Heel House Apartment: Before & After

 To appreciate how far you’ve come, it can beneficial to look back to where you started. We began our short-term rental journey with the Heel House apartment almost two years ago. This one bedroom, one bathroom apartment has hosted hundreds of guests since February 2019. It’s small, but mighty, and we couldn’t be happier with the results of hosting this space as a short-term rental.

We bought our home in the Fall of 2018 for two reasons: the location and the apartment. After reading the financial classic, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, I was convinced that our home would need to provide some sort of income for us as our biggest asset. My background in travel sales, coupled with the apartment’s location near the University of North Carolina, made me certain that we could make the apartment a successful short-term rental.

We knew that we would need to update the space to compete with the other properties in the area. We also knew that we could command a higher nightly price if the space was renovated. Finally, we were aware that we would likely be staying in the space when we rented our primary home, so I was committed to making it a space that not only would serve guests well, but us too.

Luckily for us, the floors and small bathroom had already been updated in the last few years and wouldn’t need to be refreshed this time around. A fresh coat of paint and new mirror, lighting, and fixtures made the small bathroom the easiest space to complete.

Initially I believed that we would update the AC in the apartment to a more modern set-up. However, after getting a quote that made me want to puke, and realizing what we had worked, I decided to forego that update for the next time around. It simply wasn’t feasible with all the other work being done to “fix” something that wasn’t actually broken in the first place.

Therefore, we started with painting the entire space my favorite color, “Ocean Air” by Benjamin Moore. This is the same color we used in our master bedroom. It’s a light Carolina blue with great green and gray undertones that make it almost a neutral. By using one paint color throughout the space, it makes the very small apartment feel larger.

We took advantage of the appliance specials on Black Friday and were able to replace the old appliances with new stainless-steel options for less than $2K. We were able to use a quartz remnant for the countertops. It’s a white neutral stone with flecks of sparkle that makes the small galley kitchen feel light and fresh. About this time, I realized how handy my husband actually can be and he replaced all the upper cabinets to match the lower ones.

With the kitchen complete, we turned to updating the light fixtures in the living room, adding new ceiling fans throughout, and having the electricians hang the TV on the wall in the small space to save room.

We stuck to a mix of quality pieces and second-hand finds to furnish the apartment. The biggest investment we made in furnishing the space was the Ikea fold out sofa. The sofa was pricey, but included a comfortable queen fold out bed and washable slip covers. I’ve successfully washed these slipcovers many times and they still look great. The small white table was also from Ikea, along with four dining chairs that we store in the bedroom closet for guests who want to sit at the table.

The rest of the furnishings were either personal pieces we had saved from our condo or finds from Facebook marketplace, Home Goods, or Habitat for Humanity.  The queen size bed is a 12- inch memory foam bed from Wayfair. These beds are reasonably priced and incredibly comfortable. We now use this bed in all our units after receiving so many compliments on it-and enjoying it ourselves.

This first short-term rental has taught me so many things about hosting success. A comfortable space, reasonable price, and great customer service will set even the most basic unit apart. A great location doesn’t hurt either. Making choices that I knew I’d appreciate meant that guests would likely appreciate them too. The apartment currently has over 85 five star reviews and is consistently booked. We’re so grateful for how far we’ve come in the short-term rental business and this little apartment that helped us start it all!