the guest room Archives - The Weekend Country Girl

Coldspring, family, Texas, the guest room, vintage style

Beds in the Cottage

June 20, 2022June 23, 2022 Karen

When we decided to make the cottage a place to sleep in overnight we thought about bed sizes and I perused a lot of Air BnB suggestions on Pinterest. (They are a great resource for how to make a guest home work for guests.) We are a really tall family so that factored into the plans. We considered a Murphy bed but the largest they come in is queen and we thought a king would be our best choice. By the way, if you want a room to have lots of functions and a queen, double or twin work for you, Murphy beds are awesome. We installed one in our back bedroom it was a lot of work but we love that we have a comfortable bed or a work/craft space.

Also, I want to be able to use the cottage for more than just a place to sleep. Just this Saturday there was an impromptu dance recital performance by two of my granddaughters that required things to be moved against the wall so the room would be more open. (They were magnificent by the way!). I can see using the space for baby/wedding showers, birthdays, game nights etc. so I didn’t want a quarter of the space to be taken up all the time.

I discovered searching online that there are bed frames that can be bolted and unbolted together and there is a strap and filler made just for the purpose of making two twins a king. That sealed the deal for us. Two twin xl beds were going to be in our future.

I shopped marketplace and found two mattresses and box springs used to stage a home. The guy that bought them thought they could be returned once the house sold but they got a little scuffed on one end moving them in. They were brand new expensive mattresses. I bet he wished he had hired a stager instead of trying to work the system but his loss, our gain. The still wrapped in plastic box springs were donated to Restore. A friend gave us a king sized bed topper that will make it even better.

We now can configure the room several ways.

Daybeds in the corner (this is how it looks most of the time).

Side by side twin beds

King bed

The night stands were once a vanity table that had been left in a garage for years. I love how cutting it in two, removing the peeling veneer, and painting the body made the furniture useful again.

We are ready for company. Flushing potty, hot water, beds, and most importantly air conditioning!

We love hearing from you.

Blessings,

Karen

new home, Real Life, The bedroom, the guest room, the suburban home

Giving Birth to a Second Home

May 5, 2015 Karen

Right now I am so over the whole selling a house, buying a house, thing. It is exhausting packing to move out of a lake house that we have had for the past eight years. How in the world did we accumulate so much stuff in a 950 square foot house and an 800 square foot garage?

This weekend we cleared out my wood stash. The wood I am keeping is now in storage and the rest is in a fire pit burn pile. Boo! I hated letting go of all those bits and pieces. I know I will be needing something out of the stash as soon as I get the wood shop up and running. Oh well.

Because we are selling a lot of the furniture in our current lake house and moving into a larger home, I have started collecting things that we need. We are also keeping a lot of my son and daughter in law’s stuff while they are out of the country. Right now we have the furniture equivalent of 2.5 homes stashed in our suburban home and a storage unit. The clutter is wearing on me.

Here is a tour of our house. The following pictures may not be appropriate for young children, or my mother.

When you enter our front door there is a dry sink that is going to get a major overhaul and become a small buffet in our lake house dining area. ( Envision losing the curvy top section, chicken wire in the doors and reclaimed lumber top and you have the idea.) The piece was a gift and I am grateful, it just can’t live in my front hallway. On a furniture dolly.

The green bedroom is a total disaster. The room is stuffed with patio cushions, furniture for the new house, things I need to go through from the lake house, and other assorted things I have found and want to use in the new home. I can’t wait to get the room all fixed up for company.

The blue bedroom is right now the holding place for a queen sized bed, the kids’ turquoise furniture, and other bits that belong in various locations around the house but can’t be there because they have been displaced. As soon as we move in to the new house it should return to some semblance of normalcy.

My craft room is a train wreck. I mean a total and complete mess. I have unfinished projects, paperwork, and workout equipment that needs to be sold all jammed into this space. This is my first priority. I am going to have it cleared out by the end of the week. Expect a post by Thursday. I am holding myself accountable.

The garage. What can I say about the garage? As soon as the lake house is officially sold we are staying home and we are cleaning that puppy out. I mean drag it all into the driveway and figure out a better system kind of clean out. If all goes well, that means in three weeks. I didn’t even have the nerve to take a picture for you guys. It is worse than the office.

The family room is holding a few extra chairs, the closets are popping. I am getting cranky.

