As we posted about HERE, we were invited to join in the “Year of Change” project with a fabulous group of bloggers. This month’ s topic was just the “kick” I needed to shift my focus to my guest room. The concept behind the “Year of Change” series is to not let a room overwhelm you but just jump in and get it done. While we aren’t having overnight guests for Thanksgiving this year, I am still glad to have the room ready for the next time it is called into service.
Before I show you our guest room, here are the rooms designed by the other participants in the series. We were so thrilled to be invited to join in this month! Go check them out~
So here is what I accomplished this month, this is the “Before” of our basement guest room. We have a very nice guest bathroom adjacent to the room {I will have to show that off soon, my husband jokes it is the nicest bathroom in the house and he is probably right}. While our guest room is in our basement, it does have a small window so it has a limited amount of natural light. Being in our basement, the room is nice and quiet and private–a huge criteria in creating a restful space for your guests 🙂
As you can tell from the pictures, natural light is not in abundance down here. The major eyesore in the room was clearly the dark ceiling fan that looked like it was going to hit the post of the bed! That was the first to go, and then I just made some minor changes, moved some furniture around, brought a new light in next to the bed, created a desk area and added new bedding.
Much better! I kept the traditional four-poster bed after giving it much consideration. While this bed is probably “too” traditional for my current taste, I realized that most of our guests {like my parents or my in-laws} would prefer the more traditional style. I am strongly considering–had I more time I might have already gotten to it–painting it pale gray to brighten things up a bit more.
The most exciting part of the makeover is we pulled down the ceiling fan and added this sparkling light from Home Depot {at $63 it was well-worth the update}, the new light is so pretty, it just sparkles, but did create all the crazy shadows in the room when I took pictures.
It is so much lighter and brighter in here now. The room could do with an overall new coat of “whiter” paint then the standard cream it came with, but all in good time.
I kept the gray chest I made over for our porch in our last home. It’s perfect for holding suitcases, something that is so important in a guest room. Nobody wants to constantly bend over to get to their clothes when they are living out of a suitcase, right?
I used this little table we’ve had forever to make a desk area where someone could sit and write a journal or check emails and I always keep a basket of reading materials in our guest space. I added some goodies like chocolates and water bottles with glasses at hand, that way our guests don’t have to trek upstairs just for a drink.
The nightstand is part of the pair I recently made over for my room. Rarely does my husband exert a strong opinion on my decor choices, but in this case he said he was NOT giving up his larger {dark, traditional} nightstand in favor of my new “girly” white ones. I pick my battles so I have just relegated his to the basement for our guests to enjoy.
My other favorite part of the room is the new pintucked Duvet cover–which I found HERE at Target! (And, this set is fabulous by the way). I think it’s the perfect light, fluffy compliment to the dark bed. It was around $50 shipped during the Veteran’s Day sale, well-worth it as we’ve really needed a nicer bedspread in the room.
I mixed the duvet with my much-adored “Sweet Dreams” linen pillow cases. I found these at a boutique a few years ago and they are made of the most gorgeous white linen fabric, they were a bit of a splurge but they are perfect for a guest room. I have tried to source them online to no avail, leave me a comment if you would like to contact the store where I purchased them. A side note: my daughter just commandeered these for the holiday. She and her six-year old cousin are having a special sleepover this week while my family is in town {her cousin will sleep in her room} and we thought it would be fun for them each to use one of the pillows, we’re hoping for “sweet dreams”!
Overall, I am feeling happy that another room is “checked” off the To-Do list in my new house. I am getting there! So far I have accomplished The Dining Room, The Breakfast Room, My Daughter’s Room and my Home Office in 6 months, phew! For more guest room ideas, including how to outfit your guest room for Holiday Guests be sure to check out Christy’s post HERE.
Thanks again everyone in the Year of Change series for inviting us here at 11 Magnolia Lane to join in the guest room makeover this month!
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XO,
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It looks beautiful and I love the monogram above the bed! Could you share the info?
Thank you!
Roseann
The monogram is available on ETSY via a store called Scrappin Plus. Thanks, Amy