When we were casually house hunting two years ago, one of our must-haves was a completely separate unit that we could use as a long term or short term rental. We bought our house knowing it had a basement unit, but we had to put the offer in sight unseen — the landlord, I suppose, hadn’t worked it out with the tenant to open it up for the open house. Thankfully, the tenant we inherited was a delight, and, when he moved out last February, we made the decision to turn the unit into a short term rental.
The decision was two-fold. First, our house has decent square footage, but we’re short on rooms. There’s not a great guest bedroom space within the house, and we wanted a more comfortable place for our friends and family to stay. Second, I love a project, and I love getting to develop the design for an Airbnb — it’s where decor and marketing meet. It’s a ton of work, but so much fun.
Had we kept it as a long term rental, I’m not sure we would have renovated. But, to use it as an Airbnb, it needed a full renovation. I promise I’ll share more about the renovation soon, but I kept it semi-quiet throughout the process because we didn’t want to invite questions from the nosy neighbor on our block who loves to nitpick permits and call in stop work orders (don’t get me started on the fact her house is the only one on the block that is offensively renovated with 1990s details). I aspire to one day be like my other neighbor, who has also called this block home for decades, and somehow completed renovations this past year with nary a permit, nor letting anyone spot a work crew go in or out. Truly, an icon.
But, until I get to those stories, just know that we decorated and outfitted the basement in a flurry this past Friday night into Saturday. We had our first guests — who booked on the hope and a prayer of construction photos — and we wanted everything to be picture perfect for them. It was, mostly, and certainly enough for public consumption. Within a few weeks, I can retire the paper blinds for the warm bamboo shades, and then we’ll truly be in action.*
*You may say, but there are bamboo shades in the photos? Yes, there are…and they don’t retract up. So we’re replacing them with paper shades that don’t make you feel as if you’re trapped in a cave until the new blinds arrive.
Stay in Our Capitol Hill Basement Airbnb
If you’re planning on visiting DC in the near future, definitely check out the Airbnb. It’s a one bedroom with a full kitchen, laundry, one bathroom, and a queen sleeper sofa in the living room, just a block from Eastern Market and a ten-minute walk to the Capitol. Our block has a straight shot view to the Library of Congress and, in both my biased opinion and others’ unbiased opinions, we’re on one of the prettiest streets on the Hill.
One thing to note: we have it set to four guests, though really that’s ideal for two adults and two kids (I wish Airbnb made it possible to specify this!). Transparently, four adults would be tight, but, if you’re traveling with children and don’t want to get two hotel rooms, plus, you want a kitchen and a bit more space, then this is an ideal scenario.
