Emma's Guest Bedroom (Before + After)

One of my goals for the summer was to (finally) finish our guest bedroom. During the first year and a half that I owned my home I had a roommate who occupied this room (my little brother—best roommate ever!). Soon after that, Trey and I got married and started living together, and this room became at times kind of a catch-all or junk room. I did finally get it to a place where someone could stay with us. That's how you see it in the photo below.

I wish I had taken a photo of this room when I first moved in because it also had stained, dark tan carpet which I eventually upgraded to wood laminate to match the rest of the house. In the before picture you can see the original paint color.

I had a few goals with this room before I began. First off, the room is the smallest of my three-bedroom house. I've had smaller bedrooms in my life, but still, I didn't want to add any elements that would make it feel smaller. I wanted to open the room up while adding cozy touches.

My second goal was, honestly, to keep it simple. I wanted to have a put-together space that friends and family could crash in when they were visiting. But I didn't want to sink a bunch of money into the room since Trey and I really don't use it much ourselves. Most weeks I hardly even go in that room except to water the plants.

The first thing we did was paint the walls and trim white to match the ceiling. I also had my dad help me remove the oversized ceiling fan and replace it with a much smaller (but still bright) light. This helped visually open up the space a little more.

While planning, I decided I wanted to keep the furniture to a minimum as the room could very easily begin to feel overfilled quickly. Obviously we had to have a bed for guests (it's a queen that we already owned from Trey's previous loft). The chest was something Trey had bought years ago, and it now holds extra blankets and bedding. I got the dark rug on sale last year, and I love the contrast it adds to the room. I picked up the small leather chair that sits in the corner from a local flea market one weekend.

I hung a few magazines using wooden clothing hangers. I try to keep the magazines somewhat up-to-date for guests. I also hate to throw magazines away, as they often have content as good as a book (just shorter usually), so it seems a waste that they are so disposable, you know?

This is my favorite part of the room—the hanging globes in the corner. The flameless candles offer a safer alternative, while the little lights add a cozy feeling to the room, especially at night!

Even though the room is super simple, there are quite a few fun details that I love. I added some glass containers to the top of the chest that hold snacks and travel toiletries for guests. I really stole this idea from my sister. I also love the potted cactus and succulent mini garden. Now we'll just have to see if I can keep them all alive (I'm the worst with plants!). Also, on one wall there's a macrame owl that I thrifted a few months ago, a photo of Trey and me from our one year anniversary pictures, and a fun photo I took while in Seattle recently.

Our guest bedroom features a few DIY projects throughout, since that's one of the best ways to keep your budget low on nearly any decor project. We kept the Light Up Headboard my dad and I made a few years ago. I also built the bed frame, and I'll share that sometime this week (spoiler: it's really simple).

Since I didn't want to add too much furniture to the room, I couldn't decide if I should add some kind of side table next to the bed or not. In the end, I decided to since it's nice to have a place to put your phone or a glass of water. I used a jigsaw to cut out a circular piece of plywood to fit in the corner of the room. I sealed it with polyurethane and then attached it to the wall with shelf brackets. I had collected these two branches from a park about nine months ago and had let them dry out in my garage. Then I peeled off the bark, sanded them down, and sealed them with polyurethane. It's a very similar process to how I made my own stump side tables, so check out that tutorial if you're interested.

The oversized print above the chest is actually a photo of Trey I took while we were in Costa Rica this year. I used some of the actions from the Folk Collection to change it black and white and also add a double exposure. Then I had it printed at Kinkos (it's a blue print copy, like what they use for building plans), and it cost right around $10. Inexpensive, but personal, art; love it! Plus usually his sister Kat (remember Kat? She taught us about wine here and here) and her husband usually stay with us during the holidays, and I know they'll get a kick out of this photo of Trey. :)

Thanks for letting me share our guest bedroom with you! If you enjoyed this, then I know you'll love seeing both my and Elsie's houses in our upcoming book Happy Handmade Home. Just saying. (Pre-order, pre-order, pre-order... Yes, I'm subtle.)

Also, I'm going to try to list and add links to all the stuff you see in my room in case you have questions. But if I miss anything, or if you have any other questions, please let me know. Thanks! xo. Emma

Credits // Author: Emma Chapman. Photography: Janae Hardy. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions. Duvet Cover/Ashley G for UO (similar), rug/West Elm, hanging globe lights/CB2, plant stand and chair/vintage, light fixture and plant pot/Lowe's, chest/old and we repainted it.