Cottage Chic Guest Bedroom Reveal
Here we are! We’ve made it through another round of the One Room Challenge. Hallelujah and PTL!
This round was particularly challenging as I tackled two separate spaces, our Guest Bedroom & Our Second Floor Staircase Landing. We also ran into a few curveballs, which older homes tend to throw at you. But alas, here we are at the finish line. I couldn’t be more thrilled to share these spaces with you today.
Before we dive in, let’s take a pause to remember where we came from. Our Guest Room looked more than a little scary, having been unoccupied for at least a few decades. If you’ll remember, there were thousands of staples and tiny nails embedded into the walls from where old wallpaper had been hung. It took me AGES to remove all of those.
Our situation in our Second Floor Staircase Landing wasn’t much better, with smelly old carpet and layers of paint masking the original wood floors. I think you’ll agree that both rooms are so very much improved.
Our Cottage Chic Guest Bedroom Retreat
Without further ado, I’m pleased to share our new Guest Room! It feels every bit the serene and cottage inspired retreat that I was hoping for. I started with a fresh coat of Benjamin Moore paint on the walls, floor, and trim. I used Benjamin Moore’s Aura paint for the walls, and chose Mountain Mist 868 in a flat finish. For our painted wood floors I used Benjamin Moore Floor & Patio Low Sheen in Natural Cream (OC-14), and on our trim I used Benjamin Moore Advance, and I chose Simply White OC-117 in a semi-gloss finish. I love the way that it turned out.
What’s more important than a nice bed and beautiful bedding in a Guest Room? I chose the Embroidered Sateen sheets from Garnet Hill in white, and they’re positively luscious. These sheets feel like silk! Topping it off is the softest and must cuddly hand-stitched Dream Quilt and Shams also from Garnet Hill. I definitely need to get one of these for my own bed.
When I first envisioned the design for our Guest Room, in addition to being a serene cottage-inspired retreat, I also described the space to my husband as “textile heaven”, and I think I hit the mark! I had the pleasure of partnering with Spoonflower on this project, and was able to design several of my own textiles for this space (something that you know I love doing!). I went a bit nuts with the sewing and upholstery projects for our Guest Room, reupholstering an antique settee and a favorite caned chair in my own textile designs from Spoonflower. I also sewed a custom box pleated bed skirt, and recovered the lampshades on the nightstands. Thankfully, Spoonflower also has ready made home decor products like this gorgeous flanged lumbar pillow on the bed, the duvet cover at the foot of the bed, the drapery panels covering the windows, and the square throw pillows you’ll see dotted around the space. Both the lumbar pillow (36” x 14”) and the square throw pillows (20” square) are in new larger sizes that Spoonflower recently introduced.
Peeking out in most of the photos is a new DIY headboard project that I completed for our space, painted in a custom paint color from Jolie paints and finished with Jolie’s Finishing Wax. Truth be told, I love their finishing wax so much, that I used it on our settee frame and our caned chair too!
Crowning the room is the most gorgeous chandelier from Paynes Gray, the Alice Chandelier. The fixture is covered in white porcelain flowers, which feels like a throwback to a bygone era, and so fitting for the room. At night the chandelier casts beautiful flowered shadows, creating a lacy texture on the wall.
Another huge upgrade is our fireplace! Do you remember what it looked like before??? I absolutely adore the rawness of the wood mantle in contrast with the elegance of the Jeffrey Court white marble herringbone on the fireplace. It is such a special feature in the room.
One of the most luxurious upgrades in both our Guest Room and our Second Floor Staircase landing, was new door hardware from Emtek. I’m positively smitten with the beautiful crystal Georgetown knob and the Lancaster rosette in a French Antique finish that we chose for our Guest Room. Now I smile each time I open the door in one of our upstairs rooms.
I chose the Tess Chests from Casaza as our nightstands, and they’re the perfect compliment to the other furniture in the room. I especially love the look and feel of the antique brass hardware, the white diamond detail on the face of the chest, and the cerused oak finish which ties in beautifully with the newly stripped wood on our fireplace mantle.
A beautiful rug from Momeni, grounds the whole space, and reminds me of ocean waves and the sidewalks in Lisbon. I love the color palette of the rug, and it feels so nice underfoot!
Our Second Floor Staircase Landing
Now let’s switch gears and talk about our Second Floor Staircase Landing. In this room our biggest triumphs were the simple and elegant updates that we made, updating the paint, door hardware, lighting, and refinishing the floors to reveal the beautiful heart pine hidden beneath layers of paint. Sometimes the simple things are the most impactful, and such is the case in this space.
Let’s start with the paint. In this room I chose Benjamin Moore’s French Canvas (OC-41) for our walls, and Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter for our trim. I absolutely LOVE our paint colors, especially the darker contrasting trim.
In our hallway, a skirted console table takes centerstage. This is a piece that my husband built, and I sewed the skirt for. You might recognize the same fabric from Spoonflower that I used in our Guest Room, out here in the hallway too. For this space I went with a mushroom colorway instead of the blue that’s in the other space. My Grandmother’s plate collection adorns the walls, and beautiful hand knotted wool rugs from Garnet Hill bring the perfect dose of color and pattern to the room. I’ve been eyeing this particular rug for over a year, and it is every bit as beautiful as I imagined it would be.
I was also thrilled to upgrade all of our door hardware throughout our second floor staircase landing. For this space, I used the same beautiful crystal knob from Emtek (the Georgetown knob) that I used in the Guest Room, and paired it with their rectangular backplate in a French Antique finish. It is such a treat having beautiful new door hardware, and I love the elegant statement that this pairing makes.
Speaking of making a statement, let’s talk about our stunning new lighting in our hallway. SUCH an upgrade! I chose a pair of the Flare Pendants from Hudson Valley Lighting, and love the beauty and character that they bring to our space. The pendant features gorgeous aged brass details, and a lovely Belgian linen shade.
This is our happy dance. We’re doooooone!!
I also want to take a moment to thank the wonderful brands whom I had the pleasure of working with on this project. Thank you so much for partnering with me to see these spaces through to completion.
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out all of the other talented Featured Designers and Guest Designers who participated in this round of the One Room Challenge. There are some truly beautiful transformations that you’ll want to see for yourself.
Also, a special thank you to Linda Weinstein, the brilliant organizer and mastermind of this whole event, and to Better Homes & Gardens, the official media sponsor.
Thanks so much for following along with me on this renovation journey. Check out my Instagram for a daily dose of inspiration, and to follow along with all sorts of renovation-goodness. You can also subscribe at the bottom of this page to receive blog updates delivered straight to your inbox. Until next time!
