Lowers Guest Room

Goals for this space:

CREATE A RELAXING RETREAT FOR OVERNIGHT GUESTS (MAINLY THEIR PARENTS) BY INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING:

1.  Hotel-style bedding, extra blankets and pillows & simple window treatment
2.  Bedside chests with drawers for clothes, reading lamps & alarm clock

3.  Mirror at entry over small bench
4.  Comfortable chair for reading with floor lamp or small accent table & lamp
5.  Thoughtful touches such as: basket with toiletries, magazines, fresh flowers, carafe/glass for water, notepad/pencil

I'm going to go pull paint colors from Sherwin Williams tomorrow for all your spaces, so I'll be dropping those off to your house sometime this week.  My initial thought for the guest room is a warm brown/caramel, but not too dark.  I think based on the room size, you should keep the color in here pretty light.  

Here is the total "vision" for the room. I'm calling it "Hotel Lowers", hehehe.  Seriously, this room has all the comforts and style of a 5 star hotel, perfect for guests!

Hotel style Guest Ro




Okay, now here's the room broken down by idea:

FURNITURE:

As you walk into the room (where the chair sits now), place a small upholstered ottoman or a bench on that little angled wall.  This will provide a spot to place a suitcase or to sit and put on shoes.  Hang an interesting mirror over the bench/ottoman.

Bench/Ottoman Ideas:

 Love this!  The red ties into the accents on the bed and you can store extra bed linens inside!  I've seen these in vinyl at the discounters & Garden Ridge.  

Love the organic feel of this bench.

Often, you can find these piano benches at thrift stores.  The compartment can hold extra sheets.  I just refinished one I found at Goodwill and it sits in my entryway to hold umbrellas! 

A traditional style bench would be nice, but not sure if you can find one in the right width for that little wall.  Would be cute to add a couple of throw pillows.

Mirror Ideas:

Keep in mind - pick anything but a basic rectangle, look for cool materials (iron, natural fibers, etc.) and pick something with interesting details (antiqued glass, swirls, etc).  Think of it as another piece of art.  If you find a great deal in the wrong finish, remember you can always spray paint it!

Venice Mirror - Z Gallerie - $159

Banana Leaf Mirror - Crate & Barrel - $34.95 

BED AREA:

Instead of spending money on a bed, I would make an upholstered headboard that you can mount directly to the wall!  Cheap and looks very chic!

  This one is covered in burlap with nailhead trim and would look great with your scheme.  The tutorial on how to build it is here.

You could also make it taller...

with a little curve...

 or low profile...

tutorial on this one is here.

You don't have to use burlap.  I think Irish linen would be beautiful or even a brushed (sueded) cotton.  I love the nailhead trim!

BEDDING:

Look for white bedding (hotel-style) with brown piping or trim, similar to this:

I see this style of bedding a lot at TJ Maxx, Marshall's & Ross.  

To save $$$ I would buy the comforter/duvet and 2 standard shams white/brown piping.  Then, I would just buy cheaper solid white or chocolate sheets & 2 more standard shams.  Look for 350 - 500 threadcount or cotton sateen (sateen is usually lower threadcount, but feels more expensive)

Pop the red color in your accents, like the throw pillows you already have on the bed and a red throw folded at the end of the bed (in the throw stick with a simple pattern: either a basic ribbed as shown below, a subtle floral embossing (will tie into your throw pillows) or no pattern at all.)

End result would look something like this, except imagine with the modern floral throw pillows you have now.

Bedside Chests:

Look for 2 chests (they don't have to match) that have drawers.  They will also serve as folded clothes storage for your guests. You could also do small 3 drawer dressers, just make sure they aren't taller than the bed.  I would highly suggest shopping thrift stores to find pieces to refinish or paint.  Ikea also has some great options for low $$$.  Here are some ideas:

Ikea Aneboda 3 drawer chest $69.99 - I really like the idea of popping some white in the room.  It will be unexpected, but will look great!  The drawer fronts on this piece are an opaque thick plastic.

 Ikea Engen 2 drawer chest $99.99

 Malm 3 drawer chest $79.99 - These are easy to put together and they look great.  You can add handles if you want to dress it up. They also sell glass tops.

LIGHTING:

You will need table lamps for the new bedside chests.  I've found great lamps at Home Goods, Marshall's, Ross, TJ Maxx, Target, Walmart and even Goodwill (with a little spray paint, you can make a thrift store lamp look fabulous!  Also, remember if a lamp has an ugly shade you can get a new one for about $10-15 from Target or Walmart)  

Here are some ideas for what to look for (keep in mind, bronze base, nothing ornate, shade with texture like burlap or linen or fun color like chocolate):

Move the upholstered chair you have into the corner by the window.  Add a throw pillow in a print or solid and a floor lamp.  You could also add a small table, basket with magazines and live plant or florals are always a nice touch.  Here are some floor lamp ideas:

ART/WALL DECOR:

Art is really a personal thing, but I would suggest something for over the bed that has a touch of the red in it, but can incorporate other colors too, even colors that aren't in the room.  You can also make your own art!  I recently made some for my master bedroom out of scrapbook paper and frames for cheap, and it looks great. You can flank the piece with candle sconces.  Here are some ideas for over-the-bed art:

 Black & white or sepia toned photography

"Bassano" - Z Gallerie - $69

"Floral I" - Z Gallerie - $69.95

Mimics open flower sketch style of your throw pillows

"

"Tuscan Villas" Print - Crate & Barrel - $249

These are expensive prints from Crate & Barrel, but the look could be created easily with scrapbook paper.  You could hang 3 in a row or do a big square with 4.

On the big wall you face when laying in bed, it might be nice to do a gallery photo wall, since you said mainly both your parents stay in this room.  Print your favorite family photos in black/white or sepia and frame in espresso colored frames.  Remember, you can always paint frames if the finish is bad.  Also, the frames should be different styles.  Some plain, some victorian feel, etc.

OTHER PERSONAL TOUCHES:

You don't want to put a lot of accessories in the room, just the basics for comfort of your guests.

Include an alarm clock on one of the bedside chests.  You can find cute ones at Walmart or Target.

A basket with current magazines.

Carafe of water and a cup on a tray on one of the bedside tables

Oh and one last thing, for window treatment, I wouldn't go with curtains, since you'll have a chair in that corner.  Just a simple valance would be good.  Or a padded cornice, like this:

Do the same fabric as the upholstered headboard.