Look through the photographs of well-reviewed holiday rentals in the Algarve and the same furnishings keep turning up: tile floors, washable sofa covers, plain bedding, a big table outside. It isn’t coincidence. A holiday let takes a hammering that a normal home never sees, with a new household arriving every week, wet swimming costumes on every chair and nobody feeling responsible for the sofa. Furnishing one properly is partly an exercise in interior design and partly an exercise in pessimism.
Sofas and fabrics
Choose upholstery that can be cleaned. Removable covers that go in a hot wash are worth more than any amount of designer styling, and mid-tone colours hide marks far better than cream or white. Performance fabrics, the sort sold for pubs and family homes, resist stains and wear much better than standard cotton or linen. A sofa that looks slightly bland in the shop will look good in year three, which is when the cream one has gone grey.
Floors and rugs
Tile or sealed stone suits a hot climate and survives wet feet. Rugs add warmth and absorb sound, but pick washable ones or flat-weave cotton that can be taken off the floor and laundered, and avoid anything with a deep pile that holds sand. Put a mat inside every outside door. It’s the cheapest way of keeping the beach out of the bedrooms.
Beds and bedding
Guests will forgive an ordinary kitchen and a so-so view. They will not forgive a bad bed. Buy decent mattresses, put a waterproof protector on each, and keep two full sets of bedding per bed so that changeover day doesn’t depend on a tumble dryer behaving. Plain white or pale linen looks fresh, bleaches when it needs to, and is simple to replace one piece at a time. Add a spare pillow or two in the wardrobe, since pillow preferences are very personal.
The kitchen
Count the people the property sleeps and stock accordingly: enough plates, glasses and cutlery that a full house can eat together without washing up in the middle. Add a decent knife, a heavy frying pan, a large pan for pasta and a corkscrew that works. A badly equipped kitchen is the quiet cause of a surprising number of three-star reviews, because it is the room where guests notice what is missing.
Outdoor space
In a warm climate the terrace is a second living room, so furnish it like one. Provide shade that covers the table, chairs that are comfortable for longer than twenty minutes, and a place to hang towels. Weather-resistant teak, powder-coated aluminium or good rattan-effect resin lasts far longer than cheap plastic, and it looks better in photographs.
Storage and the little things
A locked cupboard for the owner’s belongings keeps the rest of the house free for guests. Add hooks by the door, a laundry basket in every bathroom and a clear note about where the bins go. Those small touches take an afternoon to set up and save a long string of unnecessary messages from guests who can’t find the spare key or the iron.
Take the same ideas home
You don’t have to rent out a property to benefit from this approach. Families with young children and a dog can use almost all of it, and the logic is the same: furnish for the way the house is used rather than for the way it looks on the first day. The sofa with the washable cover will be the one you are still happy with in five years.
