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The Beginning of the Guest Room

OUR 2nd HOUSE

I mentioned that we were taking on our guest bedroom and I am oozing excitement.  Any time I get to slash through our list of unfinished trim rooms, I get giddy and act like I am hopped up on sugar and caffeine.  Which makes sense because usually I am hopped up on sugar and caffeine.

If you are new, our trim is all painted the lovely color of putrid flesh.  Slowly but surely we are working our way through all the rooms and painting the trim and the ceiling (also skin rot colored) to the nice bright clean white!

Here’s our list of zones that we have already done:

And here’s the zones we still need to tackle:

  • living room
  • foyer
  • stairway
  • guest bedroom
  • master bedroom
  • sitting room
  • master bathroom
  • Will’s sink room and closet
  • Weston’s sink room and closet
  • play nook

Did you catch that?  We are down to ten rooms in the first and second floors.  And most of them are bathrooms and closets….really SMALL rooms.  Basically I am the energizer bunny of excitement.  This beast of a house is finally becoming OURS.  It’s such a great feeling.  Someone might need to slap me just so I can focus on this post.  Not really.

So the point here is that we are striking another one off the list….the guest bedroom.

By far this is the brightest room in the house.  It faces southwest and in the afternoon, it becomes super light.  At that time, the trim doesn’t seem so bad because the sun is blowing everything out.  But at night and in the morning, the room is warm toned and really not clean looking.

Our goal with this room makeover is to change the trim color, the wall color, the accessories, and to add some privacy.  The furniture will stay.

My biggest roadblock design wise is this wall.  I kinda wanna do a gallery wall but I feel like it’s so…predictable.  I don’t know what else to do though.  We need to preserve the walkway between the bed and the wall…according to most decorators, you should allow for at least 24 inches.  That eliminates the option of putting any furniture on the wall except something REALLY narrow.

So now that you have seen the befores, here is what it looks like now.  We removed everything and took these photos in the morning so you can see how golden the room really is.

Our plan is to go dark with the walls.  It will be the most dramatic bedroom we have ever done.

I’ve explained our process before for painting the trim.  We do not sand.  We simply wipe everything down with a deglosser, prime one to two coats, then use untinted bright white paint for the two to three regular paint coats.  So far, this process does the job.  We don’t use fancy primer or expensive paint…just the normal stuff.

Also, we figured out that it goes like 60% faster if we prime and paint all the trim first…then do the ceiling…then the walls.  That way we have very little taping to do and Jeremy doesn’t mind help painting if he can do it quickly.

The biggest problem with the room is the windows.  They are in pretty rough shape.

We tried hand sanding them but that didn’t get enough of the chipping paint off.  I went at them with our little electric sander and I am hoping I did enough to get a smooth enough surface.  It’s hard to tell until it’s painted if you did enough sanding.

So after we did the trim we painted the ceiling bright white.  It’s just normal bright white untinted ceiling paint.  Usually it takes two coats…and about six showers to get all the splatters.

Jeremy asked me if we were gonna change the light fixture.  I am on the fence.  This one is already installed and free 🙂  It may not be my favorite light ever but free has a certain appeal, ya know?!  Jer suggested putting in four small recessed lights…he can run the electrical in the attic and the lights aren’t super expensive.  I guess I will wait to make the decision until after the room is put back together.

So that is where we are at….room torn up, paint going in.  And one ridiculously excited Katie about the under-ten-rooms-to-go list.  Can you imagine when we get the living room done?!  I think my brain might explode.  In a completely awesome way.  If brains exploding can be awesome.

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Comments

  1. LOVE! Can’t wait to see the color. Fingers crossed for matte black. 🙂

    I have a question, though: do you think you’ll use this room for more kids someday? I know you’ve got some extra bedrooms in the basement; will you put gets down there and some Bower kids up here?

  2. This might be more work than you want to take on but…what if you built inset bookshelves between the studs of that wall?

  4. For lights over beds, I like fixtures with shades. I think they don’t look so much as if you were on the autopsy table when you’re lying… That’s a totally weird thought and personal preference, though! But anyway I feel they’re easier for sleepy eyes 🙂

  7. This is going to look good! I love your aesthetic and can’t wait to see how this finishes up. Just wanted to chime in, though, to say that when you described the trim in the room as “putrid flesh” , I thought, hmm, there are lots of different colors of flesh on people, so maybe there are also many different tones of putrid flesh, too? Anyways, just wanted to remind you that your readers are lots of different colors.

