Latest / Thanks For Visiting / 241. How to Design A Scroll-Stopping Listing with Bridgette Whitney

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241. How to Design A Scroll-Stopping Listing with Bridgette Whitney · Thanks For Visiting

• 0:00
  Annette: Our recording cut out towards the end, so you will
• 0:03
  hear the audio switch to Zoom.
• 0:04
  This is just a heads up.
• 0:06
  SEGMENT GAP
• 0:07
  Sarah: Welcome back for the great episode.
• 0:09
  My name is Sarah Karakaian.
• 0:10
  Annette: I am Annette Grant, and together we are--
• 0:12
  Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.
• 0:13
  Sarah: We're going to kick off this episode like we do every week, and
• 0:15
  that's sharing one of you who's using our hashtag on Instagram, #STRShareSunday.
• 0:19
  We will share you here on the pod, on YouTube, into our email
• 0:23
  list, maybe some free marketing.
• 0:25
  Annette, who are we sharing this week?
• 0:26
  Annette: Today we are sharing @highlowstays just like it sounds,
• 0:31
  Highlow Stays, and it is a dome in Brazil.
• 0:36
  And it is in the middle of the wilderness.
• 0:38
  It is a teeny tiny dome, but you have got to check them out.
• 0:42
  They are making it happen.
• 0:44
  One of the most notable things I want you to check out is, a, how they've utilized
• 0:48
  the space in this dome and how they've broken it up and have their sitting area,
• 0:54
  and their bedroom, and their kitchen area.
• 0:56
  But the highlight, please go to their link in their bio and go
• 1:01
  to their actual Airbnb listing.
• 1:03
  The shots that they have, every single photo in their listing is
• 1:08
  so intentional and so well done.
• 1:11
  I think we could all learn multiple lessons from the way they are
• 1:16
  showing exactly where the dome is.
• 1:18
  Sarah: They have some aerial photos of it.
• 1:20
  They have lots of photos of people utilizing the space.
• 1:24
  So really giving your imagination, letting you really feel what it would
• 1:28
  be like to experience the place.
• 1:30
  But I think they have done a phenomenal job with every single one of their photos.
• 1:34
  And we've been getting a lot of emails lately about people.
• 1:38
  They don't feel like they're getting booked as often as they were.
• 1:41
  You've going to be competitive, the number one that you are
• 1:43
  selling with your photos, everyone.
• 1:45
  So I encourage everyone, take a look their listing photos, take a
• 1:49
  look at your listing photos, and see how you could uplevel your listing.
• 1:53
  I think they have an Oculus that their guest can use.
• 1:56
  Annette: Yes.
• 1:56
  Oh, if you take a look at the amenities that they have and the way they
• 1:59
  have them displayed, mm-hmm, yeah, they definitely have the Oculus.
• 2:02
  Yes.
• 2:02
  Sarah: That is amazing.
• 2:03
  And that actually parlays really well into today's episode because today we
• 2:08
  are going to talk about design, hmm, my friends, but not just any kind of design.
• 2:13
  Not just a pretty picture of a West Elm vignette.
• 2:17
  But truly eye-popping scroll, stopping creative designs.
• 2:23
  We have Bridgette here.
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  She's a 24-year-old Airbnb host, Airbnb interior designer,
• 2:28
  stylist, and content creator.
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  She runs her businesses with her boyfriend, and we are so excited
• 2:34
  to have her on the show today and to dig into how she got started.
• 2:38
  And what it's like having these eye-popping designs on Airbnb, especially
• 2:43
  right now when times are so competitive.
• 2:47
  Bridget, welcome to the show.
• 2:48
  Bridgette: Thank you guys so much.
• 2:49
  I'm so excited to be chatting with you.
• 2:51
  Sarah: So Bridget, I do want to let you know, we are a niche podcast.
• 2:55
  We talk about short-term rentals, but the one topic that comes up a
• 2:57
  lot from people who want to share their story on our show is design.
• 3:02
  And we're not just a design podcast, so to get designers on our show to
• 3:06
  have a chat about design content, we're super, super selective.
• 3:10
  And when we saw your Instagram page, I was like, we have got to get her on this
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  show because you think out of the box, but then you somehow figure out how to bring
• 3:19
  it all together, where like, I want to stay in your space because I'm going to
• 3:22
  be inspired to not only just have a great time, but even just for my own rentals.
• 3:28
  So tell us how you got started.
• 3:30
  Where did this all come from?
• 3:32
  Bridgette: Yeah.
• 3:32
  So first of all, thank you so much.
• 3:34
  That's really nice of you.
• 3:35
  We definitely strive to have weird ass listings, so hopefully I can cuss on here.
• 3:39
  Um, so our story is really interesting.
• 3:43
  I say our, it's my boyfriend Bleu and I, and his name is
• 3:46
  Perfect Bleu for what we do.
• 3:48
  Basically in 2020, we both graduated from San Diego State
• 3:52
  and that was peak COVID time.
• 3:53
  We're like, what on earth do we do?
• 3:55
  What is life?
• 3:57
  We're just watching Ozark and drinking White Claws with our roommates.
• 3:59
  Things were really strange.
• 4:01
  We didn't get to graduate.
• 4:02
  We were in a dark place where we're like, we can't work.
• 4:06
  I taught at Core Power Yoga.
• 4:07
  He taught at Orange Theory.
• 4:08
  That's how we met.
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  And we're like, we can't do that.
• 4:11
  We can't really do anything.
• 4:13
  So what can we do?
• 4:14
  And we had a friend that did Airbnb arbitrage in San Diego.
• 4:18
  And so we got into Airbnb arbitrage that way through a friend that had
• 4:22
  given us advice on how to do it.
• 4:24
  And then from there we realized we can do this decorating thing a lot cheaper and
• 4:31
  a lot cooler by finding thrifted items.
• 4:34
  So we started going to Goodwill because we could do that during lockdown.
• 4:37
  We were allowed to go to Goodwill with our mask on and stuff.
• 4:39
  That was our high of the week.
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  We're like, let's go to Goodwill.
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  So we would go to Goodwill and we'd find little furniture pieces or unique
• 4:46
  pieces that we could just update with paint or spray paint or, I don't know,
• 4:50
  even just things that were already updated but people just got rid of,
• 4:52
  and we started furnishing our Airbnbs, we had two, with that furniture.
• 4:58
  And we're like, okay, this is weird because people are buying a lot of
• 5:01
  brand new stuff, and ours not only is cheaper, but it looks way cooler.
• 5:05
  And I'm like, you know what, I should try to do a mural on the wall.
• 5:07
  I'd never done a mural.
• 5:09
  I did my first mural and I was thinking, okay, either this is really easy or
• 5:13
  I might be slightly good at this.
• 5:15
  So we had our Airbnbs running and then Bleu and I decided that we wanted to
• 5:21
  stop having those Airbnbs be functioning.
