Pillows in rentals

[JustTravel]

We are in our Paris rental now and thought I would ask "What do you do when there are so many pillows and no cupboard space to put them?" We had the same issue when we rented a duplex in Haarlem two years ago.

.....six on this chair

.....five on this chair

.....six on the couch​

We use the couch and don't want anymore pillows there, neither on the bed.

 

[Monika87]

Oh, I've never had this problem. U can put them on a chair

 

[Parigi]

Very tough.

 

[Eleanor]

It also irritates me when you have to get rid of umpteen pillows off the bed before going to bed. What is the purpose of them!!!

 

[Pauline]

I am always removing pillows too! Spend that decorating money on better cooking things!

 

[JustTravel]

Oh, I've never had this problem. U can put them on a chair

That's where they are now - two chairs! Fortunately, we don't need the chairs at the moment.

I am always removing pillows too! Spend that decorating money on better cooking things!

And all these pillows - how clean are they really?!?

And I agree about better cooking things. It's a good thing that I brought a small sharp knife or I would be using a table knife to cut the tomato, carrots, etc to make a salad. Also, why all the scratched teflon coated pots and pans?

 

[Pauline]

We just checked into a rental and there is a pile of teflon fry pans. I assume all scratched. I pushed them to the back of the cupboard and organized the good pots and pans up front. Happily there are enough of them.

What about the cupboard of open boxes of salt, spices of questionable age, open boxes of other things. I have to control my impulse to just clean out everything! In a recent rental in Israel where we were there for 11 nights, I took all those half empty things and put them in a bag so I wouldn't see them, then put them back before we left.

I find pillows also suck up fragrance. Scented people lean against them and the scent stays. That is another reason I hide them away.

Ah, vacation rentals!!

 

[JustTravel]

I actually threw away the two paper bags of partial baguettes that I found in the freezer when we arrived . Who does that?

 

[Kathy]

You guys are brutal!

I have a different perspective now that we have our own second home in Provence and rent it out when we're not here. Because we're here a few months a year, our place is decorated and equipped the way I want it for ourselves, but also with an eye out to our guests. I think I'm different than many other owners because I've rented so many places and also because we actually live here part-time.

We have lots of pillows on the beds and also some on the couch. I like the way this looks. (I have pillows on our bed in the USA too.) When we're here-- and at home in the USA, I make the bed every day and put the pillows back on because I like the way I feel when I pass by the bed. We do have a place to put them (not on the floor). It's possible some guests don't like this and may not even make their bed. The pillows are very visible in the photos, so who knows... pillow-haters might not choose our place. By the way, our housekeeper takes all the pillow covers to the dry cleaners twice a year.

For me, it wasn't a choice between pillows and kitchen stuff. We've also spent a lot of money equipping the kitchen because I love to cook and I cook when we're here and have people over. I have to be honest... I put my good Robert Welch kitchen knife up when we leave... it's an expensive knife and knives can end up leaving the apartment when someone uses them for picnics. I would hate to lose this knife. I think this is why some people don't have "good" knives in their rental kitchens. I hope the knives we do have are okay, and we do sharpen ours on a regular basis.

I also leave spices and herbs in the kitchen. Guests are welcome to use these... or not, if they aren't comfortable. But I know I've always been happy to find a few spices in a rental kitchen. Who wants to buy a whole container of basil if you just want a tablespoon? We also have some tea bags, sugar cubes, boullion cubes, olive oil, vinegar.... little things I'm happy for people to use. But I suppose I could pack them all away every time and just have an empty spice rack

It's interesting to hear the views on these topics...

Kathy

 

[JustTravel]

Kathy, I am not really against pillows per say, but when there are so many of them and there is no place to put them (I don't want to put them on the floor!). Or, when you can smell them - yuk.

Also, I don't expect to find expensive knives in a rental - just something that cuts.

I can also symphatize with owners. I can't believe what some renters do just because it's not their place, or whatever.

 

[Cameron]

I'm also a fan of pillows.

I have seven pillows that show when my bed is made. The one I sleep on is behind all those and doesn't show. Like Kathy, I also make my bed each morning because it makes me feel good when I walk through the room during the day.

My guest room has as many pillows, but there is a bench, two chairs and a luggage rack in the room. The closet is empty, but I provide a rolling three-drawer plastic chest, so they know they can unpack their clothes into the clean drawers.

