I love my job, and my company.  I enjoy going to work every day and work with amazing colleagues.  Honestly.  But, if I had to give it up and pick something completely different to fill my days, I’m pretty certain it would be some combination of decorating/ staging/ making-over people’s spaces.  It just brings me such joy.

A few months back, my dear friend Tracy asked for my help with her guest room.  She had this sort of pained expression on her face when she said “I have this guest room, that you can hardly call a guestroom…it’s so un-inviting!  Would you be willing to help me fix it up?”.

I first laughed, because she was acting like this would feel like work for me.  Hardly.  I had a field day.  As Tracy’s wedding was approaching, I set up a gift registry that ended up bringing together most of the items needed for a welcoming guest room.  A few weekends ago, Christian and I headed to Peterborough (or P-town as the cool kids are saying these days) and completed the transformation.  It’s almost like we could hear angels singing from the rafters of Tracy’s 10-foot ceilings.

First, a before picture…because who doesn’t love a good before and after!?  Here we have the view from when you walk into the room.  Gorgeous old wood floors, lovely blue-grey walls and a big, bright window.  It’s a dream….except for the fact that it’s just…err…a bed.  And a mis-matched antique floor lamp with an IKEA Lack side table:

Well, this bride-to-be had plenty of other things to do, such as plan her May wedding…enter Melissa!

The best thing about working with Tracy was that she is incredibly easy-going.  Actually, she is probably one of the most easy-going people I know.  Her only stipulation was that we weren’t going to paint.  Well, perfect, because I’ve painted enough walls at my own house, thank you very much.

Fast forward a few months, insert a wedding shower, wedding, and the invasion of Christian and Melissa, and this is now the vision that welcomes guests as they walk into the guest room:

For the win!  There are still a few finishing touches remaining, but you get the idea (for example, you will notice we have only one side lamp, and I’m working on a few additions, such as a repurposed old bench for the foot of the bed).  The headboard was something that Christian and I built as our wedding shower gift for Tracy and her hubby to be, and we actually ended up reusing the duvet, which was a total bonus.  Those light, airy curtains were a total at $10 per panel and I just love how they frame those gorgeous, giant windows and blow in the breeze.  Ahhhhh.

My favourite “I love my husband” moment was when he suggested swapping out the light fixture.  You can’t see it in the original photo, but these glorious 10 ft ceilings were adorned with….a basic builders light fixture.  Womp womp.

Tracy and I are both all about finding great deals, so I promised her that the only way we would replace the light, would be with something under $50.  Victory was mine at Home Depot when I scored this adorable antique-looking chandelier for…. $18!  Yes!!  It was already marked down on clearance to $35 and then marked down again to $18.  Amazing.  I was like a kid at Christmas, babbling away to the check-out lady at Home Depot about what an amazing deal it was.  I do that.  A lot.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the lovely blue, grey, white and yellow combo on the bed:
Purrrrrrrrdy.

In my opinion, a great guest room should always include the following:

• Extra pillows (you never know if your guests like firm, flat, or somewhere in between.  Having extras lets them decide)
• The feeling of checking into a charming B&B (because, really, who doesn’t want that?)
• At least one bedside lamp and one nightstand (no one wants to fumble for their phone in the night in a foreign room)
• Access to a wall outlet (speaking of phones, we all need to charge our phone – make it easy for guests)
• Water glass/ pitcher beside the bed (see point above re: fumbling through the night in a foreign room)
• Handy guest towels (I like to put these in a basket on top of the dresser; don’t make your guests ask – always anticipate!)

Here’s a close up of the charming Eclipse bedside lamp from Urban Barn – I love the touch of glam in a somewhat “country chic” bedroom.  The night stands are IKEA Hemnes in white.

I’ll be back in the coming weeks with a few more updates here….I joked with Tracy that I will likely keep going for the next year until I have it just “so”.

So there you have it….another happy customer.  Okay, well she wasn’t a customer, but that’s fun to say 🙂

One day…..