Guest Room Reveal

Welcome to our newly decorated guest room. I've been whining endlessly about wanting to update this room for the last couple of years, and it's finally done. No more complaining from me. I'm loving the eclectic, cozy cottage feel up here. Come take a look around.

We switched the layout, so the bed is now the first thing you see when you walk in. That, and of course, my basket/ tray bedside storage. No more confusing this space as a study.

Rounding the corner, you're greeted with the cozy nook complete with chaise and desk. I'm sure this space will get a lot of use, especially during all those free hours my two little girls allow our guests to have. 

That gives me an idea, maybe I'll hide away up here...

A good selection of reading material,  a cozy place to sit with a nice throw to wrap up in...oh yes, I am practically talking myself into slipping up there right now!

At what point does Hide n' Seek turn into just plain old hiding? I kid, I kid.

I used the matching matlesse sham (to the bedding), an embroidered sham and a quitted pillow on the chaise. You may remember that the chaise came from our BGR; I really worked to make it blend with the space and not seem too juvenile. Coordinating, but not matching, the colors from the bedding to the chaise makes it a cohesive space.

The layered quilts and the simple artwork lend toward my desired cottage feel, while the updated color combination helps to keep it from feeling too predictably country. 

Did you notice I changed up the bedside lamps?

 When looking at the bed flanked by both bedside tables, it was starting to feel too random. The easy solution was to match the heights of the lamps and the shades, creating a cohesive look while still using two different lamps and tables. 

And, of course, we can't forget the newly painted, former ugly duckling dresser. 

I'm so much happier in this space. And I hope our guest will be too. A homey, collected, eclectic, cottage-y guest room {that's a mouth full}. Now taking reservations. If you can't get a hold of me, it's because I'm playing Hide n' Seek in the guest room.

Linking in with:

Met Monday

Shine Your Light

Home Stories A to Z

Wow Us Wednesday

Until next time, 

Read more ...

Wall Art: Keeping it Cheap

Well, I blew my entire budget, both money and time wise, on the endless search for bedding for our guest room. A blown budget wouldn't be too bad if the project was finished, but unfortunately, this one is not. I still need artwork.

So, what did I do? 

Let me tell you, I did NOT reinvent the wheel. Seriously, if it's a good idea, why mess with it.

I've had this book for years, purchased in Italy, for no other reason than just this. Beautiful, inexpensive art. 

As luck would have it, I wondered across the frames at Target, on sale. Buy one, get one 50% off. Good deal. 

I choose the black frames to tie in with the curtain rod. Plus, I thought the white frame on the light paint would look a little too feminine/country. I'm liking some of the darker accents in the space to help keep is grounded.

I also put a bit of this fabric in a frame. Why? Because when you are so off base with your fabrics, all you can do is laugh. 

Every room needs a bit of the unexpected or whimsy and every time I look at this frame, I will definitely be laughing! 

Reveal coming up next. Stay tuned.

Until next time, 

Read more ...

Bedding: Mixing and Matching

I definitely learned the hard way that adding onto existing bedding is not only challenging, but sometimes nearly impossible! But after loads of searching, I finally came up with something I am really happy with. Take a look.

Perhaps we should back track a bit and start from the beginning. This is the quilt that I wanted to work with. A beautiful color, but not the best print. 

It always felt a bit too country to me. My goal was to mix it up with a more modern style quilt, which would hopefully elevate the style of the whole room.

Here's what I found. A modern quilt, featuring a square pattern to contrast with the small floral print of the existing quilt. It picks up the blue/grey color as well as the two pinks in the flowers. Coordinating enough to go together, but contrasting enough to bring real interest to the space. 

Once the two quilts were together the pink really called out as the accent color. I knew what I was looking for in terms of color for the throw pillows, but patterns was another story...

Alas, I persevered, but it wasn't entirely simple.

Throw in my two homemade pillows and one store bought pillow and it's really starting to come together. 

I found the stripe at a local fabric store and also picked up a cabbage rose style fabric, but when I got them home the cabbage rose made the whole scheme seem too country. Back to the drawing board. 

Another trip to HomeGoods resulted in the pillow with all the quilted circles. It's the perfect, modern accompaniment that picked up all the colors of the square patterned quilt.

Sitting in the living room thinking about my bedding debacle, I looked over and realized the suzani fabric I used in our throw cushions could be the perfect compliment to the quilted pillow. I like how it picks up on the circular pattern and the floral at the same time.

And that's the story of how it all came together. Fairly long-winded, but the result is all that counts, right?

Next up, artwork. And then the full reveal. Looks like I might actually make my deadline after all.

Until next time, 

Read more ...

Bedding Debacle

I mentioned earlier this week that my next big undertaking in the guest bedroom would be the bedding. Of course, this seems like it would be so easy. Source a new bedding set, purchase, install in the bedroom. But oh no, not me. I have to make it difficult.

I want to incorporate what I have AND I want it to look collected { i.e. no sets}. And eclectic. And cottage-y, but not TOO predictably cottage-y. I want it all and I want it now. 

With a wish list like this, I am most definitely setting myself up to fail.

