Maroon Guest Bedroom Reveal
I’m so excited to share our maroon (ish… it’s one of those chameleon colors) guest bedroom reveal with you today! It’s a space that has been evolving since we moved into our home– and it’s the guest room that gets the most use, probably because it’s the largest guest bedroom under our roof. It’s located upstairs, just next to the guest bath, and I have to say… I’m really proud of how this one came together. I primarily used furniture & decor I already had, tackled this space on a tight budget in a relatively short time period, and I think it ended up packed with personality, layers, and cozy comforts. Click through for the complete tour & sources! Step in and check it out…
Before we dive in, here are some highly pixelated reminders of what this space look liked when we first moved in… a shell of a room with gray carpet, weird corner shelves, and builder grade fixtures.
It has certainly come a long way since these real estate listing photos, but I have to say- we didn’t do anything too crazy in here, in terms of costly renovations. Aside from replacing the doors, carpet, and lighting, I think the paint treatment and styling really carries this space and makes it one of our more budget-friendly makeovers.
We’ve already had our first house guests stay in this room- with rave reviews, in terms of functionality. My sister & brother-in-law visited a couple weeks ago and they were the first to enjoy this newly updated space. This is our only guest bedroom with a king size bed, so it’s typically the one we offer couples who visit. Our next guests will be Laurie Anne & her husband in a few weeks.
You probably recognize most of the furniture and decor in this room. It’s packed with vintage finds I’ve collected over the years (like the nightstands & my beloved blue lamp), a few pieces we purchased immediately upon moving in (the bed and armless sofa), and even some things that came with us from our previous homes (the bench, demilune table, etc). My plan was to knock this out on a budget and use things we already owned. I hoped I could make everything feel cohesive as my design plan evolved.
I did most of the heavy lifting for this one, while Emmett continues to work on the labor intensive entryway renovation. I decided to forgo additional trim and work with the existing crown and base in this room. I didn’t want to add too much moulding, as I was planning to experiment with paint and line work in this space… adding too much millwork could have made this bedroom feel far too busy, so I decided to keep things simple.
Speaking of paint- let’s chat color! I was really craving something warm, rich, and interesting in this room. This space only has one large window and it’s facing west. It’s also tucked back into a dormer nook that sits atop our garage. Aside from having the best view in our house that overlooks the city and mountain landscape, it does have a tendency to feel cold and dark for the majority of the day, given the placement. Late afternoon and evening is when this room really shines and feels warm. I wanted to paint it a color that gave it that same feeling all day long- whether light was streaming in, or not. Funny enough, last week I had my zodiac colors read at a party and my top color came back very similar to the darkest color in this room… kind of maroon. While I’m typically much more comfortable in the cool color family (navy, deep hunter greens, etc), I’m really enjoying the warmer hues that complement my existing cool palette lately.
I opted for two tonal hues (Benjamin Moore’s Arizona Canyon and Woodacres) and decided to paint a color blocked border that would add dimension & interest to this space. This treatment also helped to make sense of our radius corners that we didn’t want to square. Reworking the drywall and edge profile would have meant replacing all of the crown moulding and base throughout the room, which we had already decided we didn’t want to do. Allowing the darker hue to bleed into the window dormer helped the two radius edges look more intentional and less 90’s… which was the year our home was built.
This room has a lot of contrast, a lot going on, and lots of fun lines that move your eye & focus all around the room. I think the paint treatment also helps to define each space and vignette. I’ve always been into a color blocked look- remember our old hallway? I know it’s not for everyone!
The window nook has always been my favorite part of this room! When we don’t have house guests, it’s a place I often find myself curled up in. It’s quiet, cozy, and thanks to the incredible view- it really is the best vantage point from our house. To remind you what it looked like when we moved in…
I’ve always envisioned this spot to be casual, cozy, layered, and not too precious… pillows on the floor type of sleepover magic. I packed the armless sofa (that somehow perfectly fits wall-to-wall) with oversized pillows. There is something about jumping or snuggling into a sea of pillows that I’ve always enjoyed… they’re also great tossed on the floor for additional seating & lounging. When our family was here visiting, my sister-in-law, niece, and I had a girls night in and read our books in the nook, with our tea on the coffee table, and the cozy lamps aglow. It was exactly what I had in mind for this spot. Of course, the dogs also make themselves at home up here- when they’re not sprawled out on my office daybed.