• 5:23
  It was just taking up a lot of mental space and we wanted
• 5:26
  to focus on other places.
• 5:27
  So we decided to purchase a Sprinter van and we converted our
• 5:32
  van to travel across the country.
• 5:35
  So we made our van, obviously, cute with flat tile and we went off and we're going
• 5:40
  to go figure out what the heck to do.
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  I was 22.
• 5:44
  He was 23 or 24, and we're like, let's just go and maybe
• 5:47
  figure out a new place to live.
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  And at that point we were in San Diego and we traveled to, I think it
• 5:52
  was 28 or 30 states for four months.
• 5:56
  It was not good.
• 5:57
  I'll tell you that.
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  It was cool experience, but band life is very glamorized where I was
• 6:02
  like, this is going to be gorgeous.
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  We're going to be living the time of our life.
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  In reality, I've never been uglier.
• 6:09
  I've never been dirtier.
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  I smelled so bad.
• 6:11
  I was going to the bathroom in the most random spots possible
• 6:15
  and what an experience that was, but I will say, definitely rent
• 6:19
  a van before you buy and commit.
• 6:20
  That's my one hack right here.
• 6:22
  But we found this building in Nashville that allowed Airbnb arbitrage.
• 6:26
  Again, at the point we didn't have money to buy a house.
• 6:28
  We couldn't qualify.
• 6:30
  We were just young and figuring out life.
• 6:32
  We headed to Nashville and we signed a lease for a unit there that's in the heart
• 6:38
  of-- basically a block wave from Broadway.
• 6:40
  And we realized, okay, there's several hundred units in this building, or I want
• 6:44
  to say there's 180 plus units in there.
• 6:47
  I can't remember the exact number.
• 6:49
  But we're like, how can we stand out beyond everyone else
• 6:53
  considering the rent is so expensive.
• 6:55
  We have to pay 25% a month to Airbnb.
• 6:58
  How can we make this really badass?
• 7:00
  And so we're like, let's just go wild.
• 7:03
  Let's do the craziest murals, let's do wild wallpaper.
• 7:06
  Let's find weird pieces and just make it super bachelorette.
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  Because we knew that Nashville was very bachelorette vibe.
• 7:13
  That is just the heart of Bachelorette.
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  So we got cow print wallpaper and we did pink squiggles and yellow
• 7:19
  bathrooms and crazy peel and stick wallpaper that was rental friendly.
• 7:22
  I thrifted a bunch of weird hand chairs, which started my hand chair love.
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  And from there I started posting on TikTok, which I
• 7:31
  didn't think anything of it.
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  I was just sharing kind of the journey of what we were doing.
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  And I got quite a few followers on TikTok.
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  I now have about, I think 415,000 on TikTok from starting
• 7:43
  from that Nashville Airbnb.
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  And from there we had people that were like, oh my gosh, can you do mine?
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  And my imposter syndrome was like, no.
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  What is that?
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  Why would you ask me that?
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  I don't know what I'm doing.
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  I just did this and I don't know.
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  Turns out I actually am a little bit good at it.
• 8:00
  And we started doing jobs and we started going on a completely
• 8:04
  different route of our life.
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  And now we just started this interior design/decorating Airbnb staging company.
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  Now that's basically our full-time job.
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  So we do a bunch of Airbnbs a year.
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  We did two commercial spaces last year on top of it.
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  And then now I do content creation with that as well.
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  And I work with really cool brands and I actually work with Airbnb
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  too on their content creation side.
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  So yeah, that's how our wild journey began.
• 8:29
  Sarah: I have so many things to unpack out of your intro there.
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  But the number one thing I want to unpack because this just Annette and my vibe,
• 8:35
  is like, the whole imposter syndrome, and you just gave something a try, and you
• 8:39
  trusted yourself to lean into something.
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  I just think that's really admirable because it can be scary, especially when
• 8:45
  you decided to share it for the world to see too, not only just on TikTok
• 8:49
  and Instagram, but in your guests too.
• 8:52
  You trusted yourself, and I think that's super cool.
• 8:55
  Bridgette: Thank you.
• 8:56
  Sarah: Where do you think your ability to-- because here's the thing, you
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  I went to interior design school.
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  Bridgette: Ooh.
• 9:02
  Sarah: It's hard to do what you do, to mix patterns and colors while it still is not
• 9:10
  driving you nuts and give you a headache.
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  There's difference between being inspirational and just too much.
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  You know what I mean?
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  So what do you think about your upbringing or your past or is there anything
• 9:22
  that you did where this may be-- or is it just innate talent of yours?
• 9:26
  Bridgette: So it's so interesting.
• 9:28
  I did not go to interior design school, which is why I feel like--
• 9:32
  Sarah: No, don't go because they're just going to ruin you.
• 9:35
  Don't do it.
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  Bridgette: That's what I think.
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  I'm like, I don't want them to crush my creativity.
• 9:38
  So my mom and my sister are pretty creative.
• 9:42
  My mom actually used to do murals back in the day, and I grew up going-- instead
• 9:47
  of getting a babysitter, I would just sit on the stair while she did murals.
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  But her murals and my sister's art was very realistic.
• 9:55
  They could just draw me and it would look exactly like me.
• 9:57
  And so when I would just draw my little hearts, I was like,
• 10:00
  okay, these are so ugly.
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  This is not art.
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  I didn't think that it was real when I compared myself to what they could
• 10:05
  actually do that was just insane art.
• 10:08
  So I never channeled that because I was like, I just don't have what it takes.
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  I would always draw squiggles and random shapes that connected
• 10:15
  with each other and it wasn't the same in what I thought art was.
• 10:18
  And I think maybe even back in that time, in early 2000s, it wasn't
• 10:22
  as popular to have that style.
• 10:24
  So I just didn't do anything with it.
• 10:26
  So I think it stems from having those creative juices a little bit there.
• 10:30
  And I also have a personality of I don't give a F what anybody thinks
• 10:35
  of me and just live this wild, bold, probably inappropriate life
• 10:38
  where I just say what's on my mind.
• 10:39
  And I told you I pooped on the side of the road.
• 10:42
  So I just have that personality where I'm like, just do it.
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  Who cares what other people think?
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  Try and mix colors and patterns.
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  And so I think both of those factors played a part into what
• 10:54
  got me started where I am today.
• 10:57
  But I do agree, it is really hard to mix those colors and patterns and I
• 11:00
  have seen people do it where it looks unique, and I'm sure there's a niche
• 11:05
  for that, but it is something that for some reason, I don't know how I
• 11:09
  know that, but it's just inside me.
• 11:12
  I don't even know how to explain how I know what I'm doing.
• 11:15
  I just do it.
• 11:16
  Nike.
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  Sarah: Just Do It.