I know it is only temporary but I am going to have to start the purge very soon.

Wish me luck. I am going in.

Have a great week,

Blessings,

Karen

Building a Home, cedar lumber, Decorating, Decorating with mirrors, Dining Table, Dresser, home decorating, master bedroom, new home, reclaimed wood, The bedroom, the guest room, the office

Weekend Home Tour Part 2

April 21, 2015 Karen

Here are the rest of the photos from the weekend home tour. The entry way was dramatic.

House 3

I really liked the ceiling in the dining or office area.

A black and white kitchen.

Mirrored side tables.

The house was fun to look at.

House 4

Much more my style.

Cedar timber ceiling.

Copper colored tile entry.

Master bedroom ceiling

I thought this wall/ headboard/ ceiling treatment was interesting. It

I like the rustic touches in this home.

I am such a fan of the herringbone brick ceiling.

I love this wall, clock, and storage.

I hope you enjoyed my visit to the model homes.

I would encourage you to visit homes near you when you get a chance. They really get the creative juices going.

Have a great day!

Blessings,

Karen

Blogging, Building a Home, Decorating, Decorating with mirrors, Dining Table, French Provincial, home decorating, master bedroom, mid-life, Mirror Display, new home, Ornate mirror, The bedroom, The City House, the guest room, the suburban home

Weekend Home Tour

April 20, 2015April 20, 2015 Karen

i love to visit model homes. Near my sister in law’s house they have 7 model homes open for touring. It was a muddy, stormy Sunday afternoon so she and I headed out to walk through the homes. This builder’s homes are well built and are part of a 55+ neighborhood. Today you get to see the first two.

I have never seen this designer/ builder’s work, and I really enjoyed getting to see their ideas. They had the most creative ceilings I have ever seen. My favorite home happened to be the first home we visited.

The very first room was… Navy and coral with a rustic, modern vibe. I can honestly say it was the only room I could see myself in, but I did take away some ideas.

We didn’t plan on going so excuse the iPhone photos.

House One

I loved this house.

The front bedroom was so cool. I really liked the china cabinet and the matching crib springs. The stripes wet navy, burlap, and a cream color. The art was stenciled canvas.

Loved the coral tailored cloth on the night stands.

Here is the rest of the house:

The master was a little too fussy for me. The side tables were way too full and the picture above the bed was too much. The mosaic tile panels are throughout all the homes.

I had to ask myself if that design in the shower would get old?

I loved the zinc topped hammerd table.

I liked the wood squares on the laundry wall.

I loved the wood flooring!

House Two

This house was totally not my style but still fun to look at and even in this house there were elements I really liked. I called this the mirror house.

Imagine dusting all those mirror frames.

A wall of mirrors in a 55+ guest bedroom?

I really liked this piece.

Loved the formal dining table.

I like the light fixture but two breakfast tables?

The backsplash was fun.

Oh my, the master was sensory overload. Tile and beam ceiling, tile insets on the wall, mirror edged headboard…

I did like the slate look ceramic tile.

cooking, kitchen storage, master bedroom, new home, The bedroom, the guest room, the office

Interior Photos of the Soon to be New Home

April 9, 2015April 9, 2015 Karen

I walked through the house this past weekend with a camera and also got a floor plan of the house we are buying. It helps to have pictures to refer to now so I can come up with a plan for the house.

The house is a traditional ranch. That is pretty fitting when it is on 15 acres and this is th view over our fence.

The Kitchen

Friends, I swore, promised, pledged…you name it, that I would not have another galley kitchen. I hate that cut off feeling. This one is particularly odd in that it is right off the front door of the home. Well, if the front door weren’t walled up it would be where the front door is. The wall is going to have to move. I plan on having an L shaped kitchen that opens to the dining space rather than the front entry with an island.

See the right side of the china cabinet? That is roughly where the front door is, except it is walled off. The kitchen is to the right.

The Bedrooms

The guest rooms are nice sized, and have a decent, but not awesome closets. I like that they have 36 inch doors. The folks who built this home planned on aging in the home which is good for us. We will be turning one room into my office so it will have a Murphy bed. The other will be a traditional guest room.

The master is too small and has a dinky closet. It will be added on to before we move there permanently.

See those brown bifold doors? That is the whole master closet.

The Bathrooms are fine for now, except he master doesn’t have a door. I already have a barn door going in there.

No door on the master bathroom. Ick.

