My Budget Fabulous Guest Bedroom Re-Do

One of the nice things about having a house is the fact that we have the space and are able to have friends and family come and stay with us.  But as of late, and especially after the wedding,  our guest bedroom had really become a no-man’s land full of things that didn’t really have a home.  It certainly didn’t reflect a welcoming feeling.  With 3 sets of visitors coming to visit and stay with us this fall, I decided that it was high time to do something about it.

But here’s the thing:  with budget being a huge issue, I needed to re-use and re-purpose what I already had and make it work.

Armed with 2 gallons of paint (that I got on sale over Labor Day!), I got to work.

Here’s an embarrassing view of what it looked like before:

It wasn’t pretty!

I decided on a wall color, thanks in part to Mrs. Limestone and her own guest bedroom, and also decided to paint all the furniture an antique/off white so that it would look less mis-matched.

Here are some “in progress” shots:

I had no problem getting the walls painted.  But last weekend a Texas monsoon washed in, and - no kidding - it rained for about 48 hours STRAIGHT.  In fact, the rain has been on and off until even today!

Our original idea was to use the paint sprayer and spray all the furniture.  Even with the rain, we decided to give it a try anyways.  We thought that hanging up a tarp to sheild our covered porch might work.

It didn’t.  Honestly, it was a nightmare.

Never….NEVER…. try to paint in the rain.  Even under a covered porch.  Or your paint might wash off if it gets wet.

After I gave the armoire it’s first coat of paint with a brush (inside, where it was dry!), I decided that the patchy and non-even paintjob actually looked pretty cool!  I decided then to kind of “antique” all of the furniture with a little sanding paper.  It was super easy to do, and I think it helps the furniture to not look so juvenile.

Once all the paint was dry, all that was left to do was put the room back together!

And here’s what it looks like now:

The painting above the bed is one that Chris’ grandmother painted, and it is very special to him.  I like that it adds a pop of color into the room, so I’m hoping to find a pillow or some fabric that has a rich blue in it to compliment the painting.  I also need to find a curtain panel for the window.  The sheer that I originally thought I’d use ended up being too yellow.  Since I bought the panels that are in front of the closet from Pottery Barn, I’ll just watch the sales and grab another one from there.  More artwork, possibly an alarm clock, and some accessories also need to be added, but those can wait a little bit.  For now, the room is done, and I know our guests that are coming to stay this weekend will notice (and hopefully appreciate!) the big change!

Total cost for this project??  About $50 + a lot of elbow grease.

You can read a little more about the project over at my blog - just look for ”Guest Bedroom” under the tags.