Guest Room Update Wishes.
I have design ADD. Completely. It’s why I’m good at my job, but also why I redo my own interiors (or WANT to) roughly every 12 months. Magnifying my “quick to tire” attitude by 1,000 is the fact that all my rooms are published in my book. After working on the book for so long and staring at the images of the spaces day in and out all last year, I am tired of my own spaces. Thankfully, none of the big items, I managed to make solid choices there, but more the small decorative ones. With Baby Gates on the way, I have an excuse to make over one of my guest rooms, but I’m craving an update to my living room and main guest room (my former master bedroom) ASAP.
New baby, new year, new look.
The easiest one to update would be the guest room- this space:
I love the individual pieces in this room, but I want to shake it up. Especially seeing as this room will get a lot more use once November rolls around. So I’d keep the bed, nightstands, dresser, sconces, drapes, ceiling light and bookcase (not shown here), but want to change the color scheme to blue. This gorgeous rug was borrowed for the shoot (I couldn;t swing the high price) so I have a plain ivory rug in there now that my dogs have decorated with vomit. Nice work, guys. The thing that kills me would be taking down and selling the custom framed wallpaper panels. UGGGHHH, they were so expensive and are SO gorgeous- it’s the ONE thing that is giving me hesitation!!!
But I’m having such a massive blue moment- and since my plans for the nursery are going more grey than blue, this may be my chance to go blue crazy. Guest rooms are the PERFECT place to experiment since you aren’t in them every day. I’m toying with just leaving the walls this grey color (Benjamin Moore San Antonio Gray)- which has a tiny touch of blue in it. I really would like to paint it Farrow and Ball Hague Blue, but if I ask Andrew to paint another room over he may stab me in the face. The main inspiration for this room is the blue colorway of F. Schumacher Pyne Hollyhock fabric. The reason for the fabric focus is because my most FAVORITE pillow in my entire house is the grey colorway of this fabric in my soon to be dismantled pink bedroom (sob, I still LOVE this room!!!) I toyed with just using this pillow in the guest room as is, but with the floral wallpaper panels it’s too much floral for me in one space. What’s a girl to do? Perhaps just bite the bullet and go blue!?
1. A stacked pair of these prints above each nightstand // 2. Navy bordered bedding // 3. Large bolster pillow fabric // 4. Large painting above dresser // 5. Dresser lamp // 6. Lined woven wood shades layered under drapes // 7. Candle // 8. Matches (striped tee, done by the illustrator of my book!) // 9. Add this trim to leads of drapes // 10. A gorgeous vintage distressed rug.
The pillow below that I love, love, love. If this baby had been a girl I was going to do drapes in this fabric and leave the walls pink. But despite my gut feeling, our latest anatomly scan proved it is MOST CERTAINLY a boy. :)
I almost done with my nursery design, so I hope to reveal that in the coming two weeks! :)
Room images by Michael Partenio for Elements of Style: Designing a Home and A Life
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Sorry if this is a silly question, is the last picture you redesigned guest room or a room from your book? Are you able to share where the black lamps are from? Thanks in advance, Jodie
Ah, this room is perfect how it is! I just love it. However if you needed someone to take those panels off your hands, let us know what they’d cost! Love those, they’d be perfect for my new dining room.
You know, baby girls can look like baby boys in utero……their baby parts are swollen…..just sayin….i know – you want to kill me for saying that.
I recently redesigned my home and my family loved it. I used state pillows by Catstudio to decorate the living rooms. Catstudio pillows are very beautiful to decorate your home or giving as gifts. I loved it.
Hi Erin! Have you seen the Suzanne Kasler Greek Key Bedding at Ballard Design? I’ve been dying for something like it but need it in Black- they only have Indigo! Thought it fits into your blue craving though…
https://www.ballarddesigns.com/suzanne-kasler-greek-key-bedding/bed-bath/bedding/all/311671
1) Keep those gorgeous custom wall panels… just reuse them soemwhere else! They are #amazeballs
2) Not sure what you were planning on doing with that white dresser with the gold knobs, but you could totally turn that into a changing table (just add a cushion on top).
Room is going to look great, either way!
xo,
Aubrey | Thedandyliar.com
Where is the headboard in the top picture from?
Andrew should consider himself lucky. Your pregnancy nesting hormones are kicking in. Under the influence some women have wallpapered their whole house; ceilings included.
I just recently revamped my guest room as well and was inspired by your recent blue obsession posts and went nuts with patterns… but I’m missing art work. Do you think the 4 Indigo Arrangement would be too busy over the bed (I don’t have a headboard yet). Here’s a pic of the room https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz7Vt_NLYUTabTdGQUh1V0o1MlE/view?usp=sharing
Let me know what you think :)
I am such a HUGE fan of that Pyne Hollyhock fabric that you have in the pillow…I’m toying with getting a pillow covered in it myself. I love the blue color way as well so I can definitely see that it would be gorgeous to use in your guest room. I totally get your pain though – those framed panels are amazing! I love the new blue rug you chose as well though…in fact the whole new scheme looks so wonderful, especially with the touches of gold, so all I can say is I’m glad I don’t have to make this choice! I can’t wait to see how it ends up!
