Before and After: A small guest room gets a makeover

Welcome to a "bird's eye view" of the metamorphosis of a small room in my house.  We all seem to have a room in our home that is in need of a makeover.  The room I chose needed a new identity.

This is the photo of the room before we purchased the house 6 years ago.  It was being used as an office and really had no personality.

When we bought the house, I decided to keep using the room as my office but I quickly grew out of the space.  My business launched and I realized that I needed studio space because this tiny room was overflowing with my supplies.  (only you can't see the closet behind where everything was jammed in)
Secretly, I was only too happy to re-imagine this space and my color choices!

What I really needed was a guest room and even though my space is not very big (9 x 12) it would be the perfect size for a guest bedroom.  So come on down the hall ... it's the first room on the left.

I painted the room a lovely cafe au lait color (it was custom mixed - actually it started out as a big mistake and with the help of Philips Paint in Concord we were able to add a little of this and a little of that to come up with a pleasing shade) and we brightened up all the trim and mouldings with White Opulence by Benjamin Moore.

 Our builder installed bead-board to the back wall to give the room some much needed architecture.  The bead-board also became a headboard of sorts for the bed.  The bed is a regular queen sized bed but appears much larger because we had a custom bed-frame made years ago in London. The bed-frame has the bed sitting much higher - it's kind of like being in the story of "The Princess and the Pea".

Over the bed I installed my new "Egg Series" by Nelley Kelley.  The frames are so sweet - I'm thinking that I will begin to offer select artwork in frames on my website.  The frames are antique white with a gold frame surrounding the artwork.  

The antique mirror on the left is a vintage frame that I found during one of my treasure hunting sessions. When you find old frames (I think the more beat up the better) you should pick them up, refinish them or not and then have your local glass company install a mirror in the frame.  Then you have a custom - one of a kind mirror for your home.  My favorite places to hunt down vintage frames are Nesting on Main in Concord, Ma. and the. Brimfield Antiques Market.

Dont' forget to add some greenery somewhere - it makes the rooms feel so much more alive and welcoming.

Remember it's a guest room.  Don't forget the night light so your guests can see where they are.  I'm using one of my Nelley Kelley "eggs in a nest" night lights.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you enjoyed the tour and the makeover.  I have to say that I love seeing this room each day that I pass it by.  It is now snug and warm and helps to make the house feel finished.

sneak peek of next week's blog on new products and art

See you next week,
Ellen