Guest room part 2: Lessons Learned in Paint Pickin'

Oh little guest room, how I am starting to love you. :) 

If you remember, we started with dirty green walls and carpet that we quickly upgraded. 

With some elbow grease, a vision, and new bedding, I was able to change the look of this room drastically--however, that was only part one of the guest room redo. I imagine many more projects in here with a craft area instead of the office space we don't really use, and some fun artwork and painting projects. Part one concluded with a very fresh space. 

A rainy Saturday afternoon this past weekend set me back to work in this space preparing for our next undetermined overnight guests. This phase of the guest room redo meant I was ready for color in the guest bathroom! 

Well, not until I finished painting the section I left off with last time (that I didn't show you until now). Surprise! I ran out of paint! 

 Since I used leftover "Urban Sunrise" from the master bath, I ended up running out before I finished phase one. Whoops! Well, pay day happened and another gallon purchased along with the gallon I would be using in the bathroom. Phase one victory! 

The guest bathroom started as a plain white box of a room with a wood cabinet, toilet, and stand up shower. And let's just say: white is NOT our thing unless it's an accent color or bedding. 

What you see here is basically the only "before" picture I took because I was so excited to get some color on those walls. My apologies. 

When we purchased the paint color I tried my hand at color matching using a photo of the bedding I had on my phone. It was hard to see the exact colors, but I figured I could get pretty close to the teal blue in the comforter I was seeking. 

Drumroll please...

A dark teal disaster! 

This photo doesn't even do it justice, because the color I saw on the walls was much more green and very harsh. With every stroke of the paintbrush, I found myself cringing because this just wasn't what I was hoping for--and looking out at the bedspread in the guest room, it wasn't a match either. Ugh. 

It reminded me of an aquamarine children's playroom that I should be putting a vinal fish covered shower curtain in. Barf. However, I thought maybe it would grow on me overnight. And if not, I may have to head back to Lowes and see if they could mute it some for me. Well, it didn't grow on me, so after church today, Dawson and I headed back to the big blue "sto-wa" as she calls it. 

I set my paint can up on the counter and begged for some expertise and help...that's when they told me the news. Not only could they not save my awful paint choice, but they could mix me a new one and let me exchange it for no charge! Lowes, you are my hero! 

So, the pillow now matched a MUCH lighter teal with a bit of blue...and it was so. Much. Better. 

 

It looks much more green in this picture--and so very hard to tell the actual color, but with the darker first coat, it only took one coat of the new color to complete the look. 

The after is a breath of paint problem fixed fresh air. Pictures back up and in their place, and accessories mixed within, the guest bath is complete. 

May our guests feel welcome in this space as phase 2 is now complete. Phase 3 will come another day, but until then: "Welcome guests!"

Romans 12:10-13 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 

Old family photo collage

One of the biggest reasons Tyler and I were excited to purchase a home with more space was to be able to welcome friends and family. Our smaller home couldn't fit our families and friends, and guests sharing our single bathroom created a problem. Let's be honest. We didn't try REAL hard to have people stay with us there.  However, this house already tells another story. "Come on in!"

In our short 5 months at the Northpoint house, we have been blessed to welcome parents, grandparents, extended family and many friends. Dawson is quick to make friends with our guests. :) 

We have hosted small group and dinners, and even thrown a surprise birthday party here. Our home is becoming a place for YOU as well. We are blessed. 

One of my favorite projects I have completed in this welcoming home is my family photo collage. As we seek to create our own story and have all of our loved ones near, it is important to remember our roots. What better place to have our family close than in the heart of our home? 

What did it take to get this project going? First, some legwork in locating family photos. And second, locating some mismatched picture frames to spray paint white and match. 

When I started this project in our first home, I didn't have any of the pictures you see here. However, through a few phone calls and some sweet talking, I had pictures in hand within a couple weeks. A huge thank you goes to my Grandma for sending pictures of her wedding and Grandpa in the army, as well as pictures of my great-grandparents and Grandpa growing up on the farm. Very special is also the photo of Great-grandma Grace (for whom Dawson is named) and Great-Grandpa Edward. 

Also, Aunt Janan for sending oodles of family photos that I had never seen and now have the chance to proudly display. I still chuckle looking at the pictures of my dad and how much I did look like him when I was young. The top two are favorites: my grandparents hugging while Grandpa Charlie is in his military uniform, and Grandpa Charlie looking very GQ. :) 

Finally, Tyler's mom provided photos she had of both his mom and dad's side. For the first time, I had the opportunity to "meet" Tyler's grandparents through the eyes of the camera lens. I can't help but imagine that they would be proud to be a part of our lives and displayed with love in our home alongside us. 

