A High Drama Airbnb Screening Room

 By Lori Shaw

"A unique multipurpose screening room - featuring floor to ceiling red velvet draperies on all four walls! " - LORI SHAW

As an Airbnb designer, I work with my clients to create an attractive retreat for their guests, one that jumps off the screen as potential guests are scrolling. The design has to be attention grabbing, but also really smart in terms of materials, functionality, space planning and amenity creation. One of my goals with Airbnb design is for the home to tell a story - something that draws people in and makes them want to stay there initially, and to return again and again.

My latest project was the second one that I’ve done with this particular client. The home is in Rochester, Minnesota, in close proximity to the Mayo Clinic. Unlike a beach resort or mountain cabin, there wasn’t an obvious “theme” at the outset of the project. In my research of the area, I came across a list of famous figures throughout history that had traveled to Rochester to seek medical treatment of some kind at the Mayo Clinic. 

I shared the list with my client and we started to narrow it down. Anyone that could be viewed as potentially divisive, for obvious reasons, didn’t make the cut. We reduced the list down to include some pretty cool names, and the fun began! We have bedrooms designed around Helen Keller, Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, Ernest Hemingway and Lou Gehrig. 

The house has a large awkwardly shaped bonus room with parts of the ceiling that are flat and parts that are sloped, and small, high windows on two sides. My client wanted to be able to increase the bedroom count by including two pullout sofas in this room, but its main purpose should be as a space for entertainment. We added in a pool table and a 98 tv on one wall to effectively turn the room into a movie screening room. We had two more names on our list, so we decided to dedicate the room to Muhammad Ali and silent screen actress Clara Bow.

Once we had the purpose and floorplan down, and we knew how the room would be themed, we started looking at furnishings and decor. As a designer and even as a consumer, I love anything old or vintage or with some character and history to it. So, when I think of a movie, my mind goes back to actual theaters with the large, dramatic red velvet curtain hanging at the front. I had the idea to do red velvet curtains on all sides of the room. The curtains could be pulled open if guests wanted the natural light, but they could be drawn on all four sides if guests really wanted the full experience of being cocooned inside of a screening room. We gathered the curtains at the bottoms to allow for ease in cleaning the hardwood floors after each guest stay. The sloped ceiling is a perfect match for the curtain track system; this allowed me to ensure continuous coverage on all walls, with no gaps at the corners.

The red color is so vibrant, the curtains are very thick and luxurious, and they provide for great sound insulation and light blocking.

If I go back to my opening paragraph, all of those goals were met with the design of this room!

*All photographs credit: Lori Shaw

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