In recent months, furnishings retailers such as RH and HomeGoods have dipped their toes into hospitality business, and now Home Depot joins them with the launch of its luxury vacation rental in the Berkshires.
The home improvement retailer partnered with Vrbo to revamp a four bedroom, six bathroom home on Laurel Lake in Massachusetts’ scenic Berkshire mountains. Home Depot outfitted the space with furnishings and decor from its private-label brands Home Decorators Collection, StyleWell and The Company Store, as well as adding upgrades using its building supplies.
The privately owned home serves as not only a showroom for Home Depot’s furnishings and decor brands, but also an idea house of sorts for rental property owners looking to make upgrades to their properties.
“Since the home is privately owned, The Home Depot worked closely with the property hosts to add intentional home upgrades to enhance the guest experience and demonstrating the transformative power of Home Depot Home product,” said Corinne Bentzen, general manager, Home Depot Home. “The Berkshires home makeover enabled both brands to showcase just how impactful easy and attainable home updates can be for travelers and property owners.”
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Home Depot enlisted design influencers Holly and Brad Lauritzen of Our Faux Farmhouse, Fariha Nasir of Pennies for a Fortune and Danielle Guerrero of Our Nest on Powell to revamp the home’s entrance, patio, kitchen, living areas and guest rooms.
“The influencers were selected for empowering their followers with the know-how to tackle home projects with confidence,” Bentzen said. “It was also important that each of them have different experiences and points of view, but also that they showcased the DIY (or decorate it yourself) perspective of women.”
The influencers used products from Home Depot reflecting three trends: timeless decor elements, balanced color palette and functional spaces + cozy living. For timeless decor elements, the team combined modern styles with traditional looks such as vintage-inspired wallpaper and lighting alongside contemporary furniture. Behr’s 2023 color of the year, Blank Canvas, drove the balanced color palette focus, with its creamy white tone setting the backdrop for a neutral palette enhanced by pops of bright color. And the functional spaces + cozy living vibe was achieved by creating comfortable, inviting areas in the home with textiles and other accessories.
The Home Depot Berkshires Vrbo home is available to the public for rental now, with current rates at $528 per night.
Hospitality has become a focus for several home goods companies over the past year. RH recently opened boutique hotel in New York City called RH Guesthouse, and HomeGoods launched its limited-time Hudson Valley rental, dubbed the House of HomeGoods, in October.
Bentzen said Home Depot’s aim with this project is not only inspiring visitors to the home to upgrade their own spaces, but also to drive home the message to rental property owners how lucrative making improvements can be.
“Through the makeover of a Vrbo vacation home in the Berkshires, the brand wants to showcase just how impactful these easy and attainable home updates—from fresh bedding and throws to functional seating—can be,” she said.