Guest Room: After!

I was going to wait until the final projects were complete in this room, but I've been thwarted where one is concerned and plan to take my time with the other, so I might as well get on with it.  More on those projects later.

This room has been a slow evolution, from a beige box with white bedding to a dramatic space with intense color.  I love it.  I have to say, it has become my favorite room in the house.

What I started with: the turkish rug, the mid-century X-base desk, the hotel bedding, and various art and lamps to work with.

What I ended up with:

 

I've blogged through this process more than any other room.  Some posts: At first I thought I could make do with very small interventions in the space, but I was wrong.  The need for raspberry silk curtains presented itself first.  Then I hit pay dirt with a custom headboard on craiglist for just $35, which I recovered with splurge fabric, after first trying to dye my own substitute.  I stalked mid-century high boys to fit into the niche.  Then, when I found a bleached wood mirror on clearance at Home Goods that just needed to be in the room, I got the big idea to paint the whole shebang navy.  I spray painted some wall sconces.  And tomorrow I'll do one last post, telling you how to make your own custom pleated lampshades, like the little wall sconces over the bed, which are perhaps my best Ikea upgrade to date.  Hmmm....I just took away any illusion that this room came together all quick and easy.  But it did, really, after I did all that processing to figure out what the room wanted to be!

It's probably the most "formal" and traditional room in the house, but I like that it uses the same formula from the dining room, where the trad leanings (silk curtains, Turkish rugs) are brought down to earth with the more casual mid-century furniture.

So what's left to do?  Well, this feels like a room where more is more, and I would love to add navy silk tassel trim to the leading edge of the curtain (I found some BEAUTIFUL tassel trim from Ralph Lauren at my favorite outlet for $30 a yard, which is a deal, but still, I would need more than 5 yards....).

Of course, that lovely mid-century chair at the desk, a fabulous gift from my friend Sara, needs to be stained or painted--I'm thinking it should be the same stain as the desk.  But I will admit this is LOW on my priority list.

I'd kind of like to turn the curtain rod and rings brass.  As if by magic.  The dark one, which I bought for lighter walls, gets lost now, and brass would stand out and work with the lamps and the drawer pulls, but I'm wary of spray painting pieces that are meant to rub together.

I would like to cover the standard-issue blackout shade with navy ticking, as well as the lampshades on the brass lamps.  Don't they just want to have this fabric?

Oh, and the ceiling.  I would very much love to upholster that ceiling in ticking.  But here's the thing: thwarted.  No one in the Twin Cities carries navy ticking.  NO ONE.  I went to all the major stores, and Hancock's ticking is printed, not woven, JoAnn's only has the super heavy duty canvas kind,  Treadle yard goods has every color except navy, and my old stand by, S.R. Harris doesn't do ticking.  I honestly think of this as the most ubiquitous fabric around, but so far no dice.  And obviously I can order it online, but it's the principle of the thing. 

Oh yeah, and also those lovely Indian block-print pillow cases, the ones I have had for more than a decade and love love love?

Well, they are shredded.  The cotton is super thin and has literally fallen apart in long rips on each side of both cases--totally beyond repair.  So I need new shams.  And there aren't any readymade ones that I'm down with.  For fabric, I love this take on what I already have:

It's a bolder, stronger graphic floral, and I love that it has the yellowish tone from the desk.

But then I also got sort of inspired by the ikat I ordered for the living room throw cushions.

It's really too many colors, but it has sent me down the rabbit hole looking for a blue and red ikat in just the right scale.


So, what do you think?  I'm in no rush for those.

Oh, right, and if you are still reading, you are either related to me or REALLY interested in this kind of thing, so I'll share the breakdown of the budget.

Headboard: $35, craigslist
Headboard fabric: Calais linen in Indigo, Calico Corners, 1 1/2 yards at sale price of $17/yard, plus shipping and handling came to about $46
Dresser: $75, craigslist
Curtain Fabric: S. R. Harris, 5 1/2 yards at $40, less 65% off = $77
Zig zag pillow: Kohl's, clearance for $13, but I had a gift card so FREE
Wood sunburst mirror: Home Goods, clearance for $24
Curtain Rod and rings: About $35
Brown ceramic lamp on dresser: Home Goods, $49
Navy and white shade on brown ceramic lamp: Target, $19
Ikea wall sconces: $13.99 a piece, plus a package of navy double fold bias tape, about $3, total around $31
White throw on bed: Ikea, $19.99
Paint: $75 (one gallon primer and two gallons of paint)

Grand total: $499

Of course, I had some great stuff to work with, but I love that this room looks like I spent a whole lot more!

If you would like help transforming a space in any style on any budget, email me at heatherjoypeterson@gmail.com