Guest Room Makeover

Sometimes literally the only reason I start making over a room is because I get a silly idea in my head like "Let's make a Murphy Bed! It will be fun!"  Haha No. It was a lot of work.  But the results came out pretty fun and the guest room became a whole lot more functional. I can put the bed up and when I save enough money I can throw a pretty rug and desk in the middle and it can also function as a work space.  Before we got started some may remember this room had beige carpet, beige walls and some furniture that we either sold or repainted.  The only thing that stayed was the dresser that also got a makeover. 

A reminder of how the room looked when we moved in:

 Now we have this beautiful room that can be a guest room or an office. 

To start out this room makeover I found this beautiful wall and bookcase color called "Sulking Room Pink" by Farrow and Ball.  I loved that it was a sophisticated and warm pink. It feels grown up. We added picture frame molding to the walls and I painted the walls with an Estate Emulsion and the Trim and bookcase Modern Eggshell.  That way there was a sheen to the trim work that stood out from the walls. 

The bookcases were thrift store finds that were scratched and damaged but were a score at $20 each. They have working lights which is great. I gave them a makeover with pretty wallpaper called Ferrandi  Blue by Christiane Lemieux for York Wallcoverings. 

The Murphy Bed kit was from Amazon and came with very detailed instructions.  You buy all of the lumber separately and I can do a blog post on the details of how we built it. All of the bedding we had on hand but the sheet set is new from Lands End. It is the softest flannel I have ever felt! It's 400 count Supima Cotton and I highly recommend it. 

A touch of gold monogramming never hurt anyone. 

It definitely feels more modern and gives the ceiling a taller look when you paint the crown molding and base molding the same color as the walls. Just use that shinier paint so you can clean it more easily. 

We replaced the hollow core door with a solid wood door and it makes all the difference when opening and closing. It feels sturdy and keeps the sound out. I used the same crystal door knob from Nostalgic Warehouse. 

I kept the original chandelier but removed the crystals. I'm still unsure of whether I will keep it long term. But it works in here for the most part.  The drapes are double wide linen curtains from Pottery Barn. They used to hang at our patio door but work better in here. 

The vintage french dresser got a makeover as well. It used to be white but I thought it would look more grown up in black.  The color is called Paean Black by Farrow and Ball. It pairs so nicely with the wall color. I've had these crystal lamps forever and they are really suited to this space. The mirror adds a bit of coastal whimsy and the contrast is nice. 

Depending on the light the dresser can take on a purple or black color. 

An old painting of sail boats that I had fit so perfectly in here. And the two vintage suitcases plays nicely with the stain on the murphy bed.

The outside of the door was stained with four coats of Minwax Polyshades Oil Based stain in Slate.  I can honestly say I wouldn't use this product again. I would use a regular stain next time with Poly on top.  It was splotchy and dried unevenly every time. Thus the four coats.  Sometimes you live and learn. 

The Brass Peacock door knocker was sort of a last minute touch. Getting a solid wood door means you can have heavy pieces like this.  

And a brass modern robe hook on the inside let's guests hang their coats, robes, or purses easily. 

Here is the murphy bed closed! This blog post is getting very long so I can do a separate post on just this, but we love how it turned out. We even added picture frame, crown, and base molding to the outside. 

The handles are made of iron and brass from Anthropologie and give it such a built in armoire feel.

And I can't forget that we added new Herringbone Laminate Flooring from Lumber Liquidators.   We had a few issues of damage to some of the pieces so had to go back and get more which was kind of frustrating but we are happy with the way it turned out. 

Now that the pandemic is coming to an end (fingers crossed!) we hope to have some guests stay with us. 

xo

Cathleen