Be Our Guest

We’ve never liked the dull gray/white carpet in this room. Or the lovely floral wallpaper. So, one Wednesday afternoon near the end of August, Matt decided he wanted to see what the floor looked like underneath.

It turned out to be a pretty big job getting all that carpet up. Because of the roundness of the room, there were tack strips and staples along every inch to try to keep the carpet straight.

A few trips to Lowe’s and we picked this rich Mahagony brown in a flat finish. We chose to try painting over the wallpaper rather than strip it off. With these old plaster walls the likelihood is high that we would uncover cracks (or make new ones in the process). You can still see the wallpaper seams and a few cracks already there but I think the flat paint helps. We had the red rug in the girls room but it looks much better in here.

The inside of the fireplace has some pretty special bricks ;)

We went a little crazy at TJ Maxx (LOVE that place!). Here is the finished product. We bought the dressers, and the little piano stool next to the bed, from the previous owner. Pretty much everything else was bought at TJ Maxx, Ross, or Bed Bath and Beyond.

Originally, the plan was to only paint the mantle and hearth of the fireplace but then decided to paint the whole thing. I like this much better.

A smorgisborg of owls

I’m in love with those chairs. We lucked out that they were the exact match to the fireplace. They were the most expensive thing in the room but I’m so glad we splurged!

Our little clock we bought in Virginia.

Matt put up “crown molding.” It’s really a bendable plastic-type material chair rail that has a thousand little nails to keep it against the wall.

Another strip was needed along the bottom of the baseboards.

We wanted there to be an unnecessary amount of pillows on the bed.

And the softest throw we could find.

These drapes were not an easy task. We looked at tons of different styles, bought a few to try out, took back hundreds of dollar’s worth, to find just the right ones. I think we made the right choice. There are some sheer drapes underneath so the light can still come through without feeling like you’re in a fish bowl.

A few local chocolates for our guests.

And some light reading about the area.

I saved the best for last. This dresser is no ordinary dresser…

It’s really a mini bar (free of charge!) stocked with tons of things for our guests to nibble on or drink. And anything they may have forgotten to bring on their journey.

Our guest room has come a long way. I’m so happy with how it turned out – a cozy oasis for our family and friends willing to make the long trek to see us. Just a little way for us to show our thanks.