Friday, September 28, 2012

The Guest Room

 A while ago Ben went on a trip with his mom and brother for about a week.  While he was away I took advantage of having one less distraction (Ben) and went to work ripping out the flooring and painting and building in the tiny guest room that started out quite shabby and depressing. 

Shabby and dull before shot.

Pretty and welcoming after shot!

 It's a very tiny room, and therefore very hard to photograph.  Winnie was looking cute for a second...but dashed off right as I snapped the photo, lol. 

Last year Ben and I waited for hours for this dresser to come up for bid at the auction down the road.  We were both so nervous that someone else would bid it up real fast!  But alas, we brought it home for $2 and it's worth every penny.  Ben glossed the top, I added a $3 mirror that I bought ages ago and I still need to work on the handles.  The reason we got it so cheap?  When it sat up on the stage for bid, it was extremely lopsided.  Two of the casters were missing.  But I knew where they were...inside one of the drawers!  I opened them during the preview time and found them there.  It took literally 30 seconds to put them back on once we got home!  Score!

The little midcentury stool off to the side was Ben's great uncle's and the two frames hold tiny Diane Arbus photos of mentally disabled people in Halloween costumes (Ben used to work with them, so it fit!). 

Ben and I got the full size bed from a garage sale last year for 10 bucks.  The old man we bought it from said it was his boyhood bed.  It's been in the basement waiting for it's time to shine.  The stretching wall lamp was from Brimfield...and I painted the running dog when we first moved to Boston and needed to fill the large wall space in the dining room.

I have more typer's drawers than I care to admit...but they are finding homes around the house...including bedside here in the guest room.  It houses my most precious miniatures including a bisque circus and wooden animals my friend from Germany sent me.  The blue pillow on the bed was $2 from the thrift store down the street and features birds that were embroidered using all french knots...it's very pretty!  I may re-edge it in the future as that type of ruffle is very 90's...but we'll see.

Two tiny vintage alarm clocks add some insurance if a guest need to wake up early.  I constructed very simple end table shelves from scrap wood and brackets I found at an antique store (I was looking for them that day just for this project and actually found them for $6!)  The hardest part was hanging them up...I swear there are no wall studs in my house!!  Seriously, none!  Argh!  

If you look close you can see a ghostly Winnie.  She was looking adorable with her head popped up behind the bed...but alas, she's too quick.  But this photo does give me the opportunity to show you the floor a little.  I ripped up the carpet that I hate so much, the foam, and the luan to reveal some so so pine plank floors.  The section underneath the bed is very patched up and not so pretty...but luckily the bed covers it!  I painted the whole thing white just like I did in our bedroom and it brightens up the room and looks lovely.  The little black rug was 50 cents at a yard sale.

The ugly closet got a transformation too.  Before:  A rod and shelf that was poorly anchored (again, no studs).

And after!  No longer a closet, but a reading nook!  Extra blanket stored underneath.

Ben was looking online one day and saw that someone else had done something similar to their closet and wanted to do the same in this room.

His wish has come true!  Except I added shelves to both sides...we always need room to keep things!  I added the paneling and little ledge shelf too (that was part of the original idea).

There is still room for more goodies, but here's what I put there in a hurry...lots of childrens books (why I have so many...I don't know!) and some fun colorful toys and things.  I love it!  I do still need to make a cushion for the bench and add some pillows...but that might be a winter time project...

You can see how tiny the room is!  I painted the walls a very faint blue.

 And lastly, I switched out the ugly pillow light fixture for a small chandelier I found at a church thrift store for $10.  I spray painted the brass a dark green and polished the crystals a bit...doesn't it look lovely!

Ben had quite the surprise when he came home and was very happy with the result...as I'm sure all of our guests now are (we've got some coming this weekend in fact!)  :)

9 comments:

Rae - Say It Aint So said...

it looks great! i can't believe you got that dresser for so cheap. and i love the little shelves in your closet. I have a BUNCH of type shelves too, but i'm already running out of wall space in my little house!

laurie -magpie ethel said...

You are certainly industrious while Ben is away. Your guest room turned out wonderful! I can't believe you scored that dresser for $2 (and then added a $3 mirror...sheesh).
Especially love the painting you did of the little dog and the closet and shelves! Dang...what don't I like about this room..you nailed it!

Erica of Golden Egg Vintage said...

The room is so pretty! Really, every little detail. My favorite though is the dog painting!!!
Thank you for showing us Crystal.
Erica :)

vivian said...

Crystal! you did all that by yourself in a week? amazing! would you like to come visit me for a month? lol!
Your guest room is adorable!
happy weekend
xoxo
vivian

Your Craft Book said...

Crystal, I love this room, it is perfect in every way and shows your wonderful sense of style. I love the painting on the wall it is honestly beautiful. We have a rat terrier that looks just like the dog that you painted. Cannot wait to see what you do next, Maureen

Melanie said...

Thanks for sharing this! Very inspiring to see what one can do with purchases from thrift shops and garage sales... $2 = priceless!

Vintage by Crystal said...

Thank you so much Melanie and everyone! I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one to get excited over a $2 dresser and that everyone likes my painting! Big smile for me! :)

Lena said...

crystal, this is amazing! this makes me want to come visit you very soon again or even move right into this room! can't believe this actually is the same room we stayed in last year. :D

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