The race to have a guest room before the Christmas guests get here is on. Considering that it takes us an average of 5 weeks to get through a project, prospects look dim at the moment.
The room formerly known as “the little TV room” has been emptied out, stripped down and taped off and is ready for paint. I spent a long time looking for the perfect shade of cream to coat the walls of what I was planning to be a decor theme of “Quaint Cottage Style“. But when I looked at the accumulation of the things I’ve amassed so far, the theme has actually turned out to be “Looks Like It Came From Craigslist“. Which it did, more or less. Once I realized that, I was free to abandon the cream idea and go with Behr Country Linens for the wall color. (Look familiar?)
This room was the guest room before we bought the house.
Once we got here, we turned it into a den-like TV room. It was roomy and comfortable and it was where I was set up to do my needlepoint. But the former baby room next door was too small to be a comfortable guest room, so we had to rethink. We sold the big comfy sofa last week, jammed the remaining stuff into the baby room temporarily and here we are today:
Time is short and we aren’t 25 anymore so the going will be slow. We’re aiming for painted walls, cleaned carpeting and a place to sleep by the time the first guests arrive. The frills will have to come later.
Psych! I have plenty of frills all lined up and ready to be deployed. What do you think I’ve been doing all this time if not scouring Craigslist, the local Nextdoor and Facebook Marketplace sites, second hand shops and antique centers? And by antique centers, I mean consignment shops where villains slop chalk paint onto good old wooden furniture. Here’s what I have so far:
- an off-white federal style secretary. perfect as it is
- a bamboo side chair which I was told came from a furniture sale at the nearby Ritz -Carlton resort. I believe it. It’s the most elegant thing in the room.
- a badly damaged maple wood colonial night stand which I was planning to paint off-white but now I’m thinking metallic gold. Seriously.
- a colonial head board. I want to tell you that it’s maple wood but it has a very plastic-y vibe to it. I don’t know.
- an off-white wicker arm chair
- a bridge lamp with a beaded shade.
- a latex orchid in a marigold glass creamer.
- a small braided rug basket to hold bottled water.
- a small rectangular bamboo table in a dull gray. I might paint that metallic gold, too.
- 3 (or 5) vintage Modern Orchid plates as wall decor.
So that’s a start. I need a wall clock, some art work and maybe another lamp. Oh, did I mention that I’ll be using the Modern Orchid lamp in that room?
How does it all sound? Like random Craiglist ads? I think it’s all going to come together very nicely.
I really do.
Cripes Suzette 
I can’t wait to see the finished room!
Keep your fingers crossed. I already feel pretty bad about the decision to cover up the sophisticated color palette that was in that room. 😦
I think it all sounds wonderful and will pull together beautifully.
One hopes!
Sensing an orchid theme. Like the metallic gold accents.
Yes, an orchid theme. I have to try very hard to rein myself in otherwise its going to look like a greenhouse in there which is not my intent. To prove it, I just ordered 2 framed prints of Passion Flowers so I hope that makes the orchidness of it all less intense.
I’ve always liked the idea of a bookshelf in the guest bedroom stocked with selected works. Collected works of Edgar Allen Poe, a light mystery or two. Maybe a local guidebook of out-of-the-way things to see, or history of the area.
That is a very good point. Ideally a side table which incorporates shelving is what I’m after. I have several publications and guide books about where we live for my guests, plus books dedicated exclusively to the American Gothic painting and the (Rocky) steps in front of the Philadelphia Art Museum that I like to beat people over the metaphorical head with.