  10. I painted the trim in my house white and the difference it made was massive. People thought I was crazy for putting in the work for just the trim. But it was all worth it. I can’t wait to see the dark color you choose for the wall. I always say I want to go dark and end up with another light color. What can I say… I love bright rooms. Have you considered a picture ledge for that wall? I just put two up in my room where no furniture could go and I love it. A more updated and less predictable version of a picture collage. Can’t wait to see how the room turns out!

  11. Since this is the guest room, how about a picture ledge on that empty wall? You could fill it with local magazines, tour guides, maps, photos, etc. to let your guest go through and learn more about your town.

    Or even just some narrow shelves with pretty decorations related to your area.

    Just a thought! 🙂

  13. We have a couple light fixtures that look similar, and my hubby has been BUGGING me about putting recessed lighting in to replace them. He’s like it’s cheaper in the long run, bc you use only one light and it’s LED, and I’m like it’s free and it works so deal with it dude!! 🙂 It must be a guy thing putting in recessed lighting. I also just painted three ceilings in our house. They were way too flesh colored (in the words of katie), but I think mine were worse and were brown. eww. Have fun!:)

  14. I love a darker colored guest room! We painted ours a deep aquamarine color and still love it 5 years later. It’s south facing like your and gets tons of light so it didn’t make the room too dark at all. I vote for ditching the light. I like Jeremy’s idea of recessed lighting – easy, cheap and looks nice too 🙂 For that big blank wall, I think you should print something really large (a family photo or something?) and mount it to a backer board. I did this in a room in our house and used a piece of that 1″ thick blue foam insulation you can get at HD or Lowes as the backer board. I painted the edges white and used command strips to hang it and it looks fantastic. You’ve gotta use mod podge to attach your print though – spray adhesive will ‘melt’ the foam 🙁 Good luck!

  15. 5 Bathrooms! ?
    I can’t keep my 1.5 bathrooms clean with my 1.5 boys! How the heck do you do it? Seriously do you have a cleaning schedule or Mr. Belvedere hiding in your sink? Which brings me to my next question… What is a sink closet? Is it something fancy and southern that my NY butt knows nothing about?
    Can’t wait to see the dark walls.

  17. First, I’d keep the light fixture. If you want to change up the feel a bit, go for new shades.

    For the wall that’s trouble, what about a larger, couch-size canvas, or one of the new-ish trends of taking a family photo and dividing it into 3 panels on that wall? Something a little different, but still budget-friendly and aesthetically pleasing?!

  18. I look at that trim/ceiling and see off-white. Or cream. Or tan. Whatever. Not “putrid flesh.” You are being a tad dramatic here!

  19. …” It will be the most dramatic bedroom we have ever done…..” sounds like Chris Harrison in an episode of The Bachelor or Bachelorette. HA!!! 😀

    Did I miss the photos of the completed office & playroom?

  20. Love the new plan! Please don’t put recessed lights in a bedroom!! Any hanging fixture is better than those. Keep the one you have and upgrade later if it bothers you but I think it’s fine.

  21. Awesome! Can’t wait to see what dramatic color you guys choose. 🙂 (And I totally thought the same thing — just wait for the living room!) Good luck, guys!

    Would you consider doing some kind of floating shelves or something on that “tough wall” area?

  22. Hi Katie! Might I suggest – if you do change the light fixture – a ceiling fan? As a guest at several families homes multiple times during the year – I must admit that I love the ones with ceiling fans best. Not everyone likes to sleep at the same temperature. . .I also love the ones in my home because I can turn them on before guests arrive to move the air around and make the room really feel fresh. Just a thought. . . 🙂

  24. It already looks so much better! As for ideas for what to do with the wall, what about a gallery wall of hooks? Some of them can be used to hold guest towels, some can have empty hangers for the guests to place their own items, and couple can hold cute pictures or small hang-able mementos. Just a thought 🙂 I can’t wait to see what you come up with, I’m sure it’s going to be fantastic!