Given the depth of the dormer nook, I knew I needed large artwork that would occupy the negative space, drawing guests into this cozy scene. Naturally, I decided to make my own. I have an entire post devoted to how these black & white equestrian portraits came to be (complete with a DIY)– because there is a really special story behind them, so check back on Monday for that!
I’m also really pleased with my antique coffee table Emmett refinished… it looks especially beautiful in the reading nook and is the perfect size. I styled it with an orchid bloom (can you believe it’s faux?!), one of my favorite candles, and a couple of books. It’s simple and elegant, which feels appropriate for a guest room.
While we’re on the topic of guest room amenities, I wanted to give you a peek inside the closet. You know I’ve been on a closet cleaning & organizing spree lately, and I was able to totally clear this one out so our friends & family can actually use it when visiting.
Behind the double bifold doors there is plenty of room to hang clothing, store luggage (most of our guests are visiting from out-of-state), and I always keep a hamper, robes, slippers, and a fan in each guest bedroom. We haven’t touched these closets, but I think they do the job. I’d rather put my renovation efforts elsewhere.
We added a convenient sconce to each bedside and with a little Rub N Buff makeover, these turned out to be quite charming & handy despite their inexpensive price tag. This west facing room needed all the ambient light it could get.
The drapery panels installed behind the bed help to soften this space, and I really enjoy the look of the floating layered artwork that is perfectly framed by the canopy bed. It provides a very balanced & textural backdrop for the bed. Check out this post on how to hang artwork in front of curtains.
While this room is mostly filled with older things I already owned and vintage finds, I did my best to find similar sources for you. Before we journey on with the tour, I’ll drop a collage below with source links…
Shop the sources by the numbered links below the collage… this one isn’t clickable, sorry!
01: ceiling medallion // 02: canopy bed // 03: semi flush mount // 04: door hardware // 05: curtain panels // 06: antique landscape // 07: plug-in sconce // 08: arizona canyon paint color // 09: woodacres paint color // 10: hydrangea // 11: lumbar pillow // 12: vintage bedside tables (similar) // 13: slate coasters // 14: duvet set // 15: vase // 16: area rug // 17: pilllow top bench // 18: block print quilt // 19: battery powered picture light // 20: woven wall mirror // 21: DIY art // 22: pendant light // 23: plaster easel // 24: marble bowl // 25: woven wood shade // 26: floor lamp // 27: armless sofa // 28: marble table // 29: demilune table (painted black) // 30: wool carpet // 31: antique table // 32: nero marble dish // 33: oud noir candle // 34: bouclé pillow // 35: match strike // 36: orchid bloom // 37: seagrass basket // 38: jay pillow // 39: gilles & bossier book // 40: horn candle // 41: tassel // 42: carmel pillow // 43: joseph dirand book // 44: diego pillow
For the bedding, I layered classic white sheets and a duvet, paired with a block print quilt folded at the foot of the bed. This room can get cold, so heavy bedding and an additional quilt for this room made a lot of sense. If you’re interested, this is my go-to formula for styling a bed.
Aren’t these vintage nightstands so lovely? I dug these out of a woman’s basement a few years ago while picking up a different marketplace find. Sometimes those weird situations result in the best pieces!
Emmett replaced the doors and hardware in this room shortly after our carpet was installed… we’re slowly updating all of the hollow core doors throughout our home to three panel solid core doors. I selected this brass hardware by Grandeur just after we moved into our house and we’ve been using it since. It’s so beautiful in person and I love seeing more of our doors being swapped for a cohesive, higher-end look.
My goal for this guest room was to create a comfortable, functional, and designerly space for our friends & family to enjoy. I also wanted it to feel representative of Emmett & I, and our home. I spent a lot of time adding details here and there, and I think it’s a great reflection of our personal aesthetic. I’m really looking forward to sharing the art DIY with you because these oversized photographs are a definite highlight for me.
I’m a details person when it comes to design- I always have been. I appreciate the little things, I enjoy taking note of the small nuances, and I believe those seemingly minuscule moments result in really well designed spaces. I hope that translates in this guest bedroom, and I hope our friends & family who sleep here enjoy it as much as I loved pulling it together. This room helped me get creative when I was craving a distraction. I started painting this room after my surgery on Christmas Eve and have been enjoying the