Sometimes, you just gotta let things “shake out” – haha. John kept rolling his eyes while I ran back and forth from the guest room to try “one more thing” all day yesterday, but I just love playing around, tweaking things, adding this, subtracting that, and seeing where we end up. It’s probably my favorite part of the whole process, all that final-hour-switcheroo business. And we’re so glad that we shared yesterday’s in-progress pics to show how just a few tweaks in the last 24 hours can really change things up. Not über dramatically, but enough to make a difference for sure. Sometimes it’s those last minute changes that make you step back and go: There. Done. At least for now.
Who am I kidding? I’ll probably be back in there hanging art above the chairs and switching out the bookcase for a proper dresser when we hunt down the perfect one on craigslist in a week or two. And then there’s the crown molding we’d love to add down the line along with a million other changes that we’ll probably roll out over the next few years. But those are projects for another day, because my mom and stepdad will be arriving in T-minus-four-hours. So here’s what the guest room looks like now that we picked up three things from Tar-jay yesterday afternoon.
Those three things were:
- a large $24 faux leather tray
- a round $49 oil-rubbed bronze mirror
- a cute green $19 table lamp
You’ll remember that yesterday’s to do list included hanging something above the bed to balance out the big window to the left (hence the purchase of the big round mirror) and adding a nightstand and table lamp (hence the purchase of the cheap-o table lamp and the tray that we attached to the top of the green luggage rack that we got last week while thrifting on our little V-day beach trip last week).
First I repaired the straps on the luggage rack with thick brown ribbon and a staple gun.
Then John came up with the genius plan to use Command removable adhesive strips…
… to securely fasten the tray to the luggage rack in a way that’s 100% un-doable, thanks to those removable strips.
After placing our new luggage-rack-turned-side-table next to the bed with that cute green lamp…
… and hanging the oil-rubbed bronze mirror above the bed…
…we both really loved the idea of bringing in the leather storage bench that was sitting unused in the playroom for the foot of the guest bed.
That way we could remove the patterned brown blanket that we had folded at the foot of the bed (for a splash of dark color) in exchange for the more “classic” and less busy brown ottoman (which would also serve as a place to sit down, store linens, drop bags, set out magazines for mom, etc). All hail function. And ottomans. Seriously, we can’t get enough of them. So for those of you who hated the brown blanket with a passion that can only be described as intense, rest assured that it’s been beaten and burned. Just kidding, it’s sitting in playroom purgatory with all of our other “leftovers.”
And on the subject of stuff we already have, we knew that our guests would love a place to charge their cellphones, so I brought in a ceramic stool from the sunroom and placed it between the two chairs that I shifted apart so the outlet was easily visible right behind the stool. Bam: cellphone charging central. Note: I’ve since come to my senses and removed the cute blue vase to actually make room for cell phones.
And in separating those chairs I nixed the faux sheepskin and brought over the two happy yellow pinwheel pillows for some easy balance. Of course we still have to hang some art above those chairs, but we’ll get there someday.
So that’s the room as it looks today with mom and Jack on the road from NY. Just for fun, here’s another shot of our cute little $1.25 closet door pull and the empty closet with a bunch of wood hangers just waiting for our guests:
The funny thing is that I’m pretty sure my mom would sleep on the floor for a chance to hang out with Clara, so she probably won’t even notice the walls or the curtains or the bedding because she’ll be so busy staring at the bean.
Speaking of our little helper, here she is hanging out while we hung the mirror above the bed.
Gotta love that girl. She already has an appreciation for rugs and other accessories.
Oh and since you know we love a good budget breakdown, here’s what we spent for the guest bedroom & adjoining guest bathroom makeover:
- Olympic Premium No-VOC primer: $12
- Olympic Premium No-VOC paint (color matched to Martha Stewart’s Plumage): $22
- Target bedskirt: $10
- Ikea curtains: $76 (around $19 a panel)
- Target curtain rods: $18
- Hobby Lobby closet knob: $1.25 (50% off thanks to a hardware sale)
- Target oil-rubbed bronze mirror: $49
- Target tray for luggage rack: $24
- Target table lamp: $19
- Target bathroom shower curtain: $20
- Target bathmat: $20
- Target Waterpik showerhead: $14
- Home Depot toilet seat: $12
- TOTAL: $297.25
Thanks to working with a ton of things that we already had (like our DIYed headboard, existing linens, the two slipper chairs, the ceramic drum stool, our yellow Pottery Barn rug, and our old bookcase) we came in well under a 1K Trading Spaces budget, even if you add our $488 bed purchase to the total above (which takes us to a grand total of $785.25). Now we just have to do a little last minute vacuuming and dusting before my mom swoops in and steals my child. That’s right, our family voted her as Most Likely To Steal Clara for a reason.