  25. Make a leaning mirror for that wall! You’re so good at that kind of stuff- I’d LOVE to see how you DIYed one of those big beautiful ones – Jenna Sue recently did one for her master bedroom that might serve as good inspiration too. 🙂

  26. For the long wall you could try something like a long, low shelf and paint some legs on the wall under it to make it look like a table but save the space. Then top it with guest room essentials like some magazines, spare toiletries in pretty vases or a small basket of guest goodies. Then add some long, wide shot art above it (kind of like the black and white large print you did of Will) .

  28. ok IDEA TIME. For that wall. Because I think this project is begging for you. My Dad is a spectacular artist, and he was the one who taught me and got me started on my own art degree. He started doing these plywood cutouts at one point, of flowers. I wish I had a picture to share. Email me if you want one. Anyway, super easy- trace a huge design on plywood, cut it out, sand, paint it, put it on little blocks and wire it for hanging. SUPER slender but not at all predictable. Katie you would kill it girl!

  29. Why don’t you try painting the light fixture? If it’s isnt to your liking you can add the recessed lights later like you said.

  30. Have you ever painted trim that was a varnished wood? My whole house is orange toned varnished wood trim. For 3 years I have wanted to paint it white but am intimidated by the varnish. The wood in our previous house was not nice wood and was easy to paint after a wipe down with deglosser, but in this house I’m not sure if I should sand first. If you were painting beautiful wood in an awful orange tone, covered in 20 year old varnish, would you sand or just use the deglosser?

  32. For your blank wall, maybe the HEMNES Shoe cabinet with 4 compartments from IKEA could work. We purchased one for the blank wall in our Master Bedroom (it’s only about 1/2 the width of what yours appears to be). It’s made for shoe storage, but I store my extra sheet sets in it! For us, that wall holds a wall-mounted TV above it, but maybe just some nice large-scale art could work if you aren’t wanting to invest in a TV for a guest room!

  33. Wow! That white paint makes a HUGE difference! I can’t wait to see the room put back together.

    xoxo,
    Jessica @ clarkuscat.wordpress.com

  34. Paint the light fixture and buy new shades? Recessed lighting is annoying in a bedroom because you have these little spotlights shining down on you if you’re trying to read or watch TV. I say since you’re taking a risk with the paint, also take a risk with the lighting and purchase a crazy beautiful chandelier that you wouldn’t normally consider. Something like this: http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Modern-Crystal-6-light-Fixture-Chandelier/6979557/product.html?refccid=JG6WZI6ET6QIENKLX3ZVCKBNGI&searchidx=65

  35. How exciting to get another room off the list!

    I think if you change the lampshades on the light fixture it could be much better – or spraypaint the whole thing! The tan shades remind me of the old trim color so I think a bright white or color to match the room would jive better.

  36. My mom had stained and finished wood trim and she sanded. That is my only experience with wood trim 🙁 Sorry – I wish I could be a better source on that!
    xo – kb

  38. We already have one leaning mirror in there. I guess I haven’t posted about it yet. It’s not a great fit on that wall because there is nowhere to stand 🙁
    xo – kb

  40. Nope. They aren’t done yet. The office is more done but I am still shopping for a rug. The curtains also need hemmed. The playroom is still in shambles.
    xo – kb

  41. Haha! A lot of them don’t get used…so it’s like dusting and flushing the toilet. And a sink closet is how the boy’s rooms are set up. The two bedrooms have a jack-n-jill bath with separate little rooms for their sinks. The closets door for each kid is in their sink room…weird huh?!
    xo – kb

  42. I’m personally a fan of photo ledges. It may be predictable as well but I love the idea of changing things around frequently!

  43. Yes I do! I think we may have a kid in here one day! And yes, if we are blessed with enough kids to fill up our upstairs bedrooms, then the guest rooms will be in the basement.
    xo – kb

  45. Just completed a Guest Room renovation and painted the walls a wonderful Ben Moore Chelsea Gray which goes with everything. Also used Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue on older pieces which required no priming and painted the chandelier with a shocking turquoise lacquer and added crystal beads hung under a medallion. Made the room pop. Love what you are doing.

  46. Love what you are doing. Just renovated my guest room in a similar wall color and what made the room pop was the spray painted chandelier in a lacquer with added crystal beads hung under a medallion. Best of Luck.

