Made It Monday: Guest Room

Howdy! It was an awesome weekend in this part of the country and hopefully it was just as nice in yours. Matt was off in Vegas doing the bachelor party thing and that left me a single lady for the weekend. Activities included dinner with friends, brunch with friends, two - yes, two! - trips to the dog park, cleaning, sewing, a long run, and even some shopping. Good for the soul, I tell you. Oh, and our bloomin' tulips topped things off nicely!

So now I've got some pics to share of the guest room, which I mentioned previously as the room stripped bare while I spruced up the rest of the joint last weekend, hiding from the workroom project. Per my usual, some befores (the first is the day we closed and the second was taken during the basement reno, when the guest room was a depository for relocated basement junk).

This is the only room in the house that we didn't paint and that remains to be the case. I guess the color is inoffensive enough, and the wood trim abundant enough, that I can't muster up the energy to bathe this room in another color. But that's about all that stayed.

New drapes (a fun jungle-y print from Hancock Fabrics)

Cut paper artwork from a very talented old coworker, which just happens to go perfectly with the George of the Jungle drapes.

The thrift store chair, relocated from the basement but still donning that nasty gold cushion. Eek.

The dining room buffet, now repurposed as a modest dresser with the mirror from the front hall above.

And let's discuss the bed for a sec, because I won't lie, I dig it. This bed has made the rounds with us for the last few years and while perfectly functional, I was growing tired of the brushed nickel bars. Serendipitously, a major sale at the HF gave me a ton of this great asparagus green stripe that's actually an outdoor fabric (read: tres durable). A slipcover could be had for just a few clams and this bed would then have a whole new look.

Before

After

I left the inside panel a tad shorter to accomodate the rail connection.

The top was done in the same way you would make a square bag bottom, and the stripe was the exact width of the rail.

As for the bed's home in the eave, well, there really isn't any better place for it. No joke, furniture placement in the house is a challenge but I'm pleased with this solution. The bedside curtain panels were hung using this set from Ikea; I wanted everything to align with the headboard and for the curtain hanging hardware to be invisible.

An added bonus of this set-up is the additional storage space created behind the bed and curtains. Nothing's back there yet but I doubt that will last!

Some parting notes from the guest room makeover:

• I think this pattern from McCall is swell (if you can look past the mock-up, which is fugly). It's got all you need for creating bedroom/home dec basics and the directions are crazy easy to follow. I've used it for all 5 sets of drapes I've made in the house. I'll probably use it to make some more interesting pillow shams should the mood strike.
• The bed project was also crazy easy. Really, it's a giant bag that you just size to fit your headboard. If you've got a metal frame bed that you've grown tired of, I suggest hitting up the fabric clearance rack. Heck, when you get tired of it, just take the covers off! Cake!
• I was always skeptical of those home decorating shows where the host would shop in the frightened subject's home in order to make over a room. It turns out it works, or at least I'm convinced now that it's a viable option when the change itch strikes.

Charlotte says, "Could you turn that camera off so I can jump on the bed now?"

*Don't forget to vote on the June party dress up at the top!*