It was time for me to address the design dilemma I’ve had since we’ve become empty-nesters, and that was.. What am I going to do with the boys’ room… For the life of me – it’s been years and every time I went in there I’d shake my head and keep it moving.  Sure I could have been like several other parents and leave it alone (as if I’m preserving it for them) but I realized, nope.. that’s not me.  The room had actually started to become our dump zone (seriously).. I’d take a bunch of my thrift finds and just drop it in that room and my husband would literally dump his laundry on the beds and work his way from there.. ( I know… tmi).. but it’s the truth and I wanted you to get an understanding of why this room has gotten to be a thorn in my side.  To add to the dilemma, it had 4 doors.. and how in the heck do you design around 4 doors.  When the boys had the room it was easier for me to think but now that I wanted to change things I had a total blank.  That 4th door, which lead to our laundry area was good for the boys having easy access to do their laundry, but it was no longer in use since they left.  It was a pressing issue whether to keep it or knock it out and sheet rock  it to make one big wall.  Then I thought..well maybe that would be too permanent.. so I chose not to go that route.  Anyway.. I won’t continue with all the dilemma details, so let’s move on to how I created a fresh new look for the space and gave the room a whole new purpose.. The Guest Suite.  I’ll call it the suite because it’s connected to the bath and guest room.  When family/friends comes down with their kids, the adults will have the guest room and the kids can have the connecting bedroom.  Here’s how the room was looking (in the meantime)..  I had the bedding custom made because finding twin bedspreads that didn’t look kiddish or college dorm style was almost impossible.  I got aggravated and found this plum fabric on sale for a great price.  It was too dark for the beds but I used it anyway.

There’s a door is to the left of the bed on the left and here is the look of the other side of the room with the 2 other doors. I hate that the doors are mismatched and one painted the other is natural.  I wanted to keep the natural look of the door.

So without all the talking, let’s move on to the new fresh look and picture overload of the room.  I knew the first thing needed was to brighten up the beds and decided to break my cardinal rule.. PAINT the wood.  I decided to paint them white and reupholster the headboards and footboards.  I painted the finials on top with gold metallic paint.  For the wall color – I chose a bright white (which is the same color of the beds) and painted the thin molding strip using the same gold metallic paint.

I wanted to pull the beds together to add more space to the room and to hide the door so, my sister/friend Jan and I created a drape effect as a backdrop for the beds.

I accented the middle with the deer head for an added “shabby chic” touch

My sister scored the boudoir loveseat at the auction for $25.00  and it was the perfect size for a much needed seating area… (Isn’t it a cutie – yes.. for $25.00 and it’s a down cushion)

Now that the room is all painted it was time to decorate and I pulled everything together using all my thrift finds that I knew I’d find a place for eventually, along with shopping my home.  Here’s the complete new tour of the room.

Jan made the panels and they were accented with a gorgeous paisley fabric I found at the fabric outlet.  I purchased the fringe a while ago.  It was a bulk roll for about $5.00 (a whim purchase but glad I did)

The candle sconces were $1.91 each from Goodwill.  I splurged on the area rug for $99.00 and it was well worth it because it pulled everything together.  I have to admit I was nervous about it being too colorful, but my gut feeling said to go with it.

Here’s the view to hide the door

The dresser was painted black and I changed the top two knobs for some agate knobs I found at World Market.  Don’t mind the tv cords, I’m looking for a solution to hide them..

Accent pillows were made with more of the paisley fabric.

The room actually feels larger and more airy with the bright white walls and furniture relocation.  To store all my collectible trinkets, I ordered the gold metal stand came from Walmart online (big thank you to my son, Jamil, for coming to put it together).

The yoga cat gives the calming effect of the room and sits on top of a $2.00 pillow from a thrift store.  I moved the Franco Albini ottoman into the room and serves as the remote control holder.

Vintage decanters accent the colorful cat planter which has the colors of the rug.

The  Milo Baughman inspired oval brass end table/night stand was scored on EBTH for $20.00, and if you recall from this post, my sister scored the hand blown glass lamp for $5.00 and I found the beaded lamp shade at Goodwill for $3.99.

The Karl Springer tubular brass table was a Goodwill score for $10.00 (yea big time score!!!!)  These mid-century tables are sought after by designers and I truly lucked up.

 

Mix-matched some of my favorite pillows on the settee

added a soft teal green pom-pom throw across it for color.  It blended with the lamp shade (which were previously in my bedroom) on the brass lamp.

I couldn’t resist the metallic gold dot pillows I saw at Burlington for $10.00 ea

I adore how the beds look and now the bedspread color pops against the white.  The swan planters flanks the bed for nice accent pieces and the big fiddle leaf plant sits perfectly in the corner and still gets enough light.

Well….That’s all folks!! I hope this wasn’t too much of an overload post, but since my schedule has changed, (I’m working a part-timer), I’m not posting as often as before.  I wanted to get it all in since I was off for the holiday.  I can truly say I enjoy the new look and all the colors that are flowing around the room.  The drapery behind the beds look better than seeing the door and it suits the purpose.  I have to give a humongous thank you to my brother, James, who painted the room for me.. even with his bad knees going up and down the ladder.  He knew I couldn’t do it because of my knees and vertigo so he stepped in for me (I love you Anthony!!) I also have to give another big shout out to my partner in crime/sis, Jan, for being my thrift buddy and the bomb-diggity upholsterer – she came through in the nick of time for me.. I love you Jan!!  And thank you for hanging in there and reading this long-ass post..lol..  I promise (at least I’ll try) not to ever do that again to you.. In the meantime.. as I always say… Happy hunting while you thrift your house into a home!!  PS.. in my next post I’ll be sharing some wonderful news that happened last week.

CIAO!!!!