Style Board: Guest Room #1

For this project, I felt like I rummaged around the Fourty20Four house and rearranged things.

Here's the problem: Last year, Catherine and Micah built a house from the ground up. It's totally impressive and I am beyond jealous!! The good news is- they've been documenting their entire experience of a life time at Fourty20Four blog. The result is AMAZING. The not so good news, they were a bit lost on what to do with their two Guest Rooms. You can see the current state of the rooms right here.

Here's the set up: Catherine and Micah are ginormous travelers and they wanted to have one room to display their travel goods, including Catherine's impressive Babushka collection from her time in Russia. Micah also wanted to make sure the rooms were manly enough to satisfy his taste (no pink pillows for him).

Here's Room #1:

Photo from Fourty20Four Blog.

Here's my plan for Room #1: (1) bring in a big blast of color with a duvet- and make that your jumping off point and paint the wall behind the bed a light bright color to avoid the Seattle doldrums; (2) you need full length curtains to polish up the room- IKEA shears work or a fun striped DIY; (3) I don’t think you need two side tables in a guest room, but you do need at least one substantial one. Would the dresser fit between the bed and the window?? (4) make sure the side table has a lamp (the ones you already have maybe perfect), and a cute clock. Oh, and when guests visit- add some flowers. (5) A must for a great guest room- a $30 Luggage Rack- your guest will love you for this one.

As for what they have: a great wooden dresser and mirror. I'd say paint the mirror a glossy white or fun pop color and put it on the wall opposite the door in the main bedroom to add light to the room. And either paint the dresser white or add cool knobs to modernize it.

#1 Buddha Sunshine: With this room, I wanted to be as bright and cheerful as possible to really block out the Seattle Gray.

CB2 Duvet Set- $129; Urban Outfitters Buddha Lamp, $28;

Urban Outfitters, Pillow Case, $28; DIY Curtains, via Heeled Foot in the Door; Paint- Restoration Hardware- Butter. Side table and mirror- already owned.

#2:Pops of color with basics. This one is similar to the first one, but a bit more sophisticated and a nod to their travels.

West Elm Clock Pictured, $34-69 or Z Gallerie Alarm Clock, $30; Ikea, Curtain, $25

C&B, Hurricane Vases, Sale $11 each; Urban Outfitters Babushka Pillow Set, $28;

Urban Outfitters Woodland Duvet, $78 cheaper option- Ikea Duvet, $50 set; Z Gallerie World Globe, $78; Already owned: Ikea Chair, $99 and wooden dresser.

#3 Babushka Central. I made this one just for Catherine-- a Babushka retreat of sorts.

Folk Patchwork Quilt, $128; Scroll Tapestry, $38; UO Gnome Plate, $20; C&B Outlet, Pillow Cases, $7 each; UO Shelf, $28 Lamp already owned, pictured: Target $25

The Feedback: On the right track, but maybe a bit too feminine. I am so used to Mr. Spice who is a big fan of pink, so I understand if I was a bit out of touch on this one. I also know that I went really young and fun on the above boards, so I took a stab at man-ing them up a bit.

#4 Sunshine redo. Another example of a few small changes making the room feel totally different. By changing the pillow cases, curtain and lamp, it's a whole new feel:

Crate &Barrel, light $49; CB2 Duvet Set- $129; C&B, Sheer Curtains; West Elm Clock, $34-69; Paint- Restoration Hardware- Butter.

#5 Orange and Sophisticated. I up'ed the age of the room by a good 10 years with this one, and even Micah couldn't complain with the balance of masculine and feminine. I added weight to the curtains and duvet to make the room feel more grounded.

Any Gray Pillows will do, these are from CB2, Shaggy, $50. Both CB2 and West Elm have a great selection of gray pillows and comforters. You could also go for a Navy instead of Gray. West Elm, Curtains, $35-47. West Elm Duvet $99 or West Elm Quilt Cover, $97; Storage Trunks. CB2 $50-$70; Wall Color Inspiration. Shown: Yam and Cornbread. Ikea, Curtain, $25; CB2- Wall Hook- $20 perfect for a guest towel or jacket. Potential lamp, CB2, $100

I think the last one was a success. Next time on Style Boards, their second guest bedroom.

Is your house more on the manly side or a bit more girly?

Need some style help yourself- email me at sugarspicelivin@gmail.com, and I promise to do my best in solving your design dilemma!

Oh, and check out my guest post on their blog right now!!!