This is how the bedding has been looking for at least the last year. I found the tonal shams at HomeGoods and picked them up thinking they would make a great building block. 

You see, the quilt is amongst the first purchases Mr. DD and I made on our countryside jaunts while living in London. I loved it in the package, got it home and made up the guest bed and soon got over it. The small floral print was a little too country, but I still loved the base color. And, quite frankly, heading back out to the countryside just wasn't going to happen. I had to live with it.

So I started looking...

Some quilts made it into the cart, but never out of the store.

Others never left the packaging once they got home. 

Still others had to be restuffed into the package to be returned.

I have looked at hundreds of quilts {at least that's how it feels}. Finding both colors and patterns to coordinate has been ridiculously hard. 

And don't even get me started on the throw pillows. After endless searching, I started looking at fabric to make my own. 

Just when I thought I had it sorted, it all started to look too predictably country cottage-y. That's not the look I wanted. So I went off the wall and got crazy samples like this one.

via

Epic Fail.

Aye, so many options. So may returns! 

I'm happy to report that I am making progress. After years of searching, even deciding on just two coordinating options is a HUGE step in the right direction.  And hopefully, my self inflicted deadline to finish this room by the end of the month will give me the motivation to power through.

I'd love to hear what you'd do with this quilt. Please share. The more the merrier; seriously, at this point, I feel like I have explored every option.

To quiet my mind, I am going to attempt to make my own pillow cover this weekend. Should be interesting.

Until next time,

Read more ...

Bedside Storage

I'm back in the guest bedroom, working on furniture placement. You know, I changed the layout to allow for more room on either side of the bed, which is great, but now I actually need a bedside table.

I'm going for an eclectic, collected, cottage feel. But it also needs to be functional, provide storage and most importantly fit my budget constraints which are cheap, cheap, cheap.

Enter the basket with tray combo. The texture and warmth of the basket feels so cottage-y to me. And the tray helps to make it more functional. And it definitely fits the budget criteria because I already had both! Perfect. Of course, they did have previous lives.

This campaign style tray used to be part of a butlers tray table that held decanters in the dining room. Unfortunately, the stand part of the table broke a couple of years ago, sending all our decanters crashing to the ground. 

{Can you believe only the cheap ones broke, all the vintage pieces made it. Just goes to show, they just don't make things like they used to. But that's another topic for another post.}

Anyway, I painted it the same color as the dresser to help tie the pieces together. {Color inspiration for both pieces came from the sheet set, which I am slightly obsessed with. I don't even want to think about what I will do if this set ever wears out.} I also used a bit of Rub n' Buff on the corners to help them pop.

And if you ever need to access the storage space, you just lift the whole tray instead of each individual piece. Easy, peasy.

The extra storage provided by the basket is great. Seasonal blankets and extra pillows can be stored in the room instead of the downstairs linen closet. Plus, the closet in this room is super small, so leaving that space free for guests is nice. 

Have I mentioned how much I love this basket? I bought it several years ago at Ikea in the UK. Unfortunately, the basket they carry now is more modern. If they still carried this model I'd buy them by the boat load. It looks great everywhere from the mudroom to the living room to the bedroom. 

Great, this side of the bed is sorted. Now, I must move on to the bedding. As you can see I finally washed and changed the bed. The basic bedding is staying the same - sheets, bed skirt, matelasse bedspread and quilt were all pre-existing {everything but the quilt dates back almost 13 years!}. It's just a matter of adding on some layers to make it feel like a nice, cozy cottage bedroom. Wish me luck.

linking in with:

Met Monday

The House in Roses

The Shabby Nest

Miss Mustard Seed

Until next time, 

Read more ...

Laying It Out

While I was waiting for all that paint to dry on my newly robin's egg blue dresser, I had plenty of time to work on a new layout for the guest bedroom. 

Our guest room is an L shape, so the layout is tricky no matter what you do. Walking in, you first see the desk and chair combo, it's only once you round the corner that you see the bed in the alcove. While it's kind of cozy over there, I never really liked how it looked when you first entered the room. 

To make matters worse, there is a pretty substantial bulk head (is that what it's called when it's on the floor?) running under the window. It makes the alcove smaller than it appears. 

Ideally, I would love to have the bed under the window. You'd see it face on right as you walk in the room. There'd be plenty of room on either side of the bed, but alas, it just doesn't fit. Grumble, groan.

So, in the end, I flipped the bed across from the alcove. Now, you see the bed right when you walk in. No mistaking what the purpose of the room is, now. 

And before you even think it, yes, I know the bedding is a mess. I could of faked it and made it look all nice, but the reality is, we had guests. The sheets needed washing and changing. And since changing the bedding is a priority, why bother making it look anything more than it is. A mess. 

The little alcove across from the bed now houses the desk, a chair (relocated from the old kitchen) and the chaise (relocated from the BGR). 

Most of our guests will probably appreciate the chaise as a place for a little break away from our crazy kids! ha! But seriously, the chaise was taking up a LOT of space in the BGR. And the bigger our big girl gets, the more room she needs to play. The chaise may come back down to her room at a later date, but for now, it's helping to cozy up the guest room. 