• 11:17
  Nike.
• 11:17
  Yes.
• 11:17
  Annette: Well, how do your clients, obviously you're helping clients now,
• 11:22
  do they give you full-- can you be the creative director, or I know when you
• 11:27
  start to do client work, it's glamorized a lot to get clients, but they can say,
• 11:33
  hey, you have full creative direction.
• 11:34
  How have you found that now that you're starting to work with others?
• 11:38
  Bridgette: Yeah.
• 11:38
  That's a great question.
• 11:39
  That was one of my fears because I was nervous that someone was going to tone
• 11:43
  down our style or burst my bubble a little bit with being like, that's just too wild.
• 11:49
  So I was really worried about that.
• 11:50
  But actually, every single client that we've ever had says, I know nothing.
• 11:56
  Please go and just make it cool.
• 11:58
  And that has been everything for us.
• 12:00
  I really think that if we hadn't had that from the start, I
• 12:04
  probably wouldn't be where I am.
• 12:05
  Having those clients that support you and like you for who you are and your style.
• 12:09
  Now I feel like I would not work for somebody that didn't
• 12:13
  say, Bridgette, we believe you.
• 12:15
  Full creative freedom, girlfriend.
• 12:17
  Just go.
• 12:18
  I also feel like I couldn't probably do a person's residential home because
• 12:25
  not a lot of people want to have a McDonald's sign in their home.
• 12:27
  So I think it's really cool to have the vacation rental niche doing that because
• 12:33
  people are like, I recognize that I don't want to live here, but I know how
• 12:37
  important it is to have people want to stay at my space, so go for it, girl.
• 12:42
  Annette: Love that.
• 12:43
  Sarah: What components of being a host previously, do you bring to your designs?
• 12:49
  Bridgette: Yeah, that's super helpful.
• 12:51
  It's super helpful doing it, and it's super helpful pitching because
• 12:55
  I think number one, people are like, okay, this girl doesn't have just
• 12:59
  pretty style, but she can actually make it, so she understands the data.
• 13:04
  I'm not going to say she understands the data.
• 13:06
  Bleu, my boyfriend is just this total numbers guy.
• 13:09
  He handles all the Airbnb data and stuff like that, but he fully
• 13:12
  understands-- we have clients sometimes that will reach out to us and they
• 13:15
  live in Kentucky or somewhere random and they're like, we really want to
• 13:19
  pay you to do our arbitrage unit.
• 13:20
  And Blue is like, you know what man, from an Airbnb host standpoint, from these
• 13:24
  numbers, he'll run the numbers, run the AirDNA, he can tell you, I truly don't
• 13:28
  think it's worth it for your return.
• 13:29
  So we really are good with, is it worth it for your location to hire us?
• 13:34
  If not, maybe virtual is a great aspect that we can do that's cheaper, obviously.
• 13:38
  But I also think we have something special, which I actually don't know
• 13:42
  if other decorators or designers do this where when we go into our client's
• 13:46
  space, it's an empty box most of the time, and we make it full Airbnb ready.
• 13:50
  So we live in the space for the week while we're doing it.
• 13:52
  So we test out the beds.
• 13:53
  We test out the pillows.
• 13:54
  We know it's comfortable.
• 13:56
  We use the showers and the water.
• 13:57
  We sleep in every bedroom.
• 13:58
  We install the ring cameras.
• 14:00
  We understand the August lock or whatever lock you use.
• 14:03
  We know that you need every little detail because we're
• 14:05
  living in it and we're also hosts.
• 14:07
  And we're also picky.
• 14:08
  I know when I like it at Airbnb and when if someone doesn't have it,
• 14:11
  I'm like, ew, what's wrong with you?
• 14:13
  So I think that is really helpful because it just lets the client know
• 14:18
  that we're on the same page and we fully know your expectations and
• 14:22
  we can make that happen for you.
• 14:23
  Sarah: Well, and you're experiencing it from the guest perspective
• 14:26
  too, which I think Annette and I champion this a lot too.
• 14:29
  We call it your truth telling friend.
• 14:31
  Have a friend come stay in your space who's actually going to tell you what
• 14:33
  your bed actually feels like and what the water pressure actually feels like.
• 14:36
  Because if you don't face the music now, your guests are going to tell you.
• 14:40
  Whether it's in a review or if it's actual feedback, they're going to tell you.
• 14:45
  So the fact that you provide that for your clients, I'm sure you know this,
• 14:49
  but that's a huge plus, to be able to just tweak things too before they
• 14:53
  get to that paying guest component.
• 14:55
  Bridgette: Absolutely.
• 14:57
  Annette: I want to know, if you can share, where is a design gone wrong or
• 15:02
  you installed something either in one of your personal spaces or for a client
• 15:06
  and you thought it was going to be a hit and it ended up not working out.
• 15:10
  Just to help our listeners when they're trying to be creative with things.
• 15:14
  Is there something that's a hard no now that you've tried before?
• 15:17
  Bridgette: That's a great question.
• 15:18
  Luckily, most things have worked out really well, but I think sometimes,
• 15:24
  maybe this isn't the correct answer, but for some people doing it themselves, I
• 15:29
  think sometimes if you don't have the background or experience and you want to,
• 15:34
  let's say copy my style like we talked about earlier, unfortunately, you have
• 15:39
  to have that eye a little bit or the knowledge to create something unique.
• 15:43
  So I think sometimes people can see something that they like
• 15:47
  and try to make it their own.
• 15:48
  And unfortunately the colors-- this is a good example.
• 15:51
  I've experienced this before where before I got good at color theory or
• 15:55
  understanding the colors and which ones to choose at my bear book.
• 16:00
  You're choosing colors that are too neon, and you're trying to achieve
• 16:04
  a pink look, but then it looks like strange bubblegum, hot pink.
• 16:08
  So I think that is-- I guess that leads me to why it's important to hire someone
• 16:12
  that knows what they're doing because little things like that can make a mistake
• 16:16
  for you just trying to copy someone that has a great style and not being able
• 16:19
  to implement it sometimes doesn't work.
• 16:22
  Sarah: I think that's great advice because you can see something and if you don't
• 16:25
  know-- especially even if it's a color that's worked in one space, but then
• 16:29
  you have completely different lighting in another space, going to change the
• 16:33
  tones and how that-- especially with your designs that are-- I mean, you
• 16:36
  have to be tight with those decisions because then it can just-- one little
• 16:40
  wrong move and it could be off and be not pleasant versus, like I said, crazy
• 16:44
  inspirational things, looking your photos.
• 16:46
  Annette: Our videographer, we were talking about it earlier today, there's
• 16:49
  some spaces they're just trying too hard and then it ends up looking like--
• 16:54
  Sarah: They're trying too hard.
• 16:54
  Annette: They're trying too hard to be this themed Airbnb.
