A boring guest bedroom gets a luxe, vintage chic makeover using thrifty projects, budget finds, and simple decorating tricks to maximize style and space.
The idea for this guest bedroom makeover all started in February back when we had a big family reunion at our house and about 10 cousins ended up crashing on our living room floor as an impromptu slumber party.
Walking through our downstairs the next morning I thought to myself, “We desperately need a guest room.” 8 months later, we officially have one! Ha!
If you want to follow this makeover journey from the beginning, you can see it all here:
- 3 Furniture Layouts for a Small Bedroom
- Guest Bedroom Makeover Mood Board Plan
- The Best Paint Colors for Gray Trim
- Gray Trim Paint Update
- Vintage Writing Desk Makeover
- The Best Budget Luxury-Feel Mattress
- DIY Pressed Flower Art
- How to Restore Worn Cane Furniture
Originally, Robert had this spare bedroom set up as a makeshift home office, but considering he hardly ever used it, it made sense to make real use of this space.
Now it looks like this!!!
(Some affiliate links are provided in this post. Full disclosure here.)
Our first inclination was to haul a bed in here and call it done for now until we could rip up the old carpet to refinish the hardwood floors underneath like we did in the nursery.
(We’re holding off since that fumey/dusty project requires that we vacate the house for several days, plus that isn’t in the budget juuuust yet.)
Then, somehow that just-haul-a-bed-in-here plan turned into… well… an actual plan… like it always does. The usual domino effect of if-you-give-a-decorator-an-empty-room. 😉
I can’t get over how much bigger it looks and feels in here! Seriously, I never would have guessed a queen bed would actually fit in here, let alone that it would actually make the room feel larger. Win/win.
Once I saw this massive piece of art, I instantly knew I wanted this entire space to revolve around it.
And somehow the deep green tones in the art led me to these deep green velvet curtains.
It seems totally appropriate that the curtains remind me of Scarlett O’Hara (or Carol Burnette… whichever way you want to look at them).
Since my mother-in-law sometimes works from our house, we found this secondhand desk and $17 Goodwill chair to fix up in this corner.
And we got this area rug from Unique Loom to tie in the art and help cover up the old carpet.
We’re fans of fans in bedrooms, so it was important to us to incorporate the Hepburn fan from Hunter Fan Co so that our guests could have some climate control.
We researched lots and lots of mattresses to account for the comfort factor too and ended up with this super budget-friendly mattress as the winner. We slept on it overnight to make sure it would pass the test, and it is SO comfy that it rivals our high-end luxury one in our master bedroom.
We ended up moving this full-length mirror from our master bedroom into here as well to help bounce some light around in making the space feel even larger and have a convenient dressing spot for guests.
As some inexpensive art, I put a few leaves in these frames. Yay more green!
And I pulled in all of the bedding from good ol’ Walmart.
Honestly, I love this room more than our own master bedroom right now.
It’s making me eager to refresh the master next. Or maybe we’ll just sleep in here and make our guests sleep in our room because this one is way fancy.
If you want to know about any of the colors or sources we used, you can find them all here:
- Wall color: Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee
- Trim color: Benjamin Moore Winter Gates
- Vintage Style Art
- Cane Bed (secondhand – this one is similar)
- Rug
- Ceiling Fan
- Secretary Desk (secondhand – this one is similar)
- Rattan Desk Chair (secondhand – this one is similar)
- Green Velvet Curtains
- White Bedside Tables
- Brass Lamps
- Full Length Mirror
- Square Black Matted Frames
- White Skirted Bedding Set
- White Knit Throw Pillows
- White Lumber Pillow
- Gray Throw Blanket
- Large Gray Vase (similar)
- Faux Flower Stems
- Brass Leaf Tray
Now that everything is set up, I plan to add in a few amenities to have ready for when guests drop in. Or ya know… 10 cousins. That’s usually how it goes at our house. 😉
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FABULOUS!! Thank you for sharing your talent! Best Always
Lauren, girl, you have once again put together a stunning room. I love it ALL!!!! I especially love the wall art. It is absolutely gorgeous. All your guests will feel so welcomed and loved.
Thank you for taking us along on the remodel ride. You NEVER disappoint…..NEVER. 🙂
((Hugs))
Deb 🙂 🙂
Beautiful!
What can you say other than WOW! Wonderful job looks like a million! Thanks for letting us follow along.
It looks so relaxing and beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I mean GORGEOUS! Another stunning room Lauren! I’m definitely going to copycat this bad boy! I love the idea of putting curtains along the full wall when there is only one window. Gives the illusion of a wall full of windows! What curtain rod did you use? I assume those velvet curtains are pretty heavy…
WOW !!!!
I NEVER TAKE THE TIME TO COMMENT BUT I HAVE TO ON THIS MAKEOVER
JUST STUNNING
Love, love, love it!!!
WOW,WOW,WOW,sorry to yell but I CAN’T HELP IT I LOVE IT SOOO!!
Stunning bedroom!!! I love it to bits!!!
Beautiful!! I love the way you pulled it all together. Know what else I love? The ceiling fan! It gets so frustrating watching every designer turn up their nose at them and remove them from every space. We need those fans y’all! Especially in SC! And yes – you can find pretty ones! Ok rant over. Great job on the room, as always! 😁
Seriously, so beautiful! You truly are gifted at making beautiful spaces.
I love it! I follow your blog all the time and love your style of decorating. I don’t recall seeing the dimensions of your guest room and I ask because I’m renovating a cabin with small rooms. I was thinking a queen bed would be too big but maybe not. Could I get those dimensions. Thanks.