Love this….I will always have a blue room somewhere in my home. Right now its the dining room ceiling in Hague Blue and lots of grey upholstery. I love every single one of those things…and I’m not even a floral person! I want that pillow….
OK..so this is totally off the subject, but this little tidbit just changed my life!. I too have small dogs which means small queasy stomachs. They have vomited all over my cream silk rug. I had tried everything to remove the orange spots including my trusted carpet cleaner friend. My groomer saw it and said to just put hydrogen peroxide on it…and believe it or not it took them all out. Brilliant.
I can’t WAIT to see the baby room… honestly, this room is so gorgeous, but i’m sure as an interior designer you get antsy & want to mix things up.
SO random – i was on Magnolia Homes blog (Fixer Upper on HGTV) and saw your book used as a decorative piece!
https://shop.magnoliahomes.net/collections/decorate/products/format-pot?variant=957734820
I love the idea of taking what’s already there and shaking it up! I think painting the walls blue might end up a bit overkill, anyway (and probably not worth getting stabbed in the face).
I say go for it!
Go for it and sell me those wallpaper panels;)!
I love both of the bedrooms just as they are, but being a serial redecorator myself with a sometimes reluctant hubby, I totally understand your feelings. Could you perhaps move the framed wallpaper panels to a position over the dresser, and then use the floral pillow on the bed? The items won’t be seen then as part of the same view. It might be eough of a change to distract you temporarily from the blue urge (which for me always passes in the fall when I crave warmer colors).
Hi Erin,
Beautiful ideas as always. But, those panels are my favorite! I tabbed them in your book and even mentioned how much I love them when you visited Chicago (lame, i know!). So, if you do decide to break up with them, please, oh please, sell them to me! I’ll pay for shipping bc we are not in Boston.
PS: Check out the BM paint color, Perspective. After looking at what felt like 350 paint samples, we love the tone and the name!
:)
Lindsay
Do the nursery and let that satisfy your décor urges. I think that guest room is perfection as it is. Would not change one thing!!!
You are craving blue, so I say go for it!! I just did a post about our new home and my plans to do a navy and white office for my husband. It is a great color to work with and I have it in my main living area as well and pair it with a base of black and white then add emerald green in small doses for a different look with pillows. Can’t wait to see more of your plans and especially the little guys room. So happy and excited for you both and your entire family. Have fun with all of this!
Too funny, I just did the opposite! We finished wrapping up our baby boy’s nursery (due mid-July), and I was craving more feminine details. Let me clarify, the nursery isn’t super manly or anything, it’s actually pretty gender neutral with a few animals and dinosaurs thrown in. I, however, am into a little glitz and glam – so we ended up redecorating the guest room to be pretty ladylike… i.e. Pink watercolor floral pillows, small gold decorative accents, a tufted linen side chair and new white gathered bedding. It was my outlet :)
If you are planning on redecorating the living room, could you use the wallpaper panels in there? They are too beautiful to part with!
Gah, you just made me feel so much better! I just had draperies made 6 months ago and I’m already dreaming of something new! I had been feeling guilty about it but now I feel like a normal designer. ;oP
If I were you, I’d dive head first into your blue phase. However, if it was me I would put those wallpaper panels into storage for later. If later comes and you aren’t in love with them anymore, you can sell them.
Your design board looks like my master bedroom (well, once I add the brass lamps and a proper rug. I have a similar duvet cover from OKL and it looks so classy bur wrinkles like crazy. Our bedroom color is BM Santorini. I loved it so much in our last house that I had to use it again. It’s on the same paint strip as Hale Navy and Glass Slipper – both such fantastic colors. I loooove blue!
I love that pillow, too. Classic print. I just left behind my daughter’s perfect toddler bedroom in light pink and white walls with custom Peter Dunham curtains and matching designer’s guild pink velvet goodness for a more grown up monotone cream, leopard and gold room in our new house (with purple accents). It’s hard to say goodbye to favorites! But, you have great taste, so I can’t wait to see how you shake it up. I say go for it – this is what you do! Enjoy.
Love your gorgeous update ideas for your guest room. And I agree, it would be super hard to get rid of the beautiful wallpapaer panels.
Off subject..I know you’re going to share your nursery, but I was really hoping you might share some other inspiration or resources for creating a simple and sweet nursery. I’ve been looking on Pinterest and coming up short (everything is too theme-y, too cheesy, too chevron-y, too mid-century, etc). Any advice on where to look? Would love to see a post on this from you!
Thanks and congratulations,
Anna
While I’m all for shaking things up, and certainly get bored with my own decorating schemes, that guest bedroom with the wallpaper panels is exquisite. Is the pink bedroom to become the nursery?
If so, couldn’t you incorporate the blue details into that room? All of the elements pictured would look fabulous in a little boy’s nursery, along with whatever else you choose to incorporate.
But I’m sure whatever you do will be gorgeous. Also, if you’re selling those wallpaper panels you need to let me know!!