My favorite part about this process was being able to fix-up the home and make it an aesthetic and cozy place that people want to spend their vacation in.

@Jay HinrichsNot quite sold on the design aesthetics but im sold on the bullet proof paneling... its a damn tank!!

It’s a 3/2 that just needs a bit of aesthetic work to be up to snuff with comparable properties.  

What are some inexpensive things I can do so that insurance won't hike my rates for a fireplace but maintain it nice aesthetically?

., and whatever else we could put together that might make this more aesthetically pleasing.

It's a step above geocities, but it's no modern, aesthetically pleasing user-friendly site, either.And yet, it's also where nearly all of our medium-term renters come from for Denver and Colorado Springs, so they must be doing something right.

I do like to incorporate a little Fixer-Upper aesthetic with light fixtures or other low-cost updates, though.

Don't get me wrong; there are plenty of issues/problems/quirks that old houses have that new houses don't, and an old house can obviously have hidden problems and big repair/maintenance bills too...but, the point is: a brand new house is not a foolproof solution to repairs/maintenance (and in some cases, a brand new house can be a much bigger gamble than an older house).This is a particularly important lesson for inexperienced investors, who tend to be the most prone to "shiny object syndrome" (the tendency to let nice aesthetics distract from real, underlying issues).

Has some difficult to replicate design, features, or aesthetic?

Perhaps keep it to more aesthetic type improvements, updating, etc.