• 16:57
  And there's this fine line between design and themed out to try to get
• 17:02
  the bookings and it just ends up missing the mark or being cheesy
• 17:06
  instead of being well designed.
• 17:08
  Bridgette: Yes, I totally agree.
• 17:09
  That's actually a great point because I think sometimes if you looked at my
• 17:13
  page and you took for me that, oh my gosh, I need neon signs and I need cute
• 17:18
  wall art, but you go on Amazon and type neon sign and you take the first one
• 17:22
  that you see that says-- I hope that you guys don't have this neon signs.
• 17:27
  No, I'm looking at your designs right now.
• 17:28
  Annette: We don't have any neon signs, so you're good.
• 17:30
  Bridgette: If you get any a sign, and it's one from Amazon and it says-- Till
• 17:34
  Death Do Us Party or something, which is cute, but it's like that is the first
• 17:38
  thing on time that comes off on Amazon.
• 17:40
  And if you want cool wall art, but you just go to Home Goods and
• 17:43
  you don't achieve that, you're trying to copy something but,
• 17:46
  unfortunately, it looks like corporate.
• 17:49
  It doesn't look the way you're trying to make it.
• 17:51
  So for us, we always try to source unique art from Etsy or even from thrift stores,
• 17:55
  or neon signs that are custom made.
• 17:58
  So I think it's easy to see something, but trying to make that happen,
• 18:01
  yeah, unfortunately, it doesn't always work out in their folder.
• 18:04
  Sarah: Mm-hmm.
• 18:04
  Which I think is great for designers like yourself because, and I'll say this,
• 18:09
  listen, if you want to do the short-term rental thing, especially now, you want to
• 18:14
  stand out, you have a great market, but there's a lot of competition, it's just
• 18:17
  like any brick and mortar store you see.
• 18:19
  If you just throw up white blank walls and really terrible overhead
• 18:23
  lighting, it's not going to be a good experience to come in there.
• 18:26
  So having a professional who does this, who has the eye, who understands not
• 18:31
  only from the investor's perspective or the owner's perspective and the
• 18:35
  guest perspective, that's just a recipe for a long-term business and
• 18:39
  for you to exist for a long time.
• 18:41
  My question for you is, you get these blank slates, how do you get
• 18:45
  inspiration for each of your designs?
• 18:47
  What starts it for you?
• 18:48
  Bridgette: So my style is very pink, orange, girly.
• 18:54
  I have a style that I will always have my go-to colors, be.
• 18:58
  I have a color scheme for most projects.
• 19:01
  I will incorporate the same five colors in all of it.
• 19:04
  But, and I'm sure a lot of the listeners do Pinterest, Pinterest is fire.
• 19:09
  That is the key to setting up a theme, and to getting a mood board,
• 19:15
  and to understanding your concept.
• 19:16
  So for each job that we do, I have just an ongoing Pinterest board of my style.
• 19:22
  And I'll just dig into those, my pins and then I'll put it into,
• 19:26
  okay, this one's going to be the Scottsdale Bachelorette house.
• 19:29
  So I'll pull from there and I'll be like, oh, I like this saying for a neon sign, or
• 19:33
  I like this wallpaper or this bed frame.
• 19:35
  And I'll pull those things from there.
• 19:37
  So that's where it stems from.
• 19:39
  I feel like that's where it begins.
• 19:41
  Sarah: I love that.
• 19:42
  What's your favorite one so far?
• 19:44
  Annette: She doesn't have a favorite.
• 19:45
  Bridgette: Great question.
• 19:45
  Annette: They're all her favorites.
• 19:46
  She can't her favorite child.
• 19:49
  Bridgette: Hey, I love them all, but I really like, we just
• 19:54
  did one in, um, in Joshua Tree.
• 19:57
  I don't know if you know Josh and Patrick.
• 19:59
  I don't know.
• 20:00
  Probably not.
• 20:00
  So we did these two really cool guys there.
• 20:03
  We did their Airbnb.
• 20:04
  They had an Airbnb already and it was super just live, laugh, love vibes.
• 20:08
  And we came in there and they're like, we need you to help us.
• 20:11
  Can you just make it cute?
• 20:12
  Can you just fully redo it in your style?
• 20:16
  How much money would it take to make this space badass?
• 20:19
  And we fully went in there, we straight up painted the house pink.
• 20:22
  The outside of the house was brown and now it's pink.
• 20:25
  So we bought $1,200 worth of disco balls.
• 20:28
  The outside's pink, every room is filled with funky murals and wallpaper.
• 20:32
  We got, a, alien.
• 20:34
  A really strange alien that's just sitting on a bench with a neon sign
• 20:38
  above it that says nothing to see here.
• 20:40
  And it's just obviously ironic.
• 20:42
  We got on Facebook, a old Volkswagen bug shell.
• 20:47
  I saw that and I was interested.
• 20:49
  I was like, what can we do with this weird shell?
• 20:50
  In Joshua Tree, there's huge desert.
• 20:52
  So the backyards are always so big and you don't have anything to put there.
• 20:56
  So we put this random bug shell and we painted it this teal blue color.
• 21:01
  So it's sitting there with cactuses on the inside, just photo opportunities.
• 21:05
  And then we got a mannequin on Facebook marketplace and we ripped the head
• 21:10
  off and put a disco ball as the head, and now it's this disco mannequin.
• 21:13
  And the whole vibe is pink disco bachelorette vibes.
• 21:16
  And it's just really cool because they gave us full creative freedom,
• 21:20
  but they also wanted it to be girls, which sometimes clients are full
• 21:24
  creative freedom but make it a little bit more family oriented so
• 21:27
  you're not using hot pinks and stuff.
• 21:29
  But still, do what you do, girl.
• 21:30
  But family vibes, not bachelorette.
• 21:33
  So they were like, just go for it.
• 21:34
  So that was really, really fun to do.
• 21:36
  Annette: Since you're sourcing not the usual furnishings, can you give us some
• 21:42
  insight on how much you charge for this?
• 21:45
  How do you plan out budgets when things are thrifted?
• 21:49
  Because we know you're spending a lot of time on it, so it's like, how are you
• 21:53
  creating these bids for these projects.
• 21:56
  Are they 10,000?
• 21:57
  Are they 20,000?
• 21:57
  Are they 30,000?
• 21:58
  Does it depend on room?
• 21:59
  How are you creating your pricing strategy, if you don't mind sharing?
• 22:02
  Bridgette: For how much I charge or the material or both?
• 22:05
  Annette: Both.
• 22:06
  Whatever you feel comfortable sharing.
• 22:08
  Yeah.
• 22:08
  Bridgette: Yeah.
• 22:08
  I'm totally fine sharing.
• 22:10
  How we work with our clients, and when they're like, well, how much is
• 22:13
  it going to cost for the material?
• 22:15
  Because that's obviously a huge important question.
