Be Our Guest...

After our son moved out in July, we decided to give some of the upstairs rooms a little refresh. We took out the old carpeting, replaced it with laminate flooring, repainted the walls, and did some repairs. It took us a while (and is still ongoing), because Russ had been working out of town, coming home for weekends, for several months. As luck would have it, other important things (like replacing the Jeep's clutch) came up and took precedence, too. We really only had the weekends together to get things done, and a lot of the work was a two person job. Our scope of work included two bedrooms, the guest bath, the hallway and (almost finished) the landing. We are also replacing the carpeting on the stairs for wood treads and beadboard risers, though that work is still ongoing. It's been a lot of physical work, and in spite of our "Reuse, Recycle, Restore and Repurpose" commitment, the $$ have been flying out of the checking account. But like most necessary things, we are glad to have (nearly) gotten it done.

For now, we only furnished and decorated one guest room. Our usual visitors live close enough to go home after gatherings, so one room seemed appropriate. To make it a comfortable place for our guests, we bought a few things, refreshed and repaired a few things, and I made a few things. I have a lot of bold colors throughout the rest of my home, so I wanted the guest rooms to feel light and airy. I tried several samples on the walls, and because of it's warm and neutral feel, went with Behr Cream Puff. I like it, and it gives off a nice feeling in person. It also looks crisp and clean with the freshly repainted white trim.

I made the wall art piece thingy using wood, trim, knobs, ribbon and paint I already had. The frames are 12" x 12" purchased on sale from Hobby Lobby online. The price was great ($4.99 half price sale), and the frames are good quality, but boy did they take a long time to get here! 10 days! If only Hobby Lobby knew how impatient I am, and could get my stuff to me in 3 to 4 days instead, they'd get A LOT more of my money! I used the Cricut Design Space to create the lettering and mats for the frames. The letters for HOME were also purchased from Hobby Lobby.

The coat rack/hanger was under $8, having only to buy the chipboard "welcome" and two fancy metal hooks. I had the scrap wood and trim, black chalk paint and bronze guilder's paste.

The dresser has been a hand me down in our family for a number of years. My grandparents had it in their guest bedroom, then when grandpa passed, it lived at my parents house. They gave it to my son who used it until he moved out, and then it became ours. Originally, it had a very orange-ish toned stain. Not really my style, but the original hardware was unique and rustic enough to fit in with the new decor. After a coat of black spray paint and then a dusting of aged bronze, they're even better. I gave the dresser a good cleaning to remove accumulated and invisible oils and furniture polish collected on it throughout the years, then primed and spray painted it satin black to match the rest of the furniture. It works really well in the room.

 

The platform bed frame is nothing special, just a ship flat IKEA type piece. They wanted an arm AND a leg for the matching headboard, so I made my own. Having some experience making fabric covered cornices for the kitchen and family room windows, I had a little confidence that I could make the fabric covered headboard. Nothing fancy, just interesting and nice. Russ cut the 3/4" plywood for me, then I stapled on a 1" foam slab. I wrapped batting over that, and then the fabric. I got the upholstery fabric and the foam slab from Joanne's online when they went on sale for 50% off. I paid $5.99/yd. for the fabric (bought 4 yards so I'd have extra) and $16 for the 24" x 90" roll of 1" thick foam. I had leftover batting stored from the cornices, and finally put it to good use! The fabric is pretty and pulls in the yellow, black and creams from the rest of the decor. I also made runners for the dresser and the nightstand with the fabric.

I bought the chair, mattress, bedding with window covering set, candles, rug and clock at various online retailers after much price comparing and review reading. Did I mention how much I avoid shopping in stores? Fierce traffic to get anywhere, long lines, out of stocks, can't find what you need, having to drive all over to several stores just to strike out. Nope. Not doing it. I'm an online shopper, and even get my groceries delivered!

The lamp is an extra from the set I have in the family room. It just needed a simple rewiring. The nightstand is an extra piece I've used in various rooms over the years.

The bathroom didn't get a lot of attention. I found just scrubbing the walls, repainting the over-the-toilet cupboard and a fresh coat of trim paint did the trick.  I replaced the previous art work in the frames with another quick and easy Cricut project. Russ and I had already replaced the light fixture and added the countertop tile years ago. So, a guest bath ready for guests or overflow (oops! probably shouldn't use that adjective when referencing a bathroom!) from family gatherings.

And that's it for now, though at some point we'd like to replace the flooring in the last three upstairs rooms. Maybe next spring, though - we're pooped and looking forward to some lazy days!! I'll leave you with a lovely foggy fall morning view from the guest room's window.

Mt. Rainier

Hopefully, next week I'll be back with continued progress on the Storybook Cottage landscape.

xo xo,
Jodi