Wallpaper border, carpet and frilly curtains will go. The counters, cabinets and tile are okay.

The Outdoor Kitchen is high on the list. We will have to have a functioning outdoor kitchen before starting on the indoor kitchen. It is going to be a rustic corrugated tin and cedar space with a stainless sink, a gas grill, a stainless island, and a free wall shelf. Edison lights, our deck furniture, a misting system and a big fan will make this space a destination on the property. Hubby has been given a huge smoker that will be near the decking.

See that deck at the back of the workshop above? I can’t wait to show you my workspace, but tonight it is about the house. That covered deck is a short walk across our back yard. It will make the perfect outdoor kitchen. There is water near that will be easy to set up in the sink and we will be having propane run to the area, too, for the grill.

Powerwashing, paint and installing the counters will make this space great for cooking.

The first thing we have to do is work on the foundation of the house. Another thing I said I would never do again. We are moving where the dirt is clay based and it just moves. It is not major, but needs to be addressed before we work on the floors. The carpet in the kitchen, bathroom, den, dining room must go. Immediately.

Apartment living, Behr Paint with Primer, French Provincial, glazing, Painted Furniture, recycled furniture, Redecorating, the guest room, Thrifting, vintage style

Turquoise French Provincial Furniture

November 9, 2014November 9, 2014 Karen

I am getting ready to show you my fabric painted teal chair with lime green legs as soon as I finish one more little item for the chair, but I realized That out of context the chair would look a little Dr. Seuss-ish. You still may think it does when you see it but it will fit in this room.

Just before I started blogging we did this furniture fore the Lovebirds. They were getting ready to set up house and we wanted them to have some fun furniture. We bought the furniture from an estate sale. The furniture had a great story. The children, who were holding the estate sale had all pitched in to buy the furniture for their parent’s 25th anniversary. I don’t understand why they did not want to keep it but for $150.00 we got a great set. I do not have any pictures of the before but we are babysitting the dresser and armoire while the lovebirds are living in far away lands.

Right now the bedroom is a mix of our stuff and theirs. The walls are painted Behr Ice Cube and the dresser is painted Behr Rapids. My son loves wood as much as my daughter in law loves painted furniture. We compromised by painting the dresser base but leaving all horizontal surfaces wood.

The painting says Always Kiss Me Goodnight in case it is bugging you. I painted it for them as part of their wedding gift. In their home they have grey bedding with dark purple accents. Our bedroom is yellow, teal, turquoise, and lime green. Crazy huh?

I love this mirror. It is so pretty and well proportioned.

We painted the furniture and glazed it with a dark glaze.

The hardware on the set is so ornate.

My son’s belongings are in this upright chest.

The horizontal part of the armoire at the middle being left stained breaks up the armoire.

I love the top. The herringbone painting usually lives above the bed, but it looks good here, too.

We learned a lot about painting furniture when we painted this set. I am happy with how it has held up after two years and three moves. Before the kids get back we have a few touch ups, but not many.

The teal chair will sit in front of the giant windows.

Thanks for reading my blog. I hope you take a minute to pray for my kids who are far away from home. It has been a long few months already.

Blessings,

Karen

Chair, Decorating, DIY, Painted Furniture, Repurposed Furniture, the guest room

Painted Fabric Wingback Chair

November 9, 2014November 23, 2014 Karen

Unless you are a junker, like me, you might not appreciate the presents I get from my friends. Recently I got a load of treasures from a friend that included this fleshy colored velvet wingback chair.

The chair was solid, there were no tears in the fabric and it wasn’t even too worn. I knew it would work for a project I had in the back of my mind for a while. I saw this amazing pink couch a while back. The company ( Faux Real Design Company) rents the couch out for showers, photo shoots, etc. I could not believe it when I learned the couch had been painted.

I have been thinking about painting furniture ever since I saw this over the top couch. I would never in a million years want it in my house full time but what a fun piece for a photo shoot or a shower. Ashley at Faux Real did not use the same paint I did, and her couch is frankly much softer, but after a lot of searching online I did discover you can paint fabric with latex paint and something called fabric medium.

I knew when I saw this beauty that teal would be the only thing that would make me happy.

Teal Chair

I chose Behr Real Teal. I bought the fabric medium at Hobby Lobby. It is mixed one part medium to one part paint. I bought three bottles using my 40% coupon three times.

