“I think I look at homes for sale more than I check my email,” says Danielle Shaw, the owner and designer of the perpetually booked Airbnb property Palo Verde Ranch. Named for the massive palo verde tree that creates a spectacular canopy of branches in the front yard, Danielle’s Joshua Tree, California, home is her first foray into the hospitality world. She convinced her mother and husband to open an Airbnb with her in 2018 and hasn’t looked back since.
Before Danielle could open the house to guests, it needed a serious rehaul. The kitchen was the first order of business, and Danielle and her husband attempted to do the demo themselves. “The inspector told us he was 100 percent sure the kitchen wall we wanted to tear down wasn’t load-bearing,” Danielle explains. “But when my husband began to take it down, he got really scared as the ceiling started to sag. So we found a contractor. We did as much as we could and we had him do whatever we didn’t feel comfortable doing.”
That balance of DIY and contractor work turned out to be the key to Danielle’s success throughout the entire renovation. All of the complicated jobs were finished flawlessly, while she saved by doing simple tasks herself—and her wabi-sabi design brought it all together. Here’s how she did it:
Before: The kitchen was full of drab white cabinets and funky (in a bad way) textured walls.
Danielle Shaw
Kitchen location: Danielle’s kitchen sits in a Castilian pink ranch-style home built in 1956. It’s situated in a quiet, boulder-filled neighborhood in Joshua Tree, less than a mile from the national park border.
The before: “The cabinets were completely falling apart, and they were super cheap to begin with. The walls and ceiling were a horrific texture. The fridge stuck out like a sore thumb in that tiny kitchen, and the walls being totally closed off made it feel so dark, even though the home has the most magnificent light and tons of windows throughout it. We decided to go ahead and just gut the whole thing,” Danielle says.
The inspiration: “The desert views and natural light are so beautiful that I wanted to keep it as neutral as possible,” says Danielle. “I always strive to mix natural, organic elements with clean lines. I was inspired by California, Australia, Greece, but I also kept in mind the bones of the house.”
Square footage: 69 square feet
Budget: Danielle didn’t have an actual budget for the kitchen because she renovated the entire house at once. She just knew she needed to spend the least amount of money she could without sacrificing design.
Natural light and desert views informed Danielle’s design choices throughout the renovation.
Alison Bernier
Main ingredients:
Cabinets: IKEA Askersund Cabinet Fronts. “A main factor that I had to get used to when I was designing was the durability necessary for Airbnb,” Danielle explains. “As much as I wanted to put in natural wood cabinets, I was terrified of what guests would do to them and how that would hurt my heart. When I found the IKEA fronts, I thought they weren’t half bad. They’re completely wipeable and completely, utterly in budget. I decided to design them in a way that they would look like real wood. That’s why we have the long panels instead of shorter drawers.”
Cabinet Pulls: Richelieu Champagne Bronze Finger Cabinet Door Pulls. “I basically didn’t want hardware at all, so I found these that I could put at the top and hide a little bit underneath the countertops. They matched perfectly with the champagne bronze faucet.”
Counters: Daltile Quartz in Woven Wool. “I didn’t want something porous like marble because you have to deal with etching and staining,” Danielle says. “I picked this quartz primarily for the color. I wanted a white countertop, but not a glossy, bright white. I wanted a warmer white. The woven wool makes it look like concrete.”
Appliances: Summit Appliance Under Counter Refrigerator with IKEA Cabinet Front and Stove.
Paint: Benjamin Moore Super White. “It’s the white that has no pigment in it. Because there’s so much light that comes into the house at all different times of day, I wanted something that didn’t reflect other colors,” Danielle says.
Faucet: Delta Trinsic Single Handle Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet in Champagne Bronze.
Sink: Home Depot Undermount Granite Sink.
Floating Shelves: Custom Faux-Plaster Drywall Shelves. “I wanted to bring some life into the kitchen by having items on display,” Danielle says.
“I love the design that I chose, and I think I’m a really good host,” Danielle says. “You have to stand out in the area because there are so many spectacular Airbnbs. You have to stay on top of your game. I like the competition.”
Alison Bernier
Special Items: “Ninety-five percent of the items on the shelves are sourced from flea markets and thrift stores. That’s what I love doing. My favorite ceramic cup up there is by Alyssa M Julian, which I found at Wine & Rock Shop. And I brought a couple of my cookbooks that had covers in the palette I was looking for.”
Floors: Concrete in Behr Ultra Pure White.
Rug: Vintage Turkish Hemp Rug. “It has a million stains on it. A lot of wine has been spilled on that rug, unfortunately. I just feel like it’s part of the character. I don’t mind it,” Danielle says.
Light Fixture: Raw Brass Sputnik Chandelier by Illuminate Vintage.
Alison Bernier
Most insane splurge: The countertops cost more than anything in the project.
Sneakiest save: The IKEA cabinets saved Danielle a lot of money. She and her husband also assembled all the base cabinets themselves, and then their contractor installed them. “We knew that assembling base cabinets takes quite a bit of time and it’s pretty easy, mundane work, so we decided to spend our time on that and pay someone to do the stuff we wanted done perfectly.”
The best part: “When I look at the kitchen from afar, that’s my favorite part,” Danielle admits. “It looks like a little nook in a dollhouse. I just really like the way it turned out. It looks clean, but the shelves look messy. The wabi-sabi of it all.”
What I’d never do again: “I’d definitely never trust an inspector again,” says Danielle. “If I’m taking down a wall, I’m calling a professional.”
Final bill: Danielle was pleased that the kitchen came in right around $9,000.
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
