushions, and throws to tie everything together. Rather than a traditional bucket-and-spade theme, we opted for subtle coastal artwork that reflects Swanage’s boutique seaside character. In the master bedroom, the colours from the artwork echoed the bed cushions, creating a calm, cohesive feel with gentle nods to the coast.

Holiday Home Styling FAQ

Here we answer all your frequently asked questions about holiday cottage styling.

Q1. What is holiday cottage staging?

Holiday cottage staging is a service provided by Dorset Cottage Holidays for every home owner. Its enhancing the beauty of your home and telling guests a story.

Q2. Why should I stage my holiday cottage before professional photos?

Staging the property enhances the look of your cottage and therefore increases the revenue you will achieve – simply put it translates into more bookings.

Q3. How is staging different from interior design?

The interior design of a cottage is more the furniture and colour schemes whereas staging sets the scene of the holiday.

Q4. How much does holiday cottage staging cost?

We will advise you if we think you are missing any crucial items but other than that we cover the cost of staging your home.

Q5. Does staging really make a difference to bookings?

Yes! But i would also say that this needs to be couples with a well thought out style and quality furnishings and fittings.

Q6. What happens during a staging session?

We normally arrive the day before a photo shoot having ensured that your housekeeper has cleaned the cottage and made the beds. The beds are steam pressed. We then add staging items to show guests that kind of holiday you are offering.

Q7. How long does staging take?

The time taken will depend on the size of the property – an average 4 bed holiday home will take approx 5 hours and a smaller 2 bed cottage is around 2 hours. The day of the shoot we will also spend time adding any food/beverages that we with to use.

Q8. Do I need to buy new furniture or décor?

Not necessarily. We will always try and work with the furniture you have but will advise if something is not suitable for a holiday let. Generally our recommendations are more related to textiles and finish.

Q9. Do you offer a specific style or tailor it to each cottage?

All styles are tailored to the cottage. A cosy Dorset cottage is very different to a modern seaside apartment and we stage them very differently.

Q10. Can you help with coastal or seasonal themes?

Yes. As alot of our homes are dotted along the Jurassic coast we often run with a coastal theme. If a holiday home is suitable we will often return for a seasonal theme for Spring or Christmas.