VaultSTRThe two numbers that matter
Every furnishing budget conversation confuses two different numbers. The product-list floor is what the beds, sofa, kitchen, linens, safety gear and turnover equipment cost — the itemized list with nothing forgotten. Generate yours in two minutes with Build My Setup; for most properties it lands at $3,000–$4,000 per bedroom (our one-bedroom starter kit prices at about $3,800; the full two-bedroom setup about $6,200). The all-in number adds everything the list politely omits: rugs and lamps beyond the basics, wall art, window treatments, outdoor furniture, shipping, assembly labor, the second trip to the store, and the 10% of items you return or rebuy. At mid-range standards that lands most hosts at $5,000–$7,500 per bedroom — which is why a two-bedroom "done properly" conversation starts around $10,000 even though the cart said six.
Budget table by property size
| Studio / 1BR | Product floor $3,500–$4,500 | Mid-range all-in $5,000–$8,000 | Design-forward $9,000–$14,000 |
| 2 bedroom | $6,000–$8,000 | $10,000–$15,000 | $16,000–$25,000 |
| 3 bedroom | $9,000–$12,000 | $15,000–$22,000 | $24,000–$36,000 |
| 4 bedroom | $12,000–$16,000 | $20,000–$30,000 | $32,000–$48,000 |
Pools, hot tubs, game rooms and bunk rooms sit on top of these ranges — and usually pay for themselves in ADR. The deal pages in our Vault show the product-floor estimate for every property we underwrite.
Where the money should go
Spend where photos are won and sleep is judged: the living room sofa, the primary bed, outdoor space, and anything that appears in the hero shot. Save on utility items guests destroy indifferently: sheets, towels, cookware, dinnerware — the replaceables where identical restocking beats initial luxury. The Host Store is organized around exactly this logic, and every product article on this site lists a budget and premium lane for the same slot.
The costs nobody budgets
Shipping oversized items ($200–$600 on furniture orders), assembly time (a full 2BR is 30–40 hours of building flat-pack or $500–$900 of TaskRabbit), window treatments ($60–$150 per window installed), the consumables opening stock (paper goods, soaps, pantry basics: $250–$400), and smart-home infrastructure (lock, mesh WiFi, sensors: $400–$700). None of it is optional; all of it is missing from most spreadsheets. Put a 15% contingency on whatever your generated list says and you will land inside budget instead of explaining the overage.
Make it a deduction conversation
Furnishings for a rental are business assets — most hosts expense the bulk in year one under Section 179 / bonus depreciation rules. Keep every receipt, tag them by room, and read our QIP guide before filing. A $12,000 setup that nets a five-figure first-year deduction is a different decision than a $12,000 cost.
Do it in one pass
Two tools and an afternoon: Build My Setup generates the room-by-room list with quantities and live totals for your exact bedroom, bathroom and guest count — then the furnishing calculator gives your client a copy-ready version. If you want the shortcut, the complete setup packages are the list pre-made. Planning budgets at $5,000 or $10,000? We wrote the exact playbooks: furnish an Airbnb for $5,000 and for $10,000.