I feel like I’m just full of surprises lately. First, I keep our pregnancy a big ol’ secret. Then, I up and sell our couch and buy a totally new one just ‘cuz. NOW – I’ve gone and made over an entire room in our house without even really referencing it on the blog. Bad blogger! I know 🙂
Having said all of that – I am OVER. THE. MOON. with the way our new fresh and floral guest room has turned out. So much so, that I’m breaking it up into a little three-part series for you! (On the advice and counsel of my dear bloggy friends who all told me it was unfair to my readers to add 40 pictures into one blog post!)Â What can I say? I always get overly excited to show you all a room reveal.
Today, we are doing the full blown drama of the before and after!! I’ll reference sources as we go, but don’t forget that I’ll be breaking down some of the larger elements of this room in future posts as well 🙂 Oh – and there’s a shopping and source guide at the bottom of this post for your convenience!
Alright – THE BEFORE. This guest room is TEENSY. It is on the back of the house and has amazing ocean views and breezes. But when we moved in, it looked like this. *Gulp*
I honestly think these pictures were taken on our actual moving day. I can’t understand why or how one room can be SO ORANGE without anything really orange in it. So about two weeks after this…I couldn’t take it anymore and I painted the wainscoting a grey colour using leftover paint.
It was totally fine and I liked it well and good, but I was dreaming of this room feeling like a little oasis – a teeny pied-a-terre in a French town. I wanted it to be ‘fresher’. Â So naturally, we painted the entire room – wainscoting, walls and the ceiling in a brilliant white. We used a semi-gloss on the wainscoting to give it a bit more oomph and the walls and ceiling are both eggshell finish. Usually, I’d do flat paint on the ceiling, but if you are continuing the wall colour, then you should also continue the finish.
Then, the JEWEL of this room? The wall paper.
Oh My Lanta. This was love at first sight for me.
I chose this stunning Powder Blue Iridescent Modern Damask from Walls Republic and honest to goodness, I could lick it. (I didn’t lick it. But I could lick it.) I will follow up with a post about why I’m on Team I Heart Wall Paper and give you a few awesome tricks I’ve learned papering over the years. So watch for that soon-ish.
But let’s just talk about the beauty of this particular paper for a moment, shall we? It’s heavy, but the pattern is light and serene. It’s IRIDESCENT. So when the light hits the white parts just so – it glimmers. IT GLIMMERS. I die. Here’s me holding a tiny tool box in front of the paper while we were hanging it – just because.
So now you want to see this whole room right? Well, here you go. Voila!
After the paint and paper, the next step was replacing the boobie light with a large modern chandelier with just a bit of sparkle. (Don’t worry, I’ve included a shopping guide at the bottom of this post if you’re interested in where I got things!)The bed next, with some basic and cozy, grey and white bedding from bedface and a lush cable knit throw.
Since the room is so small, we opted for wall sconces as reading lamps – they are the famed Ranarp lamps from Ikea. I paired them with some vintage brass and glass tables I inherited from my Gramma. I have such a soft spot for these tables. I just can’t quit them. Here’s a really similar one I found.
The closet and window were clad in identical bright white drapery. I have (no joke) six of these panels throughout the house. The price point and quality honestly cannot be beaten. (Sourced at the bottom of this post.)
Mirrors, art work, reading sconces and we called it a day! A perfect little getaway spot for the visiting grandparents or maybe a napping Mamma-to-be… So many projects, so little time!
I also love the black and white horse print. I was instantly drawn to it and knew it would add the perfect combination of sophistication and whimsy to the room. Unfortunately, this one I bought is now discontinued. But I did find one that’s almost the same from minted.com.
Next room? The Nursery 🙂 (We’ve already shown you a hint here…and this project used wall paper too!)
Shop This Room! Here’s where you can get your hands on all the decor items (or really similar ones) I used to pull this space together
Here are some other posts you might like too!
This post contains affiliate links. We were provided the wall paper for this project by Walls Republic and the bedding by bedface. You can view our full disclosure and privacy policy here.
Hi! I’m Erin and I wrote this post!
I’m a former broadcast journalist turned DIY blogger; I love all things paint, and power tools. My husband and I work on DIY Passion to share our commitment to inspire others to see beauty in the every day. I love dogs, cats, Han Solo and pie – probably in that order. If you’d like to chat about working together, please get in touch and sign up for our email updates.
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