I still have hopes of adding some more as we go--a couple round frames and some more of The Stricklin side. This wall has plenty of space to add more of our history, but as we grow in love, may we also add more of our own story. 

 

Family Photo collage, how I love you. :) 

We've Got the Blues

We don't really have the blues...we are just enjoying our master bedroom all dressed in navy. 

More on that in a moment. :) 

You see, our first master bedroom wasn't much of a "master". We were more slaves to the small space, doing what we could to maximize it and make it seem bigger than the niche it really was. 

That meant light colored walls and a high hung headboard. Not my favorite, but it did the trick. If you notice in the picture above, the door jam is just on the right side...that means that was where the wall was. Shimmy around the bed and you may be able to get to the tiny closet that didn't even fit all of my stuff, let alone Tyler's. You may be able to imagine our excitement when the Northpoint house have us THIS amazingness to work with...

Not only did the bedroom seem ginormous, but it had a closet fit for a king AND a bathroom! (Insert crowds cheering wildly). :) 

This is the huge closet (maybe not spectacular by some standards, but we are still finding space within it!)

 

The bathroom has double sinks and a good sized shower (some might long for a jetted tub as well, but I think I only took a bath a couple times in the 5 years I lived in the old house and that was only because I was a whale of pregnant at the time). 

Remember this monstrosity? Imagine that shimmying past the bed in the old master! Ha! Disclaimer: I apologize for the terrible picture quality. All photos were taken on a camera phone and I don't even pretend to be a professional photographer. :)

It also has vaulted ceilings with a skylight. Why is it that I keep envisioning choirs of angels singing while I describe this room?  I might be a little excited. ;) 

Well, the week after we moved in, we gave up the box-unpacking so that we could get our room feeling a little more cozy. White walls with scuffs and dirt, weren't really helping me dream sweet dreams. I think I have issues; if it isn't clean or decorated, I truly lie awake at night decorating in my head. Too much HGTV? Quite possibly. 

I was going between two color choices for the walls--both in a deep and rich jewel tone. Why not, right? 

It really was a difficult decision. I think I asked my mom her opinion 27 times and I even asked Tyler (who is color blind and truly can't see much difference between the two) several times as well. In the end, the teal seemed like it would be more of a tough match in the art department and may be more of a fad color--so doing the whole room might be a little much. The navy, however? Classy. 

Our first step was painting the walls so we could get furniture placed. On went the navy! 

Gotta love a little "Quick! Make the bed so we can send a picture to our parents!" Kind of picture. Blue painters tape still up? Check. Ladder in the corner? Check? Bed being the only decor? Check, check! 

After a week or so, I had a chance to pull some of our stuff out of boxes and had persuaded  Tyler to hang our homemade padded headboard. We were gifted a soft and inviting rug, found a chair that happened to match PERFECTLY at a neighborhood garage sale, and set to work making it feel like home. 

All I have to say is that I love spending time in this room. I have already found it incredibly relaxing--bring me some cookies and milk to enjoy in bed, and I feel like I am on a retreat! (As I sit here in bed having just eaten Oreos while I have HGTV on in the background). Wow. 

Side note: Did anyone notice the cove ceiling in some of the afters? We have painted the "sides" the same navy and plan on adding some grey to the top inset--and eventually do something with the fan. Tyler loves it...I just want a chandelier. 😄 Do they make a chandelier ceiling fan? If so...send one my way! 

So there you have it, friends. Just a little paint and a whole new room is at our fingertips. From the before...

 

...To the after.

Welcome home. 

The Guests May Stay Awhile

The guest room. A for real guest room that a future child won't take over when we decide that it's time for number two. A guest room that has its own bathroom. A guest room that is separate from the upstairs bedrooms and the downstairs "man-cave". A FOR REAL guest room!

Ok so it didn't look all that great when we found it, but we could see endless opportunities for friends and family to come stay. We could see our doors open wide for ministry in our new home and hospitality to be a regular part of our language. The problem, however, was that the carpet needed to be replaced and the room itself was, well, dingey and unwelcoming. 

The guest bedroom/office is located on the basement level, but has a wonderful window that makes it feel like an upstairs room. In addition, there is a third full bathroom just off of this room, making it perfect for guests to have their own space. 

If the closet to the right of the bathroom wasn't filled with our furnace and water heater, this large space would have counted as a 4th bedroom. :) Well, it's going to be OUR 4th bedroom. 

