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Sunday, February 27, 2011

After: The Guest Room

This after was a long time coming. I was looking for bedding for this bedroom before we even moved into our house last July. This great woodwork was going to be a pain to paint so I wanted to match it. After quite the search, I hit the jackpot with a quilt that had a green that matched perfectly while still bringing in more color. That's exactly what I was looking for and the closeout pricing sealed the deal!The quilt, shams, valance, and the flower toss pillow you see were all purchased and shipped for under $100! 

The green woodwork had to becleaned up and repainted as there were scratches, nail holes, and even carpet glue that had to go. 2 coats of Diamond Vogel's Valley Vista did the trick. We switched to an eggshell finish as the flat that was on before held every finger print so you can imagine the greasy marks that were left behind from the past owner's pillows propped against the wall!

In this shot, you also see the use of metalware on the walls. $9 for the hanging candle holder and not much more for the scroll above the bed kept some natural elements on the newly painted "Bamboo Beach" walls. (Diamond Vogel paint is the best!) The nightstand shown was a hand me down from a college I used to work at that I saved before they threw it out. I'll get to the window box and the reading nook below.

On the opposite wall, we kept ne of my favorite furniture pieces in the house! This is Mike's first dresser/armoire from when he was a toddler. His dad bought it unfinished, stained, sealed, and added pulls to it. We haven't changed a thing!Top it with a tv I've owned for about 10 years, a $4 small finished log, some moss balls for about a quarter each, and the candle I got for Valentine's Day, and the simple look allows for storage and entertainment. For additional mood lighting, the 2 strings of Hobby Lobby light adorn the back wall using small 3M clear hooks along the bottom of the wood ledge so as not to be seen. It was a way for us to use the awkwardly placed outlet in the corner near the ceiling.


The left side of the bed features just one piece of decor. With little wall space to work with to avoid adding nail holes to the woodwork, this long piece combining the metalware and natural wood finish was just the ticket. Clearanced out at TJ Maxx, this was the first purchase specifically for the guest room. It sat on the ledge wrapped in plastic for nearly eight months until I took on the full project.


The reading nook is a special spot. The built in shelves will eventually hold some of our book collection but, for now, are used as picture display. The chair-you guessed it; another save from the the discard pile at the college. Free and workin' it!Its' a similar texture and color to the buttercup strip in the quilt tying it all together! Sitting in the chair is the matching valance to the bedding. However, to avoid too much matchy-matchy, I plan to make it into a throw pillow instead.

The "window box" has a special place in my heart. As the guest room is in the basement, this is an egress window. Thus, not much light gets in so I thought a valance would do it. When I opted out of the valance, I wanted something unique. I found it! While barely even looking, I came across this stick "piece of art"  (on sale for $13!) that was made to hang on the wall. Instead, I hung it upside down adding another natural element to block out the sun and add some interest. I love it! What's sitting on the shelf is actually a wall sconce. They were a housewarming gift and fit into the decor plan for the space but were too long for that small amount of wall I had from woodwork to ceiling. So, they got flipped on their side and surrounded with little knick knacks that were also received in gift baskets or laying around from the old house.




















The end result is a comfortable space for friends and family to stay! Now, I can't wait to work on our own bedroom so we have as much to enjoy as our visitors!

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