We're 33 days away from the arrival of my first house guests since about 2017. Back then I actually had a dedicated spare bed for guests. These days? Well, as of last weekend I at least have a bed for the room again. But no sheets. Or pillows. Or a nightstand, etc, etc, etc. So time's a tickin' and I'm sure my friend is reading this and feeling a tad bit nervous about her arrival. (Hello Nicole! 👋). Since we're on this journey under a bit of a time crunch, I thought this would be fun to document here as this room goes from nonexistent to a cozy, welcoming and actually finished room!
Prior to last weekend, the room we've ended up using as the guest room was actually mostly empty, save for a jade plant soaking up the best light in the house, our yoga mats, a couple dumbbells and the hope chest my grandpa built me when I was a baby. My original plan was actually to stick the guest bed into the same room as my office, but when I started playing around with possible layouts, the room just didn't work. Oh the joys of an old house with large rooms, but only 2 inconveniently placed outlets and floor vents smack dab in the middle of every space that would otherwise be a perfect spot for furniture. Just as I was on the verge of a meltdown, John suggested we scrap the idea entirely and instead move everything from the workout room into the office, combining those two rooms and then use the old workout room as a guest room instead. He's brilliant.
With all the furniture moved out, we had ourselves a nice blank slate. We have the original oak floors throughout the whole house, and the room is painted with the same warm, almost pinkish white color featured in every other room of the house that I haven't bothered to repaint since moving in. (I really need to do some painting in this place...). After moving some things from John's house, we are starting this room makeover with a full sized bed and frame, a white secretary/hutch unit made by John's dad back as a high school project which features robin's egg blue shelves, a 55" TV complete with sound bar, subwoofer and Xbox, and a (much too large) cream and brown Moroccan-inspired rug that spent many years down in the living room. We're going to attempt to use as much of what we already own as possible to keep the costs down, but I ultimately want a room that feels "done," not just thrown together, so we'll see what we actually end up using.
My vision for this room has been heavily influenced by fashion right now: neutrals, neutrals, neutrals. It just so happens that the room already has a lot of warm neutrals thanks to the paint, wood floors, and the repurposed rug, so that works out nicely. As a child of the internet, I obviously couldn't begin any project without a slew of saved photos for inspiration, so naturally a Pinterest board was made and an Instagram collection started. It's very clear I have an obsession with pampas grass, rattan and wicker, warm neutrals, glass and ceramics.
I have only made one purchase so far -- a linen duvet cover and pillow shams from West Elm in the color "natural flax." It's the same bedding line that I've had in my bedroom for the last 5 years and I love it. I'm waiting for this to arrive as it's going to inform the rest of the choices I make. We'll have to see if it clashes too horribly with the rug or not, and if so the rug might get the boot in favor of something else. The next big purchases I'm hoping to make are the nightstand, potentially a different media console for the TV, and a small chair. I will check back in in a few weeks and let you know what progress we've made!
Prior to last weekend, the room we've ended up using as the guest room was actually mostly empty, save for a jade plant soaking up the best light in the house, our yoga mats, a couple dumbbells and the hope chest my grandpa built me when I was a baby. My original plan was actually to stick the guest bed into the same room as my office, but when I started playing around with possible layouts, the room just didn't work. Oh the joys of an old house with large rooms, but only 2 inconveniently placed outlets and floor vents smack dab in the middle of every space that would otherwise be a perfect spot for furniture. Just as I was on the verge of a meltdown, John suggested we scrap the idea entirely and instead move everything from the workout room into the office, combining those two rooms and then use the old workout room as a guest room instead. He's brilliant.
With all the furniture moved out, we had ourselves a nice blank slate. We have the original oak floors throughout the whole house, and the room is painted with the same warm, almost pinkish white color featured in every other room of the house that I haven't bothered to repaint since moving in. (I really need to do some painting in this place...). After moving some things from John's house, we are starting this room makeover with a full sized bed and frame, a white secretary/hutch unit made by John's dad back as a high school project which features robin's egg blue shelves, a 55" TV complete with sound bar, subwoofer and Xbox, and a (much too large) cream and brown Moroccan-inspired rug that spent many years down in the living room. We're going to attempt to use as much of what we already own as possible to keep the costs down, but I ultimately want a room that feels "done," not just thrown together, so we'll see what we actually end up using.
My vision for this room has been heavily influenced by fashion right now: neutrals, neutrals, neutrals. It just so happens that the room already has a lot of warm neutrals thanks to the paint, wood floors, and the repurposed rug, so that works out nicely. As a child of the internet, I obviously couldn't begin any project without a slew of saved photos for inspiration, so naturally a Pinterest board was made and an Instagram collection started. It's very clear I have an obsession with pampas grass, rattan and wicker, warm neutrals, glass and ceramics.
I have only made one purchase so far -- a linen duvet cover and pillow shams from West Elm in the color "natural flax." It's the same bedding line that I've had in my bedroom for the last 5 years and I love it. I'm waiting for this to arrive as it's going to inform the rest of the choices I make. We'll have to see if it clashes too horribly with the rug or not, and if so the rug might get the boot in favor of something else. The next big purchases I'm hoping to make are the nightstand, potentially a different media console for the TV, and a small chair. I will check back in in a few weeks and let you know what progress we've made!