Psst- Wanna know where we got something in our house or what paint color we used? Just click on this button:
Mellissa says
I love the way this room turned out! I can’t believe how quickly you knocked this out. Love the side table!
Melinda says
Amazing! Y’all have MAD skills. You’re kind of my heroes. I’m pretty sure my husband gets sick of me saying “I read this post on Young House Love, and now I want to DIY (fill in awesome project, here).”
Sundey says
Okay, I have a color conundrum for you.
I recently found a white Potterybarn farmhouse table, 8ft in length with the leaves in for $50 (at which point I think I may have jumped around like a contestant on The Price is Right…I’m not sure because I blacked out. ;)) We currently have a brown wood round table(think the kind that was in every sububurban house in the early 90s) with bent wood chairs. I want to paint the bent wood chairs to go with the table. I love the look of different colored chairs, but I have seen it done a few times where it just didn’t look good. I *feel* like the secret may lie in staying around the same tones with all of the chairs but just different colors. The problem is…I don’t know which “tone” would work. I’ve thought about tans or grays but I just don’t know. Do you have any ideas/suggestions? We just bought this house so I am not attached to room color or anything, this is just a blank slate with a loverly PB table for now.
YoungHouseLove says
We would just recommend bringing home a bunch of swatches and colors and seeing what you like! Just play around and hold things up to the table to see what “goes” – there are probably a ton of “right answers” and not just one! Good luck!
xo,
s
p.s. Amazing price for that table btw. I would black out too. Haha.
Chelsea says
This is my absolute favorite room I’ve seen so far, and it’s not even finished yet!! I loved it yesterday as well. I love how colorful it is – I think too many people fear color.. of course, I am a college student living in the dorms suffering white wall syndrome. However, the colors just make me so happy! I think the color scheme for this room is my absolute favorite.. and one day I want to design my house around the same colors. Keep it happy and bright!
Laura says
I will not lie, I hated the room yesterday, but the small changes you’ve made are amazing and I lovvvvve it. What an amazing transformation!
Leigh says
I love this even more than yesterday! So pretty! Don’t let my guests see this room, it puts me to shame.
Pam says
WOW! What a difference a day makes. Sorry if others have already said this (don’t have time to read the comments right now), but yesterday I liked the brown bedspread, but didn’t like the curtains. I thought the dark brown looked great with the paint color. But now that the bedspread is gone, the curtains look just fine. Maybe it was too many geometric patterns.
And what an amazing job on the “nightstand.” I wouldn’t have thought of that in a million years. Love, love, love it!
You guys are fabulous, as always.
Tuyet says
I love the finished product – so colourful & fun! I love how everything came together & it’s amazing you were able to use stuff that you already had. You know, you risk having guests stay too long when the guestroom is as good looking as this!
Megan says
LOVE LOVE LOVE the room! I can’t tell from the light coming in through the windows, but did you take the blinds off? Or did you leave them on? I live in NC and my parents live in MD, I will be driving through Rmond tomorrow Will give ya a wave as I’m zooming up 95! LOVE your blog.
YoungHouseLove says
We left those blinds on so they could block out the light (since the curtains probably won’t block much when drawn since they’re white). It’s so funny that the light from outside totally blew out the blinds so they’re invisible!
xo,
s
Lindsey Stondin says
Sooooo much better! Incredible what a little “shake n’ bake” action can do for a room ;)
Marci says
Thanks for the updates – it was great watching this room “come together,” and I must say, I liked the brown blanket, but I love the way the room looks now! A little more grown-up.
Sarah says
I adore this makeover! I love all the colors together! I don’t know how you do it but it’s fabulous!
Karla says
Wow! So bright, fun and stylish! I really love it. Great job guys :)
kirsten says
My sister said this re: Clara (to the tune of the bed intruder song) and I had to post it:
“Hiding under your chairs, flipping your rug out…”
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha. Hilarious!
xo,
s
Camille @ the vintique object says
Well, you all knocked it out of the park again. The peacock blue and green are amazing. Ever consider painting the round mirror a brass-y color? I promise, this is the last time I’ll ever bug you about brass!
YoungHouseLove says
That would actually be really pretty! We like the idea of not painting it white or a bright color (so it can be a nice neutral item along with the bench or tray) but an antique bronze that’s a bit less dark would be sweet.
xo,
s
Suzie says
I love it. A couple of weeks ago we actually decided to use the same colors in our new bedroom when we move in March. In the past we have always done a calming light blue but this time we decided we are going to be bold and go with the green and ‘teal’ colors. I can’t wait
Jakki says
WOW! I absolutely LOVE it!!! What lucky guests!!!! You guys inspire me so much!