• 22:18
  We tell them for the material only, not our services, it's
• 22:22
  going to be 25 to 3,500 per space.
• 22:25
  So we average it out.
• 22:26
  So if it's a four bedroom and then there's two baths, that's six;
• 22:29
  a living room, that's seven; the kitchen, that's eight; the dining room,
• 22:32
  that's nine; the backyard, that's 10.
• 22:34
  So 25 to 3,500.
• 22:37
  We can do 25.
• 22:38
  We prefer when clients can meet a little bit more in the 3,000 range just because
• 22:42
  you know how expensive extra linens are, beddings, and all that stuff, can openers.
• 22:46
  You know what I mean?
• 22:47
  Those little things that you wouldn't think about are, but
• 22:50
  that's how we priced for that.
• 22:51
  So we try to stick with that for the budget.
• 22:53
  And then when we get there, we try to leave 500-ish dollars for the Facebook
• 22:58
  marketplace fins, like the gumball machines or the weird random things
• 23:02
  that you would never expect to see.
• 23:03
  You don't even know what's going to happen.
• 23:04
  But we always try to leave a little bit of extra for that when we're there.
• 23:07
  But that would be the price.
• 23:09
  So we actually did a client's space a few months ago in Phoenix
• 23:14
  and this was actually a bigger property than we thought it was.
• 23:17
  There was an extra bedroom.
• 23:19
  It was one bedroom, but it was split.
• 23:21
  So it was basically two different bedrooms and we were really confused
• 23:25
  on how-- we didn't quote for that.
• 23:28
  So we're like, oh my God.
• 23:29
  We need to maybe come up with the slower budget.
• 23:32
  And they wanted to keep it really simple.
• 23:33
  They already paying us with obvious an investment, but their budget was
• 23:38
  $21,000 for five bedrooms, a huge game room, a backyard with a pool, plus all
• 23:45
  the extra lanes, all the extra stuff.
• 23:47
  It was really difficult to do, but we did achieve it and it still is
• 23:50
  really badass in that property.
• 23:52
  Actually, I can go into this later, but they revamped the property
• 23:55
  from an already function Airbnb, and they're making 44% projected
• 23:59
  revenue more than what it was before.
• 24:01
  Just investing 20,000, which, yeah, I guess that sounds like a lot, I
• 24:04
  mean, that's a lot of money, but in the grand scheme of things, how
• 24:07
  much did you buy the house for?
• 24:08
  Sarah: Right.
• 24:09
  Did they tell you that example?
• 24:11
  Do you know, since we're talking about their data, did they tell you how long it
• 24:13
  would take them to make that return back?
• 24:16
  If it's 44% more, but how long until they like-- because if it's a couple years and
• 24:20
  you're going to be in this game for five or 10, that to me is a good investment.
• 24:25
  Bridgette: The first year.
• 24:26
  So they would make it all back in the first year.
• 24:28
  I'll go into that, but how much we charge, so yeah, there's a quote for
• 24:32
  how much it would be for the material, and then we charge for in-person
• 24:37
  starting at $19,000 for labor.
• 24:39
  But to note, we are paying for the trash dump.
• 24:43
  We are paying for the furniture builders, we're paying for the painters
• 24:46
  that paint the solid colored walls.
• 24:47
  This is including our flights, our food, all those accommodations,
• 24:50
  that's what it starts at.
• 24:52
  We have a 10% material mockup, 15, depending on how far
• 24:55
  you are for that as well.
• 24:57
  But they ended up paying, I think, $23,000 in total for us.
• 25:01
  They paid $21,000 for it, so that's what, 44, 43 or $44,000.
• 25:07
  And if on average the person before them was making a $100,000 a year,
• 25:11
  if they're making $44,000 more, in one year you're making that back.
• 25:16
  So I fully understand when we pitch ourselves to clients sometime they're
• 25:20
  like, oh no, no, I'm not paying.
• 25:22
  I'll do it myself.
• 25:24
  It's fine.
• 25:24
  But in reality, the most important part is the way that the aesthetic looks.
• 25:29
  When you're scrolling like you said earlier, you need to have
• 25:31
  a scroll stopping listing.
• 25:33
  That is the most important part.
• 25:35
  You honestly could probably have outdated light fixtures and outdated flooring
• 25:38
  and a bathroom that's not the cutest.
• 25:41
  If it's decorated cute, nobody cares about that.
• 25:44
  I mean, there are some people out there that I'm sure will be Karen's,
• 25:47
  but in the grand scheme thing, the design and decorating is the most
• 25:50
  important part and the cherry on top.
• 25:52
  So investing that to know that you're going to make your money back in one
• 25:54
  year and you're going to be making significantly more than your next door
• 25:58
  neighbor is worth that investment.
• 26:00
  So I hope that answered your question.
• 26:02
  Annette: Yeah.
• 26:03
  Sarah: 1,000%.
• 26:04
  Everyone's going to wonder this too.
• 26:05
  Do you do eDesign?
• 26:06
  Will you do something that they can then implement?
• 26:09
  Bridgette: Yes.
• 26:10
  So this is new.
• 26:11
  We actually didn't do this before because once again, imposter syndrome.
• 26:16
  We were like, we're in person, we can do those murals, obviously implement it.
• 26:20
  In person was just learning how to do all of it fully.
• 26:24
  Now that we have been doing it for so long, we feel really comfortable
• 26:27
  to just start doing virtual design.
• 26:28
  So actually, yes, I was going to announce it to my Instagram this week actually.
• 26:32
  We're doing virtual design.
• 26:33
  For a full home it would start at $5,000 and go up a little bit, if
• 26:38
  it's a management, it's obviously going to be more than that.
• 26:40
  But starting at $5,000, make it attainable for other people, we would basically
• 26:44
  have mockups of every single space.
• 26:47
  An Excel sheet with all the furniture to the T, the pricing,
• 26:51
  the link for everything.
• 26:52
  They would order it themselves, but they would also get allocated time
• 26:55
  for a FaceTime call if they were installing or had any questions.
• 26:59
  The one thing about virtual is you wouldn't have us to do the custom
• 27:02
  murals, which is part of the reason why our pricing is so expensive.
• 27:05
  If you've ever worked with a muralist, you know they charged from 20 to $50
• 27:09
  a square foot at least, so that's two to 5K for a 10 by 10 wall.
• 27:12
  So that's why when we go there, we do four or five custom murals for our clients.
• 27:17
  So the space is super unique.
• 27:18
  So you wouldn't get that.
• 27:19
  However, I have a lot of connections to muralists in different locations that I
• 27:24
  could always design a mural for them and then send them the mockup, have someone
• 27:28
  else come and implement that as well.
• 27:30
  But yeah, starting at $5,000, you get everything you'd need.
• 27:33
  You get allocated FaceTime call, and then a line sheet of all of the information.
