musings, mutterings, and creative muddle. . .





Friday, February 17, 2017

Guestly - Nestly Retreat

A little more than a year ago, Hubster and I went on a grand adventure and landed ourselves in Northwest Arkansas in a beautiful house complete with an acre of forest for a backyard. And a few months ago I shared one of my two guest rooms with you. Soft neutral, bits of robin egg blue and lake / seashore touches (see it all here: http://bit.ly/gussiedguestroom).  Still in the decorating mode - I think it's about time to reveal the other guest room!





It starts with a wreath that inspired the guest room decor in my previous home (and continues the inspiration in this one),



and finishes with a  'perfect for blankets' vintage basket tucked under the bed.


(need a 'refresher' peek at my previous guest room? Click here: http://bit.ly/beachyguestroom).

I was also excited to mix in some pieces that had been an idea of mine for awhile, but never had the opportunity to do it. . . such as using my former china hutch as a quilt and memorabilia display cabinet. So thrilled with how it came out!!



And, let me tell you, getting all those quilts folded *just right* so they fit. . . whew! That was a fun challenge! There are 6 quilts in there and each had to be folded in such a way to show off their best 'side' as well as fit in the spot I had allotted for them. The bottom two and the top two were made by beloved grand and great-grandmas while the middle two are modern (and store bought - but beautiful nonetheless!) I especially loved adding in special trinkets and interesting tid bits that are normally tucked away - such as my parents' class rings. . .


Grandma Blanche's tea cup and saucer (on top of Great-Grandma Emma's quilt). . .


And so many other bits, parts, and interesting pieces.


You see the wooden birdcages on top of the display cabinet? One has been painted a soft robin egg blue (used to sort of an antique-y gold-yellow) and is stuffed with seashells. The other was left in it's discovered state of distressed white which looked so perfect with the distressed white of the over-sized star fish sculpture inside.


Keeping with the overall neutral color scheme and nature-inspired feel of the rest of the house (and other guest bedroom!) everything just seemed to come together. It was amazing all the treasures I discovered in my stash that lent themselves so perfectly here. . . something I am finding over and over as I decorate the rest of the house.

A few repainted bits (the frame of the bird print, and the door knob plaques) to match the color scheme interspersed with soft white. . .


and something extra-special was happening! I added this old window a bit later and have special washable markers to change the sayings as the mood moves me (and my guests)


Then there's the iron daybed. My beautiful, amazing Paula Deene daybed. . . Loved it so much that when we had the opportunity to up-size our bed, I got the matching bed in King size!! The bedding I dug out of storeage seemed to be made for my vision for this room with it's khaki, gray, robin egg blue, and denim stripes. . . Found a mix of pillow shams to complement at a local store and TA DA!!!!


For side tables - a vintage wood garden nursery flat from a friend (thank you!) that I attached to a rod iron base found at a garage sale many years ago. Of course, the base had to be painted robin egg blue first:-)


A vintage ladder from a flea market (and sealed with clear coat) makes the perfect place for Guest to set his or her glass of water, reading glasses and cell phone at night, don't you think?


Aaaaah. . . you've noticed the books, haven't you? Take a closer look a the titles.


Notice a bit of a theme? ;-)

Every guest room needs a mirror (I'm pretty sure it's *A Rule*). And this one was a rescue from an old bureau that was re-homed. The little 'table' you see there was my Great-Grandma D's sewing cabinet. I've toyed with the idea of refinishing or painting (or both) it many times over the years. . . but kind of like it just the way it is. I added a wood and glass tray on top just because. Yes. Just because.


A couple extra-interesting touches below the sewing cabinet - I especially like the vintage oil jar (not sure the exact name) filled with authentic Florida sand (my son has some pretty cool buddies) and some random seashells. Then again - the turquoise big-mouthed fish is pretty awesome with the glass beaded garland too.


Boring ol' carpet (while a great color) gets an extra pop from an indoor-outdoor rug, found on clearance and bought with a coupon, also helps pull the whole room together - from the floor up!


The large window is dressed to look even larger with beautiful gray curtains with a soft metallic silver over-sized leaf pattern. For privacy (that still allows nature and sun to come in), I took a sheer white window scarf and ran twine through the SIDE seam then attached the twine knots to each side of the window.



Add a basic chair (left over from our former dining room set - and may be replaced with something more nap-worthy in the near future.) tossed with a color-coordinated throw and. . .


it's a Guestly-Nestly Retreat!!!




Have a Retreat kind of day ~

Robin Z

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