guest room reveal

We have a three bedroom house, but basically ignored the third bedroom for the first year we lived in our home. It became a catch-all kind of room. I had visions of making it an office or sewing room, but that didn't happen. Instead, we dumped the extra stuff we didn't want to think about.

We pulled out the carpet last summer and were thrilled to find beautiful hardwood floors (probably the best in the whole house). However, we didn't get around to pulling out the staples until December when we decided to 'get serious' about making the room livable. We chose to make it into a permanent guest room. We have had a college student living in what was our guest room since September, so it seemed like a good time to makeover this space (the former guest room will be transformed into a nursery in June).

And in case you can't make out the bright pink boarder that used to be in the room, I took a closeup for you. Please don't miss the sparkling light switch. The little girl who once lived in this room must have loved Strawberry Shortcake. I have fond memories of the 1980's version of Strawberry Shortcake, but this more modern one in jeans isn't my style.

As I've shared before, one of our favorite ways to save money while repainting a room, is to check The Home Depot for "oops paint." They don't often advertise this section, so you may have to poke around the paint section a bit. It's often an unlabeled shelf that contains various paint cans that have been mixed, but a mistake was made so they're marked down and priced as is. My husband picked up the green color we used in this room for $7!

>>> Another tip from the mister is to get a gallon of high gloss paint rather than trim paint. The cost savings breaks down 1 gallon of high gloss is around $24 and a pint of door and trim paint runs about $20. A gallon of paint is way better than a pint.

>>> The mister had another money-saving tip, rather than using low dust joint compound (42lb bucket for $14) use light weight joint compound 50lb bucket for $12) and sand with a mildly damp sponge. You'll get more light weight compound for your money and accomplish the same result.

I have been bookmarking prints via Pinterest for nearly a year on my saved to my printables board and the time finally came to actually display a few. Each of the prints shown above can be downloaded for free:
2013 Calendar from Love Party Printables
Abraham Lincoln quote from Kiki Creates

I also loved grouping some of my favorite handmade shops' lovelies I've been collecting for a while. I am honestly so bad about displaying these pretties and it has to stop! The collage above the bookshelf contains the following:
1 Corinthians 13 printable from Falala Designs
G c/o Sorelle Accessories
Hoop art c/o Mandipidy
Painting by Pen and Paint (won in a giveaway)

One of my other favorite details of the decor is the handmade quilt by my great grandmother from the 1970's (I think). Also, you may have seen on Instagram, we upcycled the mini blinds into Roman shades using this method I found via Pinterest. We used a drop cloth rather than fabric, to save even more money. I can't say they're my favorite, but the simple look works with the room. I'm considering painting them to add some color.

If you have any questions about other items in the room, feel free to ask in the comments. I am still working to make this room a comfy space for a guest, as well as usable when we don't have a guest. I have been trying to blog from the small desk (rather than the couch). It's such a pretty room, I can't help by spend time there!