A question I have is….crown moulding? Would that be what we call cornices in Australia? If you dont have them how are the walls and ceiling sealed?
Gosh I love American homes so much!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s too funny! There are strips of wood that seal your walls and ceilings called cornices in Australia? Here we call a certain type of boxy window treatment a cornice. So interesting! It’s very standard not to have crown molding here (walls and ceilings are sealed by mudding drywall at the creases, so it’s just a decorative detail to add crown molding). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Jakki says
Hehe how funny all the different terms we have for things! Our cornices are curved on the outer and square on the back and are made from plasterboard (maybe thats your drywall) . We can get fanciers types (back in the day of the 100+ year old stone homes they were SUPER fancy) but every home has them over here (why I was curious about you talking about adding it :) I showed Mum your guest room and she is also in love!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so interesting! I love hearing how homes differ in other countries. And say hi to your mom – er mum (another cute difference) for us!
xo,
s
Sima says
Love the additions to the room. I like your bedside table. May have to pinch your idea ;-).
Ashley says
I love the night stand! Great idea.
The room looks great too. You guys are so creative with the small details.
Allison says
I think some Ikea Lack floating shelves above the slipper chairs would also make a great “charging station” for cell phones, place for watches, jewelry, etc. With 2 kiddos we have loved anyway we can get things up on the wall and not a child level and kids LOVE cell phones :)
Leslie says
I really like how all of the details came together! Along the way, I am often thinking: “Hm, I wouldn’t have been very drawn to that” but then I see it in your room all together and think “I LOVE it!” How do you stylish folks know it will work in the big picture! I always feel like I have to love every item, and then feel disappointed when I don’t, get frustrated, and can’t see the forest through the trees (so to speak). You guys are awesome at that and constantly impress me with your foresight and great decisions!
On a side note, I thought it unexpected that you had the bedside table tray ensemble turned the way you do in the photo. Really small detail, but I think I would have placed the long side of the tray against the wall rather than against the bed. Again, I am not le’ premier designer as previously noted, so I was curious about this minute detail!
YoungHouseLove says
Our “secret” really isn’t much of one at all. We just play around and try things out and see what we like. This room is a great example of just experimenting with stuff we had and switching things in and out and sort of seeing what shakes out. Oh and as for the tray table, we tried it both directions and it seemed to work better in that direction thanks to the rug and the window. It sort of felt like it was cutting into the window in a weird way when it was parallel to the wall, and with all of that rugless space to the side of the bed, the vertical placement sort of filled up the negative area on the floor (since ideally the rug would be a lot deeper and would cover that ground. Hope that makes sense!
xo,
s
Ellen says
i know a lot of people are asking about the pottery barn pillow cases. you can still get them here:
http://www.potterybarn.com/products/woodland-organic-sheet-set/?lineid=1&cm_src=E:STRIPED-PATTERNED-SHEET-SETS
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for sharing the link!
xo,
s
Rose says
Cue the Oprah type voice “AAAAAmmmazing” love it….
Mary says
I love all the colors in the room. It looks great! Definately inspires me to use more color in our guest room that is in limbo right now.
Vanessa says
the green headboard and colourful shams look absolutely FABULOUS against the darker, tealy-blue wall. what a great colour palette. awesome job – can’t wait to see the finished guest room!
Carrie says
I love the pillow cases…I don’t know if I missed it or not, but did you say where you purchased those? I love the room so cheerful! I am working on out guest bedroom and want to do some colors and different patterns. LOVE YOU GUYS!
YoungHouseLove says
Those are from Pottery Barn (on sale now actually). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Tonya says
It looks amazing but I did like the brown blanket. Don’t listen to the haters. However, I also LOVE the ottoman, so, well done!
Ellen says
For people who want the pillow cases, the whole sheet set is still available (ON SALE!) at potterybarn.com
http://www.potterybarn.com/products/woodland-organic-sheet-set/?lineid=1&cm_src=E:STRIPED-PATTERNED-SHEET-SETS
Ellen says
oops, didn’t mean to post that twice! sorry!
paintergal says
You guys (and I include Clara in that statement) are amazing.
She’s just so adorable. I can see why Grandma is itching to nab her.
Karen S. says
I don’t know if in the bevy of comments this has already been said: But the brown tray/green luggage rack that is the side table is BRrILLIant!!! And totally reversible..I didn’t think it could get better. And then it did! NIIiiiiiccccee. Room looks fab!
Kathy says
Hey, I just bought that same little green Tar-jay lamp last week for my daughter’s room. It’s amazing how just adding the touches of green from the lamp and the luggage rack bring the room together with the headboard. Love it all!
