Organized: Guest Bedroom

One of my October goals was to give our guest bedroom a little makeover before my parents came for a visit. I'd love to share the results with you!

Previously the room was really just a collection of furniture; it could function as a guest room but it didn't have much personality. And truthfully it was usually occupied by a certain furry member of the family (ahem). There was definitely a lot to be improved!

A trip to IKEA and Target and an afternoon pushing furniture around...and convincing Chris to take a break from grading to hang the curtains...was all it took to give the room a new look. Now I feel happy to welcome guests into this cozy room.

I definitely don't consider the room "done." I'd still love to paint the walls and bedside table and hang some art but the essentials of a guest bedroom - a comfortable place to sleep, a place to put down a phone and wallet, and a reading light - are there.  The room isn't big but moving the bed to the middle of a wall prevents anyone from having to crawl over their bed mate in the middle of the night - always appreciated, I'm sure.

And, yes, that's an Eiffel Tower lamp that you spy on the bedside table!

It was actually a present years ago from my uncle who knows that I love Paris. Recently, that lamp almost made it into the Goodwill bin and I actually thought we had donated it and I was feeling so much regret. I even saw the exact same lamp at World Market and was considering forking over the $50 for something I owned just weeks ago. But luckily the lamp had just been hiding in our office/black hole, hooray! You might be able to guess which room needs a makeover next...

I seem to be having a love affair with grey lately so I wasn't surprised when this simple grey duvet from IKEA and patterned sheets at Target caught my eye. Plus, keeping the bedding a fairly neutral color will allow the walls, bedside table, and accessories to be punchier colors. You don't mind that I didn't iron the bedspread do you?

At first glance, none of the patterned curtains at IKEA seemed right for the room. Since I'm not sure what color the walls might (eventually) be, and at the time I hadn't even picked out bedding yet, I wanted to stick with something simple. Just as I was about to throw some plain white curtains into my cart I found these curvaceous curtains that fit the bill (do they remind anyone else of an onion?). They add pattern to the room without being too loud and the vertical lines, along with hanging the curtains high and wide, help to make the room look bigger.

Now all our guest room needs is more guests...hint, hint friends and family...

As for the vizsla that had to be relocated, given that this was a recent evening scene I think he'll be just fine.