When we moved in, we placed the old farmhouse bed from my Grandparent's house--the same bed I remember climbing on at Great Great Aunt Lena's house, the "big bed" as the cousins all called it--front and center in the room with the bedding from the first house on it. Well, folks, this room was not first priority AND I was lacking in the idea department for the design of this room. "Big bed" was not displayed in all her glory. Sad face.

Not to mention, the ghastly green paint really needed to go. Barf. However, we did have the carpets replaced before moving in, so the furniture was safe from water stains, dirt, and animal urine. :) I know you are all relieved. 

Well, this weekend we had our 4th set of house guests stay over and I had had enough of the unwelcoming guest quarters. I just had to make the change. The first thing we did was pick up some new bedding for our vintage fancy queen of a bed. 

Get ready, because this little "bed in a bag" buy from TJ Maxx was about to turn the room from sad to very glad. :)

I had some leftover paint from doing the master bath, so out came the drop cloths and rollers during nap time and in came a soft grey to lighten things up. "Urban sunrise" from Valspar. 

Notice the scuffs and grease marks on the green? Well, they were soon a figment of my imagination. Come to mama Urban Sunrise.

What a difference! 

I used up the leftover paint and actually need to get a bit more for touch ups, but because I am so excited about this change, I couldn't wait to post about it! 

Big bed, may you induce sweet dreams! 

It may be impossible to truly tell the difference, but now that the green is gone and the bed has its rightful place, this room has already cleaned up and brightened considerably. It's more modern and airy and I find myself stopping to stand in there just to gaze at its beauty quite often already. I does not feel like a basement. I repeat, it does not feel like a basement. Yippee!

Now, the best is still yet to come, my friends. Over the next couple weeks I have big plans for the bathroom and an accent "something" that will take it to a whole new level. :) 

In the meantime, welcome to our little guest suite. We can't wait to show it off as it comes to life very soon. 

The Living Room

One of the rooms I was most excited about was the upstairs living room. Being the first room you see when you enter the house, I wanted it to be as welcoming as possible. Before we closed, I would spend hours pondering furniture arrangement and paint colors so that I made sure to get it right. 

The paint color wasn't a difficult choice for me, as I planned on using our medium toned greige that we were given (15 gallons that someone didn't end up using) before we moved out of our first house. It was perfect to tackle the high ceilings and blend my love of grey with the fact that we have a large brown sofa. :) 

The first big step to getting the living room done was figuring out how we would place the furniture. We originally thought we would put the brown sectional down in the man cave--and we tried several times to get it down there. Man-cave war wounds...

Needless to say, after the third try and third set of big burley man-folk testing their brains and brawn, we settled with putting it back upstairs and just making it work. 

I wanted to keep the windows as open as possible, but the large sofa just wouldn't fit in the corner underneath the glass block. Next plan: block part of the windows but use the credenza as a sofa table to decorate around it. Success! (I didn't take a picture of it before we painted, so lets get right to the good stuff). 

After the kitchen cabinets were done, it was time to tackle the kitchen and living room walls, as well as down the hallway. 

Don't get me wrong, the before color wasn't bad, but there were spackle spots and dings that needed to be taken care of and, of course, a very red kitchen that needed to leave as soon as possible. 

 

Into the center of the room, went EVERYTHING...and we set off to paint to our hearts content while Dawson slept. Therefore all of the taping and prep work happened during her afternoon naps and painting took place between 8 and 10 or so at night. The first night we tackled the first coat, and followed with the second on night two. 

Lets just say, I was so excited when it was finished, I stayed up a little late pulling tape and putting furniture back in its place. 

Voila! Living room completion! 

As with the kitchen, we still have some odds and ends to take care of. One of these being cutting in around the ceiling once we have a tall ladder. Jagged, old paint border isn't really our thing, but we hardly notice it right now since we have the decor up and it feels like home now. 

All I know is that a little elbow grease and some paint goes a long way in making any house a home worthy of calling your own. We have truly been blessed by this house, the space it offers, and the guests we can welcome! 

 I would say that Dawson has done well making friends with our guests. :) If this doesn't melt your heart, the view of these two squealing and laughing in this very living room sure would. Blessings abound with family and friends in our home! 

Plans for this space include: 

-removing the glass block divider and replacing it with spindles or modern cables, or even plexi glass. 

-updating the light fixtures in entry and dining area

-adding curtains to the large picture windows

-adding a large area rug and coffee table in front of the sofa 

-updating the wood burning fireplace (new tile surround? Built-in bookcases around it? A wall treatment above the mantle?) 

If only the funds were limitless, right? :)