Leticia says
I love the changes and color. But i notice no artwork yet? I came across this website http://indiefixx.com/Feed_your_soul/downloads.html
which had the cutest imagess (artwork) for free download. They instantously made me think of you and Clara’s nursery. Hope you like them. :)
YoungHouseLove says
So sweet! Love it. Thanks for the link! We definitely have to get to artwork someday.
xo,
s
Blanca says
Wow! You guys did a great job. The colors are just fab together. I love love love the wall color.
Valerie says
I love it! At first I thought…mirror over bed! What if there’s an earthquake? And then I realized that in VA you don’t have the earthquake concerns we have here in CA. Such a fun room. Benjamin Buttonization is complete!
r8chel says
The room looks great!! I agree, the brown blanket needed to go — it looks much better now. The room is more whimsical than I expected, but it still looks homey and comfortable.
Amanda says
Kind of an odd question here, but do you guys not have a top sheet on your guest bed? And, if not, do you wash your duvet after every guest usage? I only ask because I have a friend who is anti-top sheet and I always worry when I stay at her house that the duvet cover hasn’t been washed for ages (since those seem to take less washing precedence than say, the sheets)…blergh. Love the room though, it’s like walking into a fun boutique hotel!
YoungHouseLove says
We totally have a top sheet! Makes it so much easier to not have to wash the duvet all the time!
xo,
s
p.s. 100 points for the use of blergh. Haha. Love it.
Megan says
That luggage rack/table thing is genius. :)
Chelsea in Richmond says
Wow. I. Love. This. Room! I was really unsure of it yesterday but didn’t want to pile on you all since there were already soooo many comments! The small changes took the room from ok to amazing. I LOVE what you did with the suitcase rack! I would love to find one and do the same exact thing.
Thank you guys for being so awesome and inspiring! Have a great time with your parents this weekend!!!
threadbndr says
Is that a cacti of some kind in the little white pot on the bedside table? If so, I hope it’s not the kind with the really sharp spines. With my luck, I’d hit the cactus when aiming for the alarm clock LOL.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- nope it’s a little faux succulent from Target. I love that it can’t die.
xo,
s
Nicole says
It’s probably been mentioned, but Clara looks just like Sherry in that first picture! She is one cute kid!
Julie says
you’ve taught me alot in a short amount of time. There’s so much more thought process when YOU manage a room. Who knew!
It looks really nice and warm and inviting.
Enjoy your family!
Oh and of course Clara is a sweetie.
karen says
You really did a good job. Those changes made a really nice difference. One thing that I’ve learned from you two is to take photo’s of your space and study them…it’s surprising to see the room in a different way than actually standing in it. Have fun with the family!!
AlyceB says
*sigh* I am in love!! I’d have that as OUR bedroom, let alone our guestroom. I’d certainly stay there anytime :)
That side table is a brilliant idea. I don’t know where you guys think these things up from!
PS – Clara is just A-D-O-rable! Such a cheeky smile :D You procreated well with that one.
Katie says
Hi guys!
Let me tell you, those little changes make a BIG difference, don’t they! I didn’t hate your first set up, but the new arrangement looks much less effortless and I know that’s important to you style hounds :)
I’d crash there in a heart beat…..eh, is that creepy? I’m sorry…I mean, that is a wonderfully inviting guest room, good job!
YoungHouseLove says
Nope, not creepy at all. Come on over! Haha.
xo,
s
Mary says
Good luck with your dresser search on Richmond’s craigslist. I’ve been looking for months and can’t even find one that would be DIY worthy (mainly because all I find are tall dressers and I want a long one). But, it’ll be one less person to compete with if you do find a good one, as I’m going to IKEA for the malm dresser this weekend. Great job on the room! I’m in love with the wall color and pops of green.
Mary says
Oh! And Diversity Thrift recently expanded to west main — a furniture only store, so it might be worth the trip if CL falls short!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Mary! We have yet to go but we can’t wait to check out that location!
xo,
s
Monica says
It looks wonderful!!! I really enjoyed seeing it come together in stages, too! And I have to say, I’m in the “not-a-fan-of-the-brown-blanket” club (though not intense about it!) so I love the final result!
Debbie says
Ah-h-h-h! Wasn’t feeling it yesterday but the guest room looks just great now. It’s amazing how those few additional changes made a world of difference. Fab Job!!
Par says
Spray painting the mirror white would pop the mirror as well in the wall, don’t you think?? The round would match the circles in the curtain….
Fab job – love the green headboard with the teal walls!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks so much! We pondered painting the mirror but love that it goes with the tray and the ottoman (with such bright colors in the room it’s nice for a few things to fall back and be neutral). Hope that makes sense!
xo,
s