Last year was quite the year wasn’t it? I know it was in this household. As we spent much more time at home, we came to really recognize the importance of certain rooms of the house. We were able to get a better feel for what our home needed. We have so many upgrades and renovations to do in this house, but one necessary makeover that came to our attention the most last year was our guest room. You almost couldn’t even call it a guest room. It was more of a blank storage closet with an air mattress in it. It certainly wasn’t cozy, inviting, or welcoming in any way. We never really had use for that room until last year when we finally realized that we REALLY needed a proper guest room. We had family in town when we lost a loved one, we had family members stay over to help with our animals when we had to be out of town, and we needed a separate room for when we were both hit hard with sickness at different times. Sleeping on a cold air mattress in a sterile room filled with junk was not going to work any longer.
That is why at the beginning of this year, we decided we needed to make a change. We needed a proper guest room. A real one where people could stay over and actually be comfortable. But our budget for a guest room was small. How do you make a proper guest room when you have to change literally everything and add….well, everything? Ryan’s answer: IKEA. I always knew he was a smart man! From the beginning though, I’ve always wanted a daybed for the guest room. It’s what we always slept on on trips to see Grandma growing up. She had a beautiful white metal daybed with floral bedding. That bed may have creaked a lot, but I have a lot of fond memories of it. With thoughts of making over the guest room in mind, I knew I wanted to carry on her style into my own home… just in my own personal way. So Ryan went to IKEA’s website, and lo and behold, they had daybeds. Not just any daybeds, but white beadboard ones. So, we went shopping!
Now, when we got to the store and looked at it in person, we both felt a twinge of fear. It looked huge. Like, much too large for this tiny room. We decided after measuring it that the daybed likely wouldn’t fit, and we went to go pick up another bed from the warehouse that I liked too…until we saw it was out of stock indefinitely. So, we went home empty handed. What a stroke of luck it actually was though because we made a big mistake to begin with. In our excitement to go get this bed, we literally forgot to measure the room. So our fears of the bed being too large were based on our perception, and not actual dimensions of the room itself. When we actually measured everything together, we realized that my dream bed for this room would actually fit. May our mistake be a lesson to everyone else haha! So, we drove all the way down to IKEA again and got it. It was not only on sale, but it was also the last one available. I’m so glad we were able to get one. It is the perfect bed for this space and still keeps that great memory of the daybed at Grandma’s alive. (P.S. If you want to make your furniture from IKEA feel more custom, change out the hardware. It makes pieces feel less “manufactured” and more personal!).
Now that we had the bed, some bedding, and curtains (all for amazingly cheap at IKEA I might add), I had to start looking at paint colors. I had painted this room white from the blue that was in here originally. But I really did not want white in here. I wanted a beautiful contrast, something that would pull a more masculine vibe. I truly love combining masculine and feminine touches in my home. It reflects both Ryan and myself, and I love to marry the two styles together. So, a darker color was just the thing I needed to balance out the more feminine style of the bed and bedding.
I went to Lowes and grabbed a dozen or so paint swatches, and one of them felt the most right to me. Then I remembered something. I had a gallon of paint sitting in my paint closet downstairs that was from a “failed” project from a few years ago. I attempted this color for a feature wall in another room but ended up not loving it in the end. I knew I had to give this paint color a try in this room. I put a few samples on all the walls in the room and next to all the colors I had already picked for the space (creams, beiges, wood tones, and blacks) to see if it would work well in here. And the answer was: yes! It is the perfect balance between grey, green, and brown. It’s called Java and is from Valspar. I actually found this color originally through Erin Napier on HGTV’s Hometown. I had seen her use it before in her own home and loved the tones. And while it wasn’t the best fit in the room it was originally intended for, it was the perfect color for this room. Another bonus: I already had it and that saved money on paint. That’s a double win in my cheap book haha!
This room is still technically unfinished. We still have to refinish the floors, get a new rug, install a new light fixture, change out the trim work, get new doors, and replace windows. Those are longer term goals, but considering what it felt like before, this room now feels homey and inviting. I mean, who doesn’t want to curl up in all those pillows and blankets? I know I do. Even when we won’t be needing this room, it will be a great little place to curl up and read a good book with coffee and a yummy candle, don’t you think? Layers of texture and pattern always make a room cozy!
Oh, and if you are wondering what this room looked like when we moved in, here you go:
As you can tell, this room has come a long way. I am glad we now finally have a proper space for our guests. Air mattresses in oversized storage closets are just not the right fit for a guest room. Thanks for checking out our guest room makeover today, and as always, I hope you leave with even a small dose of inspiration. Thank you for being here!