OH MY GOSH….have been looking for a coverlet like yours….thank you for the point in the right direction!
That room is maaaavelous….just marvelous!
Love the cozy inviting feeling.
I love this one. Your style is fabulous! Thank you for sharing.
I’ve been thinking of getting a large rug to cover some ugly carpet in our playroom. I haven’t because they can move. So you have any suggestions to keep it in place?
Your guest room is a model of beauty and comfort! Probably sounds odd but I was reminded of a tour I took of Malabar Farm. Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart were married in this home. I can picture it in it’s day as being as gorgeous as yours.
Beautiful room! As always, a great job!
Very beautiful, Lauren. I especially like the way you curtained the whole wall be behind the bed with those gorgeous green velvet drapes. Talk about cozy-making! The other remarkable thing that you did was use that huge piece of art and the very large mirror in that small room. And it works. I would never have thought to do that. Just goes to show that when you think big you get astounding results!
All in all, a great success!
Fabulous room, and I agree it looks larger than it did before. It’s amazing how sometimes using a few pieces of large scale furniture look better than trying to find little pieces to fit a smaller room.
I have one question – can the curtains be shut over the window in case the guests need to be able to darken the room? Maybe for privacy and keep out morning light?
Again, beautiful room!
Lauren, I just tho’t of something else. I really like the rug that you used over the carpet. I didn’t see a source for it in the list. Where did you find it?
Lauren –
I absolutely love your recent guest bedroom remodel. The room looks so welcoming and comfy… I must say, I learn something or want to try and create one of your projects from each of your posts. Thank you!
This is amazing. What are the room dimensions? We have a similar room and I always thought that is looks too small for a queen sized bed.
Thank you for all the amazing inspiration.
Beautiful room! Do you have any issues with the rug bunching or wrinkling? I have a rug over carpet in our master bedroom and haven’t figured out a good trick to keep it smooth. Any suggestions?
Love this room especially the green pop of color from those beautiful drapes. Perfect❤️
Lauren, once again you have done a fabulous job on your Guest Bedroom! It’s so beautiful! Your art work is so pretty and suits that wall so well. Everything just flows together so nicely! Your green velvet drapes are so beautiful! Your guests will absolutely love staying in this lovely room.
I love it!!! I love how this room–like all your designs–is elegant while still homey and inviting. Great job on this gorgeous space!!!!
Really gorgeous!!! First time commenter but had to tell you!
I’m sure like all moms around here my days are extremely stressful juggling work, family, and self-care. Just wanted to let you know, your site is my go to self-care. Reading your updates always instantly puts me in a better mood! It gives me hope that someday we can achieved a home half as welcoming as yours.
Misa I am so glad to hear you enjoy the blog. Thank you for following along. Keep up the great work. Hang in there, mama!!
Oh my! I wouldn’t have thought about putting the curtain across the whole wall when the window is off set! Great idea.
You make me want green velvet curtains in EVERY ROOM OF MY HOUSE. I won’t do it but golly am I tempted. Fabulous job, as usual. You never disappoint and always inspire me!
Love your room makeover! Could you post the dimensions? Thanks
You made a terrific job on this bedroom. To be honest, I’m envy your eye for details, you chose the perfect elements for the room. I think any guest would love to visit this home for a day or two!
isn’t it amazing what new pieces can do to a room! nice, cozy look. Personally, don’t like the dark, heavy green velvet, but it works well for your overall look & looks pretty.
I’m curious about your experience with putting rugs on top of carpet. I’ve done this myself, but then once I put the furniture on top..it creates “divots” and ripples aka tripping hazards with the whole rug! Perhaps not walking in there often is what keeps it fairly flat, but I did this in a bedroom we use, and within a couple of days, I had to pull it out. I tried it in the living room, and just setting the coffee table on it made it kinda buckle. I first thought it was cuz the rug was too thin – so ordered a plusher one – same thing..ugh! Disappointed cuz I spent a lot on the darn rug! I, too, will wait until we take the carpet outta that room and redo the floors. Just wondered if you experience this, and what you do about it?
Inspiring, Lauren, as always! I hope to be half the blogger you are! I need to pick your brain on a few things!
Love your guest room!!!! Elegant! I went on a cane furniture headboard as well! Mine was woven with cane frame!!! My husband painted it and put it in his grand daughter’s room! I love the look!!!
Bought a second hand desk as well!!!
Great minds!!!
Enjoy family reunions!!!!
Carrie
Wow! Gorgeous! I also have a tiny guest room and would love to do something like this in there. Totally inspiring!
Hats off to you! This is so very well done. I couldn’t wait to see the finished product, as I watched you take this room from ugly step sister to Cinderella. I was really hesitant about the green curtains but it is all so well pulled together. Bravo!
I absolutely LOVE this room! It’s so gorgeous! I want to do a similar color palette in our master bedroom/bath makeover and plan to use the brass touches in lamps and cabinet hardware. Will it be weird if my shower head doesn’t match?
Hi there, lovely room makeover. Quick question regarding the curtain wall….would you still have curtained the entire wall if your window had been centered or very nearly centered? I have a window just a few inches off center, but Im not sold on curtaining the entire wall because the room is only about 11×10 or so. Smallest bedroom I have ever had.
Fabulous makeover Lauren. Well done girl! I really enjoy your blog
That’s so sweet, happy to have you around 🙂