Ok, so that's taken care of. Now it's time to move onto the fun stuff - like putting the room together. Working on the bedding, accessories, and all those little extras that make a guest room so inviting. 

I've got my work cut out for me. 

Until next time, 

Read more ...

I'm on a Roll

Last week I shared my newly revamped cedar chest and my plans for our guest room. Keeping those things in mind, what do you think I tackled first in the guest room? If you said, paint that hideous bed frame, I'd say, I wish I was that motivated! 

Instead I started off a little more low-key and tackled this ugly dresser.

This ugly dresser has had quite the ride with us. 

We bought it a long time ago; in fact, this was the dresser that Mr.DD was forced to purchase when we moved in together. Of course, I was super excited to finally be living together, but I wasn't excited about his stuff moving into my already packed-full place. So I casually mentioned the dimensions of the only available spot in my condo, and low and behold this dresser just happened to fit. Will wonders never cease...

Seeing as this was the first piece of furniture that we purchased together for our shared home, we couldn't just ditch it. We loved it. We loved it so much, we hauled it all the way to London with us. That's right, this cheap, fruitwood dresser with wonky drawers moved overseas with us. Of course, it did.

While in London, we subjected our guests to this dresser. Over and over again. Even after, in our first place, the water heater tank leaked, causing the ceiling to fall through, right on top of the dresser. Miraculously, the dresser was unscathed. Minus, the slightest bit of water damage that only caused the drawers to become more wonky.

But never fear. We continued to love it. So much so, that we moved it back with us to the US. And here we are, almost 10 years later, treating our guests to the same cheap, wonky dresser. You've seen it in every home we lived in, but you've never seen it like this...

Now, it's cheap, wonky and a beautiful shade of robin's egg BLUE. Totally different, but yet, still the same. 

You're welcome. 

linking in with:

Met Monday

Piece of Work Wednesday

Tuesday's Treasure

Until next time,

Read more ...

Guest Suite Plan and Inspiration

I promised myself (and my readers) that March would be the month I finally finish my guest room. The list isn't terrible long, but for some reason, I'm just not that motivated. Hopefully, writing this post will help to change all of that.

Here's a shot of the guest room, probably from this time last year. You see, the guest room is on our 3rd floor and I really never even go up there unless we have guests planned. It must be one of those, out of sight, out of mind scenarios. 

That being said, we did manage to make a couple changes. Last year, we finished painting the room, including most of the oak trim, replaced the window and made new window treatments.

And that's where the party ended. But over the course of the last year, I've come up with a couple more ideas. Naturally.

First, I'd like to work on a new furniture arrangement. Currently, when you walk in the room, you see the desk. The bed is only visible as you round the corner. It gives the impression that it's little more than a work space instead of feeling like a homey, home away from home.

via

Next, I'd like to finally sort out the bedding. The bedding, thus far, has been a random, piece meal, assortment. Time to make it a bit more cohesive. That doesn't mean I am going down the 'set' road; that's not my style. 

But I would like to try some things that are maybe just a bit different to the rest of the house. I'm hoping for an eclectic, homey vibe. Maybe a cottage feel. It probably has something to do with the eaves, and the paneling, they just say 'cottage' to me.

via

There will definitely be quilts. Lots of quilts. They just make me happy, what can I say.

via

I might even paint some furniture in an attempt to lighten the whole scheme of the room.

And finally, I'm also going to try and incorporate a bit of extra storage.

Then it's on to the all important artwork and accessories. 

Sounds like a tall order. Stay tuned to see how it all comes together. Don't forget to check out my Pinterest page for a sneak peek of some of my inspirational images.

Until next time,

Read more ...

Simply Embellished Window Treatments

I'm still slowly plowing through our long list of wants in the guest suite. For a reminder, click here.

This past weekend I decided to focus on the window treatments.

Here's where we started...

I picked up this valance from a big box store shortly after we moved in. I never really loved it, but the price was right, so it came home with me.

When we decided to update our guest suite, I knew the valance would be one of the first things to go.

This whole project kicked off due to my local Crate and Barrel closing - they were literally selling everything in the store. I managed to pick up a display curtain rod and rings for a bargain basement price.

It was a sign - time to start in on the curtain project.

You may recall this photo from my sink skirt post last week.

Target curtain panel in natural linen.

As you may expect, I used Stitch Witchery to create a one inch hem across the bottom. Easy. I hung the curtains, stepped back to take a look and thought - BORING.

I definitely needed something to take these curtains up a notch.

How about this...

Upholstery webbing

It's natural, slightly rustic, with a slight French feel to it - perfect!

I won't go through all the ins and out of attaching this, because we all know I used Stitch Witchery. And to be honest, you're probably getting sick of hearing me sing it's praises!

But I will tell you that I doubled up to ensure a secure hold and I left about an inch at the top and bottom to fold over and secure to the backside of the drapes.

So, what do you think?

Are you diggin' this little something extra - a bit more texture and interest?

It's subtle, but still enough to be interesting, right?

Of course, I love it.

Let's hear what you think?

Until next time,

Read more ...