Grandma's Guest Bedroom

In the same way that certain smells can suddenly evoke olfactory memories from our childhoods, I awoke on one of our recent beautiful summer mornings to the crisp, cool breeze blowing through open windows, and was immediately transported back in time, to the guest room of my grandmother’s house. 

            As if I’d been there yesterday, I could see the cuddly white chenille bedspread on her old iron bed, feel the big feather pillow beneath my head, and in my mind’s eye watch her crisp eyelet curtains dancing on the morning breezes.  It’s funny how those images, stored deeply in my subconscious, are key to my memories of summer days at Grandma’s house. 

            A recent client of ours must have had very similar childhood memories, prompting her request for a guest room makeover which would facilitate visits from her two young granddaughters.  She asked us to take a nondescript, underused sewing room and turn it into a cheerful, welcoming guest room that the girls could consider their home away from home.

            As with any decorating project, our first step was to identify both our objectives and the challenges that we needed to address. 

            The room needed to be able to accommodate two little people for sleeping, story reading and playing.  As much as possible, we needed to utilize furniture that our client already had.  The finished look needed to appeal to the little girls, but be able to grow with them and suit Grandma’s tastes as well.  And, we had to accomplish all of this within the room’s 11’ x 12’ space.

            The makeover began with an inventory of what we had to work with.  Because this room had seen little hard use over the years, its neutral carpet was still in good shape, and provided a nice soft playing surface for little knees and bottoms.

            An antique gentleman’s chest, an old dry sink, and a wicker chair and ottoman were retrieved from storage and pressed into service with new finishes and cushions. 

            A sleigh-styled daybed with trundle underneath provides a space-efficient way to house two people, while doubling as a sofa during the day.  The bed was really the only new piece of furniture needed to complete the room, leaving most of our budget available for bedding, window treatments and accessories.   These were the elements which would really give this new guest room personality!

            In creating the color scheme for this project, our suggestion of marrying two of our client’s favorite color combinations of black and white, and periwinkle blue and yellow, was at first a bit outside of her comfort zone.  Seeing how this eventually played out, however, was a pleasant surprise to her.

            Benjamin Moore’s “Blue Lapis” on the walls created a vibrant but soothing backdrop to the room, and is a color that our client’s granddaughters love. 

            Set against that cool periwinkle hue, the new black finish on the gentleman’s chest adds a bit of drama, while a petite black and white polka dot print and periwinkle ball fringe at the windows lend a whimsical touch to the space. 

            Balancing the polka dots out with the addition of three complementary small prints, utilized at both the windows and on the daybed and toss pillows, lends a subtle French Country feel to the room, and the sunny yellow floral fabric of our pillows adds just the right punch of brightness.

            Accessorizing in a room like this can be a bit tricky.  Over-accessorizing would cause this small space to feel cluttered, and wouldn’t be amenable to little peoples’ activities.  Under-accessorizing, on the other hand, would leave it feeling unfinished. 

            Carefully chosen and placed, however, our swan figurine and potted plant atop the amoire help to make that piece feel complete, and the vignette created at the old dry sink lend a real “Grandma’s room” flavor to the space.   Finally, a vintage-style mirror above it all visually expands the room and provides the perfect finishing touch.

            Now that our client’s guest retreat is complete, she reports that her granddaughters just love having what they consider to be their own room at her house, and she enjoys knowing that they will have great memories of the time that they spend there.