Design Plans For Our Guest Bedroom

Our classic bedroom design plan is packed full of classic fabrics, paint colors and decor. My goal is to create a space that is peaceful and calm where our guests can rest and recharge. 

Our guest bedroom is one of the last rooms in our home that I haven’t tackled. My childhood furniture has been in the room in case we had over-night guests but the room has merely served as a storage room for overflow of the rest of our home. We’ve slowly worked our way through our home, room by room, renovating. Now it’s time to finally tackle this space and create a peaceful and inviting guest bedroom and to say that I’m excited would be an understatement. 

When we purchased the house this room was a bit creepy, to say the least. We immediately replaced the flooring and painted the walls and trim in Simply White by Benjamin Moore. In the beginning I wasn’t sure how I wanted this space to look and feel but I knew that I could address it down the road once more important projects were completed. Here’s a look at the room when we bought our house. 

Two years ago I had a thought to install board and batten on the walls as we did in our breakfast nook. I started with the back wall and never completed it. Once I got it on the wall I realized that it wasn’t quite what I wanted after all. I also decided to try the same bold and dark color for the walls as we did in our family/TV room and again, once I got it in the space quickly realized it wasn’t right. This room only has one window to the left and it is north facing, so this room needs a nice light color. For the last 6-8 months I’ve really been searching for what it is that I want this room to be. Some ideas for spaces come to me easily and quickly but that has not been the case with this room. After months of thought and inspiration seeking I’ve finally curated a design plan. 

Inspiration 

The bedroom at the top left was designed by Phoebe Howard, one of my favorite designers. I fell in love with that bedroom the moment I saw it and have had this photo saved for a couple of years. From the soft blue wall color to the rich white bedding and the vintage prints, it’s all so beautifully curated. The bottom right photo doesn’t have a source but I loved it because it encompasses the warmth while still working with neutrals. I love the rich wood tones of the bedside table paired with the creamy whites and the brass decor finishes. It had me at first glance. 

Floor to Ceiling Beadboard

For the walls I’ll be covering them with floor to ceiling headboard. Instead of recruiting Josh to help install them as we did in our master bathroom, I’ll be using a paintable beadboard wallpaper. It’s a product I have wanted to try out for years. I think this is going to be a great room to do so. It will have some texture and give the space a bit of a laid-back cottage feel. I went ahead and scraped the ceiling this week in preparation to paint it. I may share on that later. I’ve become quite the pro when it comes to scraping ceilings. I think I finally figured out how to execute it smoothly and as cleanly as possible. 

Soft and Soothing Colors 

I’ve gone back and forth on a soft blue for the walls or a soft sage green. For this room I keep getting pulled towards a pale blue. I have not settled on a shade just yet. I’ve got a couple of colors that I am going to put sample on the wall before I make my decision but I’m thinking it is going to be between Glidden Silver Blue Sea, Benjamin Moore’s Iceberg, or Benjamin Moore’s Quiet Moments. All three colors are calm and soft. Simply White will be used for the ceiling. I am going to go with a tone on tone look for this space as I’ve done in our foyer and living room and paint the trim in the same color as the walls. If not, Simply White will also be used on the trim. I haven’t quite decided. 

Furniture 

One thing I have known is that I wanted to incorporated antique bed into the space. After months of searching the FB yard sale, craigslist and antique stores, I almost gave up on an antique and purchased the bed above from Crate and Barrel. I actually had it in my cart and was ready to order when I came across the bed I ended up buying from someone on craigslist. I’ll share all about the bed soon! I left this brass bed from C&B in the design plane because I think its perfect for this design board and gives any of you who might be looking to redecorate a room in a similar look a great source for a beautiful bed. 

I’ll be using a bedside table that I already have and antique dresser as well that I already own in the room. I recently came across a beautiful slipcovered armchair on the FB yard sale site as well as a beautiful chair from the 40’s that needs to be recovered. You may have saw my IG story on it last week. If I get it reupholster in a timely manner I’ll use it in this room. I would love to bring in some lidded baskets from Ballard Designs for some extra storage and possibly incorporate a small bench at the foot of the bed. 

Decor and Fabric

All of the decor that I’ve chosen currently is pretty timeless. Brass curtain rods, neutral cream lamps and shades and gold leaf picture frames will give the room’s decor a classic look. For the fabric I want neutrals with pops of greens and blues. I’m going to reuse the bedding that I already have for the room – Ballard Design’s Daisy windowpane duvet paired with a white quilt. For the drapes I’m considering the green and white check fabric from BD that I also used on some pillows that I have or the hydrangea block print by JSH that I’ve used on many occasions. Each one coordinates well with the other, so I think that drapes in either fabric would work. I’m leaning towards the hydrangea block print for drapes and for a lumbar pillow paired with the green and white check for throw pillows. I still need to toss it around a bit. 

Here are a few more inspiration photos that I have saved with this project in mind. I’ve pulled a little design details or a certain feeling from each. 

Source – unknown

Source –  Martha Stewart Living

Source – Country Living 

Source – Midwest Living

Overall, I want this room to be calm, inviting and sophisticated. I want our guests to feel relaxed and welcomed. In the last few years we’ve really begun to host friend and family overnight. We had dear friends from out of the country stay three months with us as well as friends and family who came just for the weekend. It’s important to me that this room gets the attention that the rest of our home has. I plan to keep you all posted as I work my way through each project. I hope to have this space complete by the beginning of May. I hope you guys will keep me on track. I hope you guys have a great rest of your week!