Because I'm picky about sleeping pillows, there's a chest of drawers in the guest room that stores different thickness and firmness of pillows, so if my guests have issues with the ones on the bed, they have several other choices.

My sofas all have at least three pillows (two square, one lumbar). Each chair has a lumbar size decorative pillow. The daybed in my art studio has at least five (my dog and I love to nap there) and everything is washable. My window seat upstairs also has pillows for lounging. The corner bench that holds toys for my grandkids has a pile of pillows that they can pull off, or lean on, on the bench.

Every bed and every sofa has a washable throw/lap quilt. My dog's bed even has a quilt! (I have a dear friend who made all the quilted items)

Most of my pillow covers/shams are washable. The only ones that aren't--are tapestry French -- Yves DeLorme and Cluny, and are dry cleaned periodically, and those are on my bed.

I like to be able to arrange pillows to support my back. My grandkids need pillows to sit upright on deep sofas and for lounging.

As for rentals -- the apartment I rent in Paris is a studio with a Murphy bed that doubles as the sofa and it is covered with pillows--some for sofa use, the rest for sleeping. Since I'm one person, I stack the extra pillow in one of the chairs at night.

 

[Eleanor]

I think one of the crucial things here is that @Kathy actually lives in her apartment regularly. This makes a tremendous difference as it means it will be well equipped with everything you are likely to need. I remember rentals where we turned up, looked at what was available - or rather what was NOT provided - and had to radically rethink plans.

 

[jan]

And, the place we rent in Venice: my one complaint is not enough pillows!

 

[artnbarb]

I too dislike lots of decorative pillows, and tchotchkes in general - first thing I do in any rental is put all that stuff away. The main reason I clicked on this thread because I thought you were talking about pillows that you sleep on! Finding a decent pillow while traveling is challenging for me. Most are either limp, tired puddles with no support, or large, unmoving blobs of foam.

 

[phirhon]

I do not mind a couple of cushions on the sofa because I often use one behind my back and even a couple on the bed, but my husband does not see the point of cushions on the bed, so they go straight into a cupboard, or on a chair or wherever there is somewhere out of the way. I make the bed everyday.
I am like artnbarb. I am not a fan of clutter. So I go around and put away decorative bowls/vases/ornaments/dried flower arrangements, usually into the second bedroom. They do make the place look appealing, but then are often in the way for everyday living. I also want to avoid breakages which can happen.

 

[JustTravel]

......Finding a decent pillow while traveling is challenging for me. Most are either limp, tired puddles with no support, or large, unmoving blogs of foam.

We discovered this Tempur-Pedic travel pillow some fifteen years ago in Germany. We always travel with one for my husband.

 

[Mom83]

I am on the side of the fewer decorative bed pillows, the better. When we arrive, we try to find a place for them off the floor...either on an unused chair or in a cupboard. But we do like a few nice ones on the sofas. And the less clutter, the better. The one thing that I really dislike are silk or plastic flower arrangements...most that I have encountered are past their prime and merely dust catchers...they get put out of sight also. I admit...I like clean, simple accommodations with not a lot of little things laying around. And the one thing I really love are clean, crisp bed linens and nice towels...they are heavenly when we find them in a rental.

 

[Pauline]

And the less clutter, the better.

Yes! Where we are now on the Amalfi Coast I had to put vases with fake flowers and this amazingly hideous clock/lamp covered in fabric into the closet do I could not see them.

 

[SMJ]

I always move fussy or breakable things out of the way , or out of sight, too.
I like clean spaces with no clutter.
As for decorative pillows, how clean are they really? Out they go! Too much clutter!
I don't like them at home, and I don't want them on my rented bed.

I have had to buy a new pillow to sleep on, in two apartments in Italy; when the offerings were about a quarter of an inch thick and about a quarter of a century old.
I just went to the local street market and got new ones, and left them behind when I checked out.

Now....who re-arranges the furniture the way they like in a rental apartment....?
(And puts it all back before leaving, of course.)

 

[kupus]

Now....who re-arranges the furniture the way they like in a rental apartment....?
(And puts it all back before leaving, of course.)

I do. At least an hour is allotted to putting everything back to the way it was before checking out. And a little sweeping too, of course.