Vacation Rental Renovation - The Salty Mint
In case you missed my social posts, here it is again!
The Salty Mint is ready and it’s for rent!
The Beach House Dream
Back in November of last year, my husband, Chris, and I achieved the long-desired dream of owning an investment property on the coast. We’ve talked about it since the late 90’s and chickened out after a few years of hurricane’s hitting the NC coast. About 20 years ago, we began investing closer to home and now manage both short- and long-term rentals in the Triangle for ourselves and other investors. It has been a rewarding experience with many lessons along the way. We were finally ready to head to the coast!
In addition to adding the vacation rental property to our personal portfolio, I got to add a full on staging project as well! You know I loved that!
The Salty Mint is a 3 bed, 2 bath condo in the Ocean Dunes community in Kure Beach NC. Ocean Dunes stretches about ½ mile of ocean front with one large building set back across the street. That’s where we are.
Ocean Dunes in Kure Beach
The 3-story building is centered with an elevator and features a large outdoor pool and grills in the center. We are right next to the Community Center which houses an indoor pool, hot tub, fitness center and community social room. Outside there are tennis courts, playground and shuffleboard and along the beachside, there are two additional outdoor pools, so if you want to stay out of the sand, you can pool hop all day!
The Salty Mint
The Salty Mint is one floor up with parking for two cars just below. Since it is an end unit, we enjoy some extra windows and easy access not only to the stairwell, but also the elevator. We have 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, in-unit laundry, an open kitchen, dining and family room and an extended deck with access from the primary bedroom as well as the living room.
When we purchased the home, we looked at several units in the building which was originally built in the 80s. Turns out there was a fire in part of the building and our unit was rebuilt in 2007. Unfortunately, it was built with the most basic of materials and so there was not much style to the finishes, but the home had smooth ceilings and more overhead lighting than most. Most importantly, the location in the building is ideal with quick access to the stairs, elevator and parking, as well as the shortest walk to the beach, just about 300 yards. We were excited when this one came on the market.
The Renovation Planning
While we were under contract, we made several visits to Kure Beach to check on progress, make selections and marvel at the beautiful beach. Working with our contractor, we visited local vendors to select flooring, cabinetry, tile and granite. From home, we shopped for lighting, faucets, appliances and of course, new furniture and décor!
Happy Birthday Chris!
We closed on Chris’ birthday, November 4th, and headed down to enjoy one weekend with our kids before the renovations began. It was an incredible fall weekend with full sun, temperatures in the 80s and a kite festival happening that we knew nothing about. Turns out there are lots of fun year-round events on Pleasure Island! By the time we left town, we had donated a good portion of the furniture and moved the rest to a nearby storage unit while renovations were completed.
Demo Day!
Our contractor began right away with a full demo so we could start from scratch on it all. Then we had to wait. We continued to shop, make deliveries of purchases to the storage unit and check on progress as the holidays neared. We were super excited making plans for a post-Christmas vacation with our kids to celebrate birthdays, the New Year and a new tradition of vacationing together at the beach.
The Renovation Details
All new LVP flooring was installed throughout the unit, replacing a mixture of carpet, tile and the cheapest LVP I’ve ever seen! We selected a light oak LVP, something that should remain timeless and neutral when redecorating comes up. LVP flooring looks great, and functions perfectly at a furnished rental.
When considering what color to paint, I wanted to stay away from the bright colors traditionally used at the beach. The color was previously a violet blue and while color is fun and I love to see it in design, I preferred something light and soothing. Sherwin Williams Drift of Mist won the day. Ever so slightly gray, warm and almost white. A perfect backdrop for whatever décor we decided to add.
The lighting in the house was what you might call “builder basic” so nothing to dislike, but nothing inspirational either. We selected sleek, white fans for the bedrooms, modern flush mount LED fixtures in the hallways, new halo lights in the kitchen and a modern black fan and flat sputnik style fixture for the living and dining area. Using a combination of nickel, black and white, we had flexibility to choose the best finish for the spot.
Black cabinet hardware stands out beautifully against the white, while nickel faucets and bath finishes remain timeless and easy to replace in the future. I’m a fan of mixing metals to avoid anything too homogenous.
The kitchen is small, so we only considered white to replace the honey oak cabinets. Of course, we removed the hanging bank of cabinets between the kitchen and dining area! The layout was important with limited storage, and it only took 4 tries with the cabinet company and contractor to get it just right. UGH! We removed the raised bar to add bar seating and additional counter space. We selected a black and white granite, not too light or dark, but with an interesting pattern and a leather finish that we love. While I love quartz in my own home and when making recommendations to clients, we chose granite in our rental properties.
The bathrooms got new vanity cabinets with cultured marble tops, saving on the cost of additional granite. New commodes that made me realize I want new ones at home in Cary too! The hall bath got a new tub with tiled walls and in the primary bath, the tub was removed and replaced with a walk-in shower and glass doors.
The Drink Fridge Bar
One of my favorite features is the new drink fridge and bar area! There was a wet bar there before, but the tiny sink wasn’t very useful, and it took up the counter space. We removed the cabinets in favor of a drink fridge, granite counter and built-in shelving. There’s room for all the water, soda, beer and wine you could want during your vacation! The countertop houses our coffee maker, drip or pods. Set it before bed and wake to fresh coffee to enjoy on the deck enjoying the trees!
The furnishings
I mentioned that we got rid of much of the old furnishings in the house. It was a mishmash of painted old pieces, metal, wicker, Ikea and a few interesting mismatched items. The mattresses were super springy and old, so we replaced all of them. We kept the Ikea and the bunk beds, and while I’m not in love with the dining table and chairs, they are solid wood, sturdy and in good condition. Everything else got replaced. We sourced from Wayfair (huge Black Friday deals!), Amazon, HomeGoods, Facebook Marketplace, Ikea, Costco, Target, thrift shops and the UpStaging Designs storage unit. I even was gifted a few items from a friend who was moving, including the whale hanging over the sofa. It was a puzzle to pull it together, but I love how it turned out. Comfortable, a little cottage-y with some modern touches and just enough color and beachy décor to remind you where you are.
The renovations weren’t quite finished as planned but that didn’t stop us from heading to the beach after Christmas! We had nice weather to enjoy the beach and some bike rides and enjoyed the nightlife in both Kure Beach and Carolina Beach to celebrate my son’s birthday and the New Year. Since January, the final touches were completed on the renovations, decorations and supplies for the rental. We’ve also enjoyed some wonderful visits including some 80 degree weather in February. If you aren’t from NC, you might not understand but we always get a little summer in the middle of winter here!
Thanks for letting me share! A long distance renovation was tough and decorating with a mix of old and new was a challenge but I couldn’t be more thrilled to finally own a little piece of the beach.
The Salty Mint is posted in Airbnb and VRBO, but the best place to book is directly with our management company. If you don’t book, I’m going every nice weekend I can!