• 27:39
  Annette: Cool.
• 27:39
  I am dying to ask.
• 27:41
  Let's dig into a little bit of your growth on TikTok, on Instagram, and how
• 27:47
  that's fed into your client base now.
• 27:49
  Because I know we have a lot of listeners that they want to get into short-term
• 27:54
  rental design or they want to get into co-hosting, and if you could share with
• 27:58
  us how you started sharing, how it grew, and how it's changed the game for you, we
• 28:03
  would love to learn some of that from you.
• 28:04
  Bridgette: Yeah.
• 28:05
  Social media has changed the game and changed my life.
• 28:08
  It's everything.
• 28:09
  And I think if you can post on social media, do it.
• 28:14
  So, like I said, we started in Nashville.
• 28:16
  I started posting it.
• 28:18
  Made my name, it's Bridgette Bitch because I didn't even think anybody would care.
• 28:21
  I was like, whatever, let me just throw this out there.
• 28:24
  And it really aligned with our work, it turned out.
• 28:26
  So I started posting on TikTok because, I didn't know anybody on there.
• 28:30
  I was like my friend's boyfriend aren't going to see this.
• 28:34
  No one knows who I am on here.
• 28:37
  It's a fresh slate.
• 28:39
  I was not ready for the Instagram world yet incorporating my real Instagram to
• 28:43
  what we were doing because number one, the theme of this is imposter syndrome.
• 28:47
  So I was like, I'm not going to change my whole life around for this job.
• 28:53
  I don't know if it's going to be legit.
• 28:54
  I don't even know if it's good.
• 28:56
  There was always hate on social media.
• 28:57
  So started there and that was really great because TikTok can grow fast
• 29:01
  because the algorithm really will launch you far, farther than Instagram.
• 29:05
  I think it's actually harder to build on Instagram because TikTok, for
• 29:09
  example, brands want to work with you on TikTok more than they do on
• 29:12
  Instagram because your videos on TikTok can randomly get 60 million views.
• 29:19
  Instagram, that doesn't happen.
• 29:21
  TikTok, your work can be launched far.
• 29:24
  You have to have some skill in the editing and making your stuff look good.
• 29:30
  But it's really cool because you can be exposed to so many people on TikTok,
• 29:34
  which then translated to my Instagram.
• 29:36
  I was ready to take that leap to where I started making my personal Instagram
• 29:40
  aligned with my full Instagram.
• 29:42
  So now I only have one Instagram where I post on there.
• 29:44
  And basically I make one video, I try to post four times a week if I can, and I
• 29:50
  just post the same thing on my TikTok and on my Instagram, and it has been amazing.
• 29:56
  There are people emailing us all the time asking for our work.
• 29:59
  A lot of those don't turn out like always.
• 30:02
  People are blown away by the price or they just were curious
• 30:05
  about your pricing or whatnot.
• 30:06
  But it is so good for connections.
• 30:09
  We've connected with so many investors and amazing podcasters like you guys
• 30:12
  were I would never have if I didn't have my social media following.
• 30:15
  I also think that it's really cool because it gives me some type of
• 30:18
  credibility where it makes me seem more legit than maybe I even am.
• 30:24
  I have this following so people are like, wow, she must-- obviously I think we're
• 30:28
  doing well and we're good at what we do, but it gives you a lot more credibility.
• 30:32
  It's really cool because you can start working with brands on social media.
• 30:35
  Like I said, I work with Airbnb, Target, Amazon, eBay, Behr Paint.
• 30:40
  I do all these collaborations and make money off of that and free
• 30:43
  product and more credibility.
• 30:45
  But long story short, post on Instagram, post on TikTok.
• 30:49
  And one thing I will say is that I think a lot of people are afraid
• 30:53
  of what other people think of them.
• 30:55
  And they're afraid to start being vulnerable with who they are.
• 30:57
  Showing a different side of them to the world, and afraid
• 31:00
  of that hate or whatever.
• 31:02
  People are going to hate you no matter what you do.
• 31:04
  And people are going to love you no matter what you do.
• 31:06
  And you have to not give an F.
• 31:08
  People are going to be horrible.
• 31:11
  People are going to be wonderful.
• 31:12
  And that's just what happens when you're posting yourself publicly.
• 31:15
  I get crazy comments.
• 31:17
  I posted a video about me disco telling my boyfriend's lawnmower,
• 31:21
  and they're like, oh, I hope your face is covered with bruises.
• 31:24
  And it's honestly fun.
• 31:25
  You have to laugh.
• 31:26
  That's horrible, obviously.
• 31:27
  That's really effed up, but you have to have the lighthearted
• 31:31
  view of, I don't really care.
• 31:33
  That you must be very sad.
• 31:34
  So that's actually [Inaudible] when I say it out loud, but I think posting,
• 31:40
  consistently, sharing and not caring.
• 31:43
  Reels do really well.
• 31:44
  I'm sure you guys know all about this.
• 31:45
  Annette: Ooh, I love sharing and not caring.
• 31:47
  That's a good little equip there.
• 31:48
  Bridgette: That can the shirt.
• 31:50
  Sharing and not-- just posting and using trending audios, and posting
• 31:55
  reels, and sharing your voice, and starting somewhere is really beneficial.
• 32:00
  And it's also important for when you have your Airbnb or short-term
• 32:03
  rental to have an Instagram for your short-term rental as well.
• 32:06
  You need a landing page for them.
• 32:07
  You need somewhere people can scan a QR code and bring you there.
• 32:11
  That's what we always try to implement in our listings.
• 32:13
  Somewhere they can come and find you.
• 32:15
  Or I do a lot of marketing on my social media of the Airbnbs that we do.
• 32:19
  I tag them and they get like 2,000 followers from me tagging them and gives
• 32:23
  them marketing, get some clicks and saves.
• 32:25
  So long story short, is post the post and make the Instagram for your Airbnb.
• 32:31
  Annette: No, that's great.
• 32:32
  Sarah: And I will just say, it is that recipe of both things.
• 32:37
  It's posting and being consistent, but also being who you are because it's
• 32:41
  who you are, Bridgette, and letting your freak flag fly and not caring is
• 32:47
  what makes you special and different and unique, and we're drawn to that.
• 32:51
  Whether we want to hate on you for it or love on you for it, either way, your
• 32:56
  audience grows, more people see you, and that's why-- the proof is in the
• 33:00
  pudding, that just being who you are and putting yourself into your brand,
• 33:03
  whether that's your designs or your ideas of where you want to invest, how you
• 33:07
  want to invest, I mean, all the things, just be who you are and embrace that.
• 33:11
  And good things will come.
• 33:13
  Challenges will come too, and you just have to know-- you have to
• 33:16
  be really confident in yourself.
• 33:17
  Yes, that's a huge thing.