You mix the fabric medium to paint 1:1 and spray down the fabric with water between each coat of pant. I got a cheap water

I will admit that the chair looked terrible after one coat of paint. I was a little terrified.

The photo above is of the chair all sprayed down with water.

The paint goes on very thin and looks very transparent on the first round. (I was more than a little worried at this point.)

It dries more opaque, but as you can see above, the first coat was splotchy.

It took three coats of paint to get the solid look I wanted. I decided to go wild with the legs. Lime green. the guest room can handle the color because it makes sense there.

I also added at lime stencil to the back of the chair.

Here is the chair in the room.

I wouldn’t say that the finished fabric is soft, but it is no rougher than burlap of canvas. I definitely does not feel like velvet any longer.

See? In this room a teal chair with lime legs doesn’t look crazy. Right?

This is some art work in the room.

Do you see the colors?

This year our fall dance theme was glow in the dark. The kids designed the photo booth space and I knew exactly what it needed to add some fun…

Yes, you can paint fabric.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

I hope you have a wonderful day.

Blessings,

Karen

crafting, Decorating, DIY Art, the guest room, Thrifty Art, Thrifty decorating

Herringbone Pattern Art

August 26, 2013 Karen

Herringbone patterned art is showing up all over Pinterest. Of course I had to try my hand at it for the new house. The results were pretty good for a first try.

Here is the tutorial for what is really a simple, but time consuming, art project.

I bought this frame with a covered bridge print in it from my favorite thrift store for $2.00. The print was on super heavy cardboard that was in good shape. It became the base for the art project. The frame just needed to be painted when the art project was done. It was a nice size for a first attempt. The cardboard print was 18″X24″ with the frame adding four inches to each side.

I purchased three bottles of Plaid brand paints in the colors that coordinate with the room. I literally poured the paint in strips on the cardboard print then got a big brush and started mixing the edges together.

Here are the results:

While the paint was drying I rolled out two long sections of Frog painter’s tape. I cut one of them into 5 inch sections and the other into 3 inch sections because I wanted there to be a little more interest in the pattern. I modified the pattern you see below by making the alternating diagonal two inches shorter.

Once it was totally dry I started taping down wide green tape. I may or may not have gotten the blow dryer out to speed the process because I am impatient 🙂 The picture of this part did not come out at all. GRRR. Because I was impatient to get started painting over the tape, I did not check the picture before moving on to the next step. It was way too dark to show. I frustrate myself when I mess up like this. Here is my inspiration:

I put down a section of 5″ tape at an angle on the cardboard canvas then put a 3″ section at the end of the 5″ piece to match the width, leaving a sort of grout line sized space between each piece. I went to Pinterest for Herringbone examples at this point to make sure that I was at least on track. Once I got a whole row done across the cardboard canvas, completing the taping went quickly because I just had to keep the spacing the same and follow the pattern.

Once the whole painting was covered, I painted white plaid paint over the grout-ish lines that I created by leaving space between the tape. As soon as the paint covered everything, I gently started peeling tape up.

I painted the white paint on fairly light so that it would minimize the drippy edges.

A coat of white spray paint on the frame and I was done. Easy. Ta Dah!

I love it above the bed. It really helps to tie the room together.

Here are some of the blogs that I visited for inspiration:

http://whiletheysnooze.blogspot.de/2013/01/diy-herringbone-metallic-artwork-easy.html

http://www.craftaspell.com/2013/06/diy-herringbone-canvas-art.html

crafting, Decorating, DIY Art, moving, Style, The bedroom, the guest room, Thrifty Art, Thrifty decorating, using bright colors, Valspar Spray paint

The Guest Room Part 1

August 22, 2013August 25, 2013 Karen

When we moved into our burb house, I did not plan on painting the walls right away, except the front guest room. Here is how the room looked when we purchased the house.

I am not going to talk about the paint job in the front bedroom except to say it was not my style and the color scheme wouldn’t work. I know that the former owner worked really hard on the faux painting.

