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Belfast Airbnb as Lifestyle

Lisa Gant
Words By Brian Shuff
Photos By Matt Congdon

Having relocated from Yorkshire, England (there was a detour to Australia as well), designer Lisa Gant and her husband were eager to share their home with fellow travelers. But their 100-plus-year-old Belfast space needed work. Lisa relocated the kitchen, pulled out suspended ceilings, and updated the hardboard siding all with a sensitivity to the charms of an old home “that had clearly been loved,” as she is first to underscore.

The entryway door, sprayed Rust-Oleum's Caterpillar Yellow, greets guests with a cheery welcome.

The couple began renting rooms immediately. “We offered breakfast-and-dinner packages,” Lisa says, “and all summer long it was like a party in our house every night. We cooked nonstop. We loved it.”

Lisa and Alex have since changed rental models. “We rent the whole place from June to September,” she says. “We move out and people move in. We love that they’re enjoying it, and we love not being there while they enjoy it!” She and Alex use the summers adrift to hit the road themselves.

A branch configuration adds a hint of rustic ambiance. Note the octopus peeking out from behind the sofa.

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