• 33:19
  Just knowing who you are and owning it and blocking out the nastiness of the world.
• 33:24
  Annette: Blocked.
• 33:24
  Be blocked and blessed.
• 33:25
  Bridgette: Yes.
• 33:27
  Annette: I also know our listeners, they're sitting there behind their
• 33:31
  phones, they want these brand deals.
• 33:33
  They want to be connected with Target, they want to be connected with Airbnb.
• 33:37
  Did all of these brands reach out to you, Bridgette?
• 33:40
  Are you reaching out to some of these brands?
• 33:42
  Can you talk us through how those collaborations have taken place?
• 33:46
  Bridgette: Yes.
• 33:46
  So I was on the phone with another designer the other day and she was
• 33:50
  saying, oh, I only have 2,000 followers.
• 33:53
  I want to work with brands really bad, or how do I connect with them, whatever.
• 33:57
  And she said, I don't think I can, her imposter syndrome, oh
• 33:59
  my gosh, and so I was like, girl, there is a niche for anyone.
• 34:04
  Brands want to work with micro influencers.
• 34:06
  Brands want to work with designers.
• 34:07
  Brands want to work with you too who are posting and sharing all this information.
• 34:10
  They want to send you guys mattresses.
• 34:12
  Anyone out there that is showing their voice, even if they don't have a ton
• 34:16
  of followings can get brand deals.
• 34:18
  So for me, how it worked was actually about maybe six months ago, I had a
• 34:24
  management company reach out to me.
• 34:27
  My manager named Rachel, she manages all of my brand deals, and coordinates them
• 34:32
  and negotiates my price and all that stuff, and helps me figure out what I
• 34:35
  need to do and what I need to submit.
• 34:37
  However, before that, I was doing it all on my own.
• 34:39
  So you need to have your email in your bio, number one, or that little email
• 34:43
  icon so brands can reach out to you.
• 34:46
  Because a lot of the professional ones will do it via email.
• 34:49
  The scammy Amazon ones will do it via DM, so get your email on your bio.
• 34:54
  But I actually reached out to a couple brands in the beginning, some smaller
• 34:59
  companies or some little wallpaper things, and I started by doing really
• 35:03
  cheap paid collaborations or free gifting in exchange for a video.
• 35:10
  That is somewhere that anyone can start.
• 35:12
  I was telling my friend, you could reach out to Rug Bull and say I'm an
• 35:16
  short-term rental host, I post, sorry, my boyfriend, he knew to be quiet.
• 35:22
  He's talking out there.
• 35:24
  I was saying, if you're a short-term rental host and you have a ton
• 35:28
  of listings or you're constantly setting up your listings, you can
• 35:31
  reach out to Rug Bull and say, "Hey, I absolutely love your rugs.
• 35:34
  They're perfect for short-term rentals.
• 35:36
  I would use them in all of my spaces.
• 35:39
  Would you consider doing a gifting partnership where I will send you
• 35:42
  photos that you can use for advertising and you can-- for free material?"
• 35:47
  And they would do that type of exchange.
• 35:49
  You need to shoot your shot, just like with social media.
• 35:52
  You need to ask, put yourself out there and be okay with getting denied.
• 35:55
  I get denied too.
• 35:56
  I just asked for a cowboy pool from some little metal pool in the
• 35:59
  backyard and they're like, yeah, no.
• 36:01
  So people always say no, and the big brands will reach out.
• 36:04
  So I didn't start getting reached out to by Amazon or Target or Behr until
• 36:09
  probably six months to eight months ago.
• 36:13
  So that was relatively new when the big brands wanted to work with me.
• 36:16
  That will come with time, I think.
• 36:18
  So I think starting with the smaller thing, starting with a bedding company,
• 36:21
  Brook Linen or Bed Threads or Rug Bull, like I said, Caraway pots and
• 36:26
  pans, those small companies, messaging them on Instagram and saying, hey,
• 36:30
  I absolutely adore your product.
• 36:31
  I use it for all of my spaces.
• 36:33
  I would love to know if you do any trades or partnerships.
• 36:36
  I have this many short-term rentals.
• 36:37
  I'd love to share on my feed, as well as send you photos for your advertising.
• 36:41
  Please let me know it works.
• 36:42
  I'm so excited to hear from you.
• 36:44
  Just shoot your shot.
• 36:45
  Annette: Love it.
• 36:46
  I love that.
• 36:47
  Sarah: You have been so open and giving, and vulnerable, and
• 36:51
  detailed so our listeners are going to love this conversation.
• 36:55
  Is there anything else you want to share with our listeners?
• 36:56
  They are hosts.
• 36:58
  They are go-getters.
• 36:59
  They value the guest stay.
• 37:01
  Is there anything that we haven't asked you that you think they should hear?
• 37:04
  Bridgette: I think a fear that people have is niching down a little bit.
• 37:09
  Obviously, my style is super bold, and I think sometimes people are like, what?
• 37:13
  I would never want to target only women or family.
• 37:16
  I wouldn't want to remove all the men from my market or whatever that may be.
• 37:21
  But I think the truth is if half the population loves you, and even if the
• 37:26
  other literally hates you in things that you're garbage, that's better than having
• 37:30
  everybody like you and then leave you in a sea of undifferentiated options.
• 37:35
  Just having a bunch of listings in the same pool all look the same.
• 37:38
  If you see a bunch of spaghetti, but then there's that one pasta with vodka sauce,
• 37:42
  you're like, oh yeah, I want that one.
• 37:44
  So I think knowing that it's okay to niche down a little bit, it's okay to go
• 37:48
  a little bit more bold and take a risk.
• 37:51
  Because truly, people are on vacation.
• 37:53
  People want to have fun and they want to stay somewhere
• 37:54
  that doesn't look like home.
• 37:55
  They want Instagram photos.
• 37:57
  They want backdrops.
• 37:58
  That's why I always try to incorporate a spot in our designs that are as
• 38:01
  one wall, I mean all the walls.
• 38:03
  I try to, but one specific dedicated wall that has hand chairs and your
• 38:08
  own sign in a gumball machine because people are going to be posting that.
• 38:11
  Giving people somewhere exciting to stay.
• 38:15
  And I think another thing that's, excuse me, is really cool is
• 38:19
  that our guests at our national Airbnb, it is so wild and crazy.
• 38:24
  People are probably like, that place is probably thrashed.
• 38:27
  Well, we've had zero items broken in two years.
• 38:30
  We have had it in pristine condition.
• 38:33
  We never have Karen's.
• 38:34
  Everybody is so happy to be there.
• 38:36
  If the dishwasher is broken, they're like, hey, just to let you know the dishwasher's
• 38:39
  broken, but it is so cute in here.
• 38:41
  We love it.
• 38:41
  Thank you so much.
• 38:42
  We can tell how much love you put into this space.