As soon as we settled in I started looking for inspiration. Here are some of the inspiration pictures I found. I hope that clicking on them allows you to go site I found it at.

http://cultureofstyle.com/tag/white-bedroom-furniture/

http://www.houzz.com/photos/171192/Turquoise-and-Green-Bedroom-eclectic-bedroom-san-Francisco

http://serbagunamarine.com/bedroom-color-schemes-blue-girls-ideas.html

http://www.bhg.com/decorating/color/colors/decorating-with-color-expert-tips/#page=28

http://www.bhg.com/decorating/decorating-photos/bedroom/blue/

I wanted the bedroom to be cheery but restful.
Here is what we have finished to date:
Walls painted. I love the light blue walls. They almost feel like a spa.
Empty frames painted. I found the frames at a resale shop. I spent $4.00 total on all the frames you see on this wall. The paint on the frames is all left overs from other projects. The white plates were 10 cents each at the resale shop. I glued metal soda can tabs to the back of the plates with E6000. I love that stuff.

My bedding arrived. I am crazy about this yellowish paisley print. Target. Over budget. $90.00.

The throw pillows on the bed are all outdoor pillows that were on clearance at Home Depot, Lowes, and Marshall’s.
Curtains hung. Hubby and I went shopping at Ikea recently. I was thrilled to find off the shelf curtains that were 110 inches long for $34.00 a pair.

The herringbone art project done.

I will be writing a DIY on this project. It was a fun evening project that cost less than $10.00 even factoring in the cost of the green tape. ( I have plenty of tape to do several more projects.)$2.00 for the frame and the print that I painted over, Frog tape was $6.00 and I had to get one can of flat white spray paint for the frame. (I need to spray the frame again.) I had the other paint on hand.

The green lamp is in place. I think it is the best $2.00 I have spent in this room.

New art work. Target. Over budget. $20.00

New lamp from Target. $23.00. I know, I know but the colors in the shade go perfectly with the color scheme. Over budget.

I am not a huge fan of the bed frame as is and it will get painted and the posts are going to get trimmed down. I found this funky curio cabinet at a garage sale for a dollar. Here is the before.

Dirt Dobber nests and spiders were included for free. A quick wash down, spray painted the frame and painted the back that amazing Laguna color I love. I am not sure how long it will stay but I think it is a fun piece for now. For a buck investment, It will not kill me to let it go down the road.

I was able to incorporate the old dresser that once belonged to my grandparents, saved by my husband and completely restored.

We have ceiling fans in our bedrooms thanks to a friend of Baby Boy and Sweet Amanda. Don’t judge us for the fans. I think they look ok, It is going to be over a 100 again today here in the burbs. In South East Texas it is miserable without air moving.

What do you think of the sort of finished room?

Decorating, DIY Furniture, DIY Projects, home decorating, Repurposed Furniture, the guest room

Chevron Painted Bench

August 19, 2013August 19, 2013 Karen

We have had a coffee table bouncing around our house for years. Hubby bought it years ago at an auction for $5.00. He intended to turn it into a bench in our bathroom, but I found a vanity bench I liked better. It moved into The Southern Belle’s room when she was a teen, then upstairs into the man room. When we moved into the new house it didn’t have a home, but I wanted a bench for the front bedroom. Ta Dah! It finally gets to be a bench. Here it is underway. No photos before we got started. Once again I got too excited to stop forward progress for pictures. Sorry.

Hubby is getting pretty handy at cutting tables down. He even made pocket holes for screws without a jig on this project! ( If you know what I am talking about you are impressed…if not, never mind.)

We saved everything. The top he cut off will be a shelf that is going to hold Hubby’s dad’s flag and a photo of him in his uniform.

The drawer is going to be a shadow box.

The drawer never worked right. We found out why. There was a five pound counter-weight on the drawer that was out of place. It is steel and will be used somewhere.

I have wanted to have something chevron. This was the perfect project. It is a small space and should have been easy, right. Wrong. Mr. Math aka Hubby, had to step in and figure out the dimensions. I used contact shelf liner for the stripes. It was my plan to dry brush the paint on so I did not think the paint would run. Fortunately I was right. The light colored wood is the vinyl contact paper.

The paint is a an oops color. Surprisingly it was the exact color of the lamp I just spray painted. Yay.

The photos do not do the color justice. Look at the last picture for a true reflection of the color. It also matched the color of the greenish tone in the fabric I bought for the front room. Perfect.

I dry brushed the paint on, let it mostly dry, then peeled off the contact.

It turned out great. Here is the result. Love it. I still need to put a coat of poly on it so that the seat will be able to hold up to suitcases and bottoms on the top.

Here is a sneak peek at the front bedroom. Not finished yet, but already better.