Bedroom
Before & After: Tiny Guest Room
I’d like to give you a peek into my guest room. It’s one of my favorite projects to date, even though it’s still a work in progress.
Here’s a shot of the blank slate I had to work with. A tiny, boring white room, with an ugly HVAC unit installed in the wall.
My inspiration came from a bolt of blue and brown fabric that I’d ordered – on a whim – for a past project. One that never came to fruition, and for good reason. I know the peak of the blue-and-brown craze has passed, but I still love the color palette. Frankly, I just don’t give a hoot if my room adheres to the latest trends. It’s cozy and calm and I love it. That’s good enough for me.
The room is small, with the layout of walls and doors and closets eliminating the possiblity of equipping the room with even a full-size bed for guests. To create the guest sleeping area without crowding the room, I found a nice iron daybed on Craigslist.
Small-space living tip: If you have not yet discovered the fabulosity that is a daybed, read on! Underneath the twin-sized daybed hides a pop-up trundle with an additional twin-size mattress. When a couple comes to stay in the room, you pop up the trundle at night to create a king-sized bed! The bed will be a few inches shorter than a true king, but for a small space it’s a great solution.
I didn’t pay full price for anything, of course. The pillows and coverlet on the daybed were all clearance rack finds, and I saved even more money by making my shelves and decorating them with items I already had in the house.
On the wall with the big windows, I have a dresser where I store my linens and some extra clothes. I keep one drawer empty, though, for guests to use. On top of the dresser I have a small silver tray (a $1 score at a thrift store) with a bottle of water, glasses, and a jar of mixed nuts for guests who might need a little snack.
Now for a little before-and-after:
Before: Third wall before, when the guest room doubled as my office:
After: That wall is now quite sad and lonely, with the remaining little office shelf floating randomly above the cedar chest. I’d like to remove the unnecessary shelf and create a photo collage wall, but the project may have to wait until the holidays are over.
Of course there are other projects I’d like to complete, including sewing a skirted cushion that will turn the cedar chest into a bench seat. I’d also like to sew an insulated roman blind for the large windows. The old windows are drafty, and an insulated blind would really cut down the cost of heating the room – assuming I ever turn the heat on – while providing a nice finishing touch on the windows.
I’m just happy to have a true guest room for my friends who come to visit. Though the room may not be complete, it hasn’t stopped those guests from enjoying their stays so far!
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Final Fall Decor
They fit in perfectly on my bedroom dresser, enhancing the color scheme which was already so fall-like.
Two topiaries add a touch of fall to the bedroom.
A vase of faux flowers (also a clearance score at Michaels) added a nice touch on my bedside table. Until, that is, the kittens attacked them all.
Easy fall decor: a vase of faux flowers on the bedside table.
But today that has all been packed away in preparation for the Christmas decor. Sometimes the seasons seem to pass by so quickly!
Boudoir Beautification: Exotic Escape
There’s nothing as sweet as the satisfaction that comes from transforming a dreary white room into a cozy space that feels like home. And the next best part? Well that, of course, is the sharing of the before-and-after shots!I set out to create an “exotic escape” in my bedroom with just a few small inspiration pieces. I had a beautiful antique oriental rug from my parents, a terracotta colored comforter set, two exotic candle lanterns, and a $3 painting from Goodwill. (Yes, this is at least the third time I’ve mentioned it in my blog; I’m thrilled with the price I paid!)
Here’s the depressing, apartment-white befores:
Now, without further ado, I present to you my cozy new boudoir:
After warming up the walls with a thick coat of earthy paint (custom-matched, supposedly, to my lighter colored throw pillows), I switched up the window treatments for a home made blind in a blue-based multicolor batik fabric. I wanted to add some contrasting colors to the walls while keeping the window area as open as possible. Therefore, I decided that a simple fabric blind would work better than the usual drapes. (Also, with pets it’s nice to have as few fabrics near hair-level as possible!)
I had this big, somewhat ugly (ok, really ugly) mirror that was surely all the rage when my stylish grandma bought it in West Palm Beach in the 70′s. For sentimental reasons I decided to make it work by using it to anchor the wall over my dresser. And it does work! It really helps to open up the room, and reflect the light coming in from the window. Next to the mirror I hung my shadowboxes which, as I mentioned in this post, are my new favorite way to store and display jewelry.
Moving on to the other side of the room, which houses both the door to the hallway and the door to the closet:
I warmed that space up with the mirrored candle lanterns and a framed batik cloth art piece that I snagged at New Jersey’s Golden Nugget Flea Market for only $20!
On a whim I decided to paint the ceiling as well as the walls. And I’m glad I did – it really warms the room up to have the ceiling the same tone as the rest of the surfaces in the room.
Here my little helper is demonstrating how he loves to coat the quilt with his soft and shaggy white hair. (Note to self, and to others: When choosing pet-friendly and washable bed coverings, always spring for a duvet cover instead of a quilted blanket. My lovely sateen comforter from Target holds onto pet hair like it’s going outta style.) My little inspiration painting looks a bit sad in the corner, though. Any thoughts on where I should move it to, or how I can make it stand out better?
That concludes the peek at my weekend completion of phases 1 and 2 of my bedroom. Now what might phase 3 have in store? Well, if I ever finish my other rooms, I’d love to come back to this one and add a stenciled brown Moroccan border around the room, as well as maybe some hand-painted wall art. And as you can see, I didn’t end up building an upholstered headboard. I may do that down the road, but only if I can find a cheap second-hand, footed headboard to spiff up like Julia at Open Hand Living did. That way I won’t have to attach anything that major to the wall. What do you think; does it need the headboard?
To me my bedroom now epitomizes the magic that a little cash (I did this for under $200), some thrifty finds, and a lot of elbow grease can accomplish to transform a dreary rented space into a personal retreat.