• 38:44
  People are genuinely happy because the people that book
• 38:47
  it aren't going to funerals.
• 38:49
  They're trying to have fun.
• 38:50
  They're going for an experience of a lifetime.
• 38:53
  And it's okay if not everything is as perfect as it should be,
• 38:56
  which we always strive for that.
• 38:57
  But the people that are there are happy and good and grateful,
• 39:00
  and they'll market you on social media, but without even asking.
• 39:03
  You'll always get tagged and stuff.
• 39:05
  So niching down isn't as scary as it seems, number one.
• 39:10
  Another thing that I would say is, obviously, I think it's very important
• 39:15
  to hire somebody just like we've learned from experience with our
• 39:19
  back house that we're renovating, we thought we could do it ourselves.
• 39:21
  Well, that was the worst mistake of my life.
• 39:23
  We should have just spent the extra money and hired someone
• 39:26
  to do it right the first time.
• 39:27
  I think it's important to remember that if you think you can do it, go for it.
• 39:32
  But know that if you do make a mistake, you're going to
• 39:34
  have to sell your furniture.
• 39:35
  You're going to have to hire someone again.
• 39:36
  You're going to have to redo this stuff and take it off at the market.
• 39:39
  And it's easier to just hire somebody first if you can afford it, obviously,
• 39:44
  which I think should be budgeted in when you buy anything, to hire someone that
• 39:47
  knows what they're doing, even if it's virtual and you have to do it yourself.
• 39:50
  Um, budget that in because long term it's worth it.
• 39:54
  And, yeah, period.
• 39:57
  It's worth it.
• 39:58
  And then I would like to give some tips too.
• 40:01
  Um, totally talking your ear off.
• 40:03
  Sarah: No, here for it.
• 40:04
  Give us some tips.
• 40:05
  Bridgette: Awesome.
• 40:06
  So mind you, this is for my style, so make sure you look at my Instagram
• 40:12
  and take this with a grain of salt.
• 40:13
  If you're looking for a farmhouse chip and Joanna Gaines vibe, don't listen to me.
• 40:17
  But for my style, I always try to incorporate colors that
• 40:23
  are muted but are bold still.
• 40:26
  So I'm not choosing neon green couches, and purple, and reds, and these colors
• 40:32
  that are a little bit intense for a space.
• 40:35
  I want to make sure that if I'm choosing a yellow couch, it's more of a muted
• 40:38
  mustard couch and then adding a blue rug underneath it that's muted or teal.
• 40:43
  So I always try to add colors, but I never want to overwhelm people
• 40:46
  with the most insane colors all over the walls sprayed everywhere, which
• 40:50
  there might be a market for that.
• 40:52
  Maybe someone that wanted to have a shroom house.
• 40:56
  But in reality, you want to add color but be thoughtful with it.
• 41:02
  I can show you my TV stand for an example.
• 41:05
  It is a pretty bowl and funky, but it's white.
• 41:08
  And then there's simple decor in it that's colored, but it's not to the
• 41:12
  point where it's overstimulating.
• 41:15
  So I always try to do things intentionally like that.
• 41:17
  And for the bedding, we always try to do white sheets and
• 41:21
  then put a pop of color on.
• 41:22
  I'd throw a blanket on top or go to Target and go to the Opal House section,
• 41:27
  there's really cute throw pillows that you can just throw on the top.
• 41:29
  When I'm scrolling through pages and I see people that have like
• 41:33
  their grandma's comforter, I'm like, I am not staying there.
• 41:35
  So having it look clean, but also with color.
• 41:39
  Peel and stick wallpaper is, well, you might get divorced if
• 41:43
  you put it up with your partner.
• 41:44
  It's really difficult.
• 41:46
  But peel and stick wallpaper is such an easy way to transition from a
• 41:51
  basic room to a really cool room.
• 41:53
  And I will always say, pick a few locations where you have that wallpaper.
• 41:57
  Behind the TV, put peel and stick wallpaper.
• 42:01
  On the master bedroom wall, put peel and stick wallpaper, and then maybe
• 42:04
  in another bedroom if you can do all the bedrooms, the more the merrier.
• 42:07
  But obviously, you just want to have a couple shots that say I'm fun.
• 42:11
  So having that peel and stick wallpaper, you can get really cheap
• 42:14
  wallpaper off Target or off Amazon.
• 42:17
  I mean, I definitely wouldn't use those for my preference, but if you're trying
• 42:20
  to ball on a budget, it's possible.
• 42:22
  You can definitely find some really cool things.
• 42:23
  Just adds an accent.
• 42:25
  Last thing I will say, I absolutely love putting a colored couch.
• 42:30
  And people might disagree with me on this one.
• 42:32
  They might not think that.
• 42:33
  But when I see a place that has a colored couch with cute little accent pillows,
• 42:37
  I'm like, oh my gosh, that's adorable.
• 42:39
  I absolutely love that.
• 42:40
  So I think it's not as hard as it seems.
• 42:44
  You have to have somewhat of an eye for it.
• 42:46
  But scroll Pinterest, check out my page if you can't budget for hiring somebody.
• 42:52
  Don't be afraid to go bold.
• 42:53
  You don't have to resort to doing it super, super minimal if you're
• 42:56
  in the right location for it.
• 42:58
  Once again, if you're in deep Kansas, I don't even know if deep Kansas
• 43:01
  is a thing, but if you're there, maybe not, but know your market.
• 43:05
  Know if you're in Scottdale, Vegas, California, bold popping
• 43:07
  spots, Texas, even Columbus.
• 43:10
  Know that it's important and it's okay to stand out.
• 43:14
  Annette: Yeah.
• 43:15
  Love it.
• 43:15
  And our listeners can still come stay with you in Nashville, correct?
• 43:18
  Bridgette: Yes.
• 43:19
  Thank you.
• 43:19
  Sarah: Awesome.
• 43:19
  We'll make sure.
• 43:20
  We're going to put all the links to all of Bridgette's things in the, um, show notes.
• 43:25
  So give her some love because she can always have some
• 43:29
  additional followers, correct?
• 43:31
  Bridgette: Oh yeah.
• 43:33
  Annette: Always more followers.
• 43:34
  But this has been awesome.
• 43:36
  Complete inspiration, um, not only for Sarah and us, but hopefully all
• 43:39
  of our listeners, to encourage them to be bold and then start sharing
• 43:43
  a little bit more with everyone.
• 43:45
  Um, they need to know who these amazing hosts are out there spending so much
• 43:48
  time on their design and loving it.
• 43:50
  Sarah: Yes.
• 43:50
  Thank you so much for sharing everything today.
• 43:53
  My name is Sarah Karakaian.
• 43:54
  Annette: I am Annette Grant, and together we are--
• 43:56
  Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks For Visiting.
• 43:57
  Sarah: Talk to you next time.