  47. hmm well then that won’t work – but what about some kind of rope or twine wall hanging that you can craft? I just agree with you about the gallery and picture ledge being played out. I bet you’d be able to come up with something neat like the following:

    http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3588/5783663157_aa667f4398.jpg
    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uBpIeqiuCRM/TAdkmRII87I/AAAAAAAANmo/kbuO4mm2dno/s1600/2_sra_detail.jpg

    maybe in the shape of a nautilus or leaf? Or something like the twine art Emily Henderson keeps using.

    Best,
    Jackie

  48. Wow! The improvements are sooo beautiful! This makes me want to hurry and buy my first home or condo. I want to do renovations. Thanks for inspiring me!!

  49. Recessed lighting in a bedroom would seem very cold and uninviting. Makeover the existing until you find something new/different. Love the comment idea of shallow ledges with maps, brochures, etc. of the area/surrounding area. Plus then you can leave the luggage stands which are adorable.
    Personally, I would NOT want to see a big family picture in a guest room. That would weird me out a bit for some reason. Like you’re watching me.
    Can’t wait to see the wall color!
    And can I just say, I can’t wait to see the living room repainted when the time comes! It grates on me and I don’t even live there LOL

  50. I envision some long picture frame ledges on that wall with some hooks underneath. When you’re living out of a suitcase, I love being able to put a few things on hooks. It may be predictable but that’s because it’s functional. I’m too lazy to unpack everything into a dresser or on hangers (especially if I’m only staying 1 or 2 nights), but having a place to quick hang my purse/coat/sweater/pjs/scarf/umbrella/pants, instantly make it easier to find things in my suitcase. Otherwise it all gets thrown on the floor or bed while I dig for what I actually need.

  51. Katie, I think I’m almost as excited as you about the thought of your shrinking ‘tackle that trim’ list! I’m so excited for you!!

    PLEASE change that light! Let’s go a bit modern and cosy in here 😉

    PS, simply cannot wait to see the new ‘dark’ colour! I love brave paint choices! 🙂

    Hmm, which room will be next (after the laundry, playroom and office reveals)…time to spoil yourselves- master or living?! 😉

  52. If y’all put in recessed lighting, puh-leeeze post a how-to!! I’m dying to add some to my kitchen & living room, but I don’t get exactly HOW to hook the new wires to the junction boxes. TIA!

  54. Love your blog! I also love a good design challenge. :)What about a gallery wall made up of a cool collection of mirrors? It would reflect the light from the window & possibly add some sparkle & glam to the dark paint you mentioned?

  55. Thanks anyway =) Hopefully someday soon I’ll work up the courage! Have fun working on your guest room. I’m sure it’s going to be beautiful.

  56. Also- been thinking about your headache wall, and while my idea may be boring, let’s leave the more exciting stuff for more used areas of your home, and go functional here; Ikea Shoe Cab for extra guest linen storage (towels etc), plus a bonus shelf for dropping their phone, wallet etc, and a gallery wall of mirrors above 🙂

    Sorry, that’s as inventive as I get! haha

  58. I personally like the light fixture for a bedroom! I would think about recovering the shades with a printed fabric of some sort though. Definitely wait until the room is closer to finished to make a decision!

  59. Hey, it’s looking good! We have a similar putrid flesh problem here. EVERYTHING was painted right before we moved in: baseboards, walls, doors, and ceilings. I wanted to ask how you do ceilings, move all the furniture? Cover it? If so, with what? And do you cover the floor or are you just extra careful? Thanks for any advice you can give!g

  60. I vote for replacing or modpodging new fabric on your shades but keeping the light fixture.

    And a nicely scaled piece of artwork for that wall tickles my fancy.

  61. We drape everything including carpeting and furniture. When we paint in the downstairs with the hardwoods, we tape paper down. And we usually use drop cloths or old blankets that wouldn’t be too precious.
    xo – kb

  64. Hello! Katie B, you are the queen of accent walls! Make it one. 🙂 With your creative genius, there is no limit to what that wall could be, and since I’ve never seen a. Plywood walls before your house b. burlap walls before your house or c. faux-brick-made-to-look-real wall before your house, I think you’re pretty much ahead of the game there. But maybe you shouldn’t even worry if something has been done a million times before… as our friends the Petersiks would say “You’ve got to do you in your home!”

  65. So true! I love me a good accent wall! And I love that quote – I will have to quote it back to Sher when I see her 🙂
    xo – kb

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