Design
That Books
Higher nightly rates start with a space that looks and feels premium.
Design That Books is our full-service STR design offer where we make your property stand out online, photograph beautifully, and perform like a top-tier investment. We blend guest psychology, revenue strategy, and design that converts browsers into bookings.
You’ve got the location & the five-star potential.
Bookings aren’t rolling in the way you expected.
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You feel a pit in your stomach every time you check your empty booking calendar
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Guests have commented that the rental felt outdated, or complained about the quality of the space, even though it was clean and functional.
You’ve tried “making it cozy” with a few throw pillows, but it still doesn’t feel worth the nightly rate you want
🎨
Guests aren’t posting your property on social media or telling friends about it, you’re missing out on organic buzz and referrals
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Your average nightly rate is stuck because the space doesn’t justify premium pricing
We’re not here to give you a mood board and leave you on your own.
This is end-to-end design, done right, so your property gets booked.
Design and
Styling Plan
We create a guest-first design concept that matches your market, price point, and goals. This includes room-by-room layouts, sourcing plans, and a complete aesthetic strategy tailored to who your guest is and how they book.
Sourcing, Shopping, & Vendor Coordination
You don’t have to spend weekends scrolling West Elm and cross-referencing dimensions. We handle all furniture sourcing, order logistics, and vendor management, so every piece shows up when and where it should.
Full in-Person Install and Final Styling
From unboxing to final fluff, we make sure every corner is guest-ready. Beds are made, art is hung, shelves are styled, and nothing is left half-done.
Photography-Ready Setup
We design with the camera in mind. Before your photographer arrives, your property will be perfectly styled for listing photos that convert. Clean lines, visual depth, and scroll-stopping composition - built in.
The result is a listing that outperforms comparable properties, earns stronger reviews, and becomes the one guests recommend.
From Student housing to booked-out beach escape.
Before $180/night and after staging books out at $750/night.
Bonnet Beach Bungalow’s rooms were under-furnished, the palette was flat, and the listing photos didn’t stand a chance against the high-performing beach houses nearby. Guests weren’t connecting with the property emotionally, which meant fewer bookings, lower rates, and missed potential.
The goal wasn’t to make it prettier. It was to make it perform - in just 7 days.
we went in creating defined gathering areas and better sightlines from the kitchen to the living space. They brought in cohesive coastal tones that felt intentional but not theme-y. Textures layered naturally: woven chairs, neutral linens, and light woods that caught the sun just right in photos.
When the new photos went live on airbnb, the difference was immediate. Almost instantly Bonnet Beach Bungalow was booked solid through peak season. Nightly rates increased. It stopped being “just another coastal stay” and became a destination in itself, proof that when design meets psychology, guests don’t just book, they come back.
I’m Your STR DESIGNER, Georgie Schielke
“I design spaces that stop people from scrolling past your listing and start booking it”
Designer, real estate agent, and co-founder of Block & Barker, where we turn short-term rentals into properties that actually perform.
For the past decade, I’ve been designing homes and STRs across Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York, from coastal bungalows to high-performing multi-state portfolios. The through-line in every project is the same:
Understanding how guests think, what they expect, and what makes a space feel worth booking.
My approach blends STR-specific design psychology with real estate strategy, creating interiors that photograph beautifully, function intuitively, and consistently earn higher occupancy, stronger reviews, and better nightly rates. Whether it’s a one-bedroom getaway or a full renovation, my goal is simple: design spaces that book themselves.
You’ve got the location & the five-star potential.
Bookings aren’t rolling in the way you expected.
Design that Books are not for you if:
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✗
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You want the cheapest, fastest, lowest-effort option possible, but expect the outcome of hosts who treat their STR like a real business.
You’re not going to refresh your listing photos, update your positioning, or improve your hosting systems after the redesign.
You want to stay in control of every micro decision, even though those decisions are exactly why your listing is stuck where it is.
You treat your STR like a personal passion project and refuse to pivot, even when the market clearly shows your taste and your target guest are not aligned.
We’re the team to Design an airbnb that books if:
✓
✓
✓
✓
You’ve looked at your own photos and thought, “This doesn’t look bad, but it doesn’t look like the kind of place people get excited about”.
You’ve rearranged furniture, swapped pillows, changed lighting, and still can’t figure out why your listing keeps getting saved… but not booked.
You’ve watched a competitor with nothing but better photos blow past you in occupancy, and it’s made you realize design matters more than you wanted to admit.
You know your property has real potential, but you’re stuck on the last 20 percent, the part that separates a functioning STR from a top-performer.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Most full STR design projects take 6 to 8 weeks from approval to installation.
Here’s what actually happens inside that timeline: we build your design concept, finalize layout decisions, source all furnishings, manage deliveries, and schedule installation around your renovation or handover date. Some clients are ready immediately. Others need us to align with contractors, painters, cleaners, or final inspections.We stay flexible, but we only install once your property is truly ready to pull everything together.
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Yes. We offer to fly out and complete the full installation in person for an additional travel fee.
You don’t need to be onsite at any point. We handle everything required to get your STR fully designed, installed, and photo-ready.
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We can, as long as the existing pieces align with the overall guest experience we’re designing for.
If something lowers the perceived value of the space, disrupts the flow, or doesn’t photograph well, we’ll tell you.
You’ll receive a clear list of what’s staying, what’s going, and what can be repurposed or upgraded. We always prioritize your budget while keeping design integrity intact.
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Yes, sometimes even more.
Smaller STRs don’t have space to hide flaws or clutter. A cohesive, intentional design makes compact spaces feel premium, and that directly impacts nightly rates and guest satisfaction. Many of the biggest jumps in revenue we see come from one- or two-bedroom properties.
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No. Our STR designs are strategic, not templated. We consider your market, guest type, price point, architecture, lighting, and what your competition is offering. The design needs to feel unique enough to stop guests from scrolling past — and grounded enough to function under high turnover.
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You can absolutely transition into Hands-On Hosting once your space is furnished and guest-ready. Design That Books creates the setup; co-hosting maintains the performance. Many of our design clients choose both because it creates a seamless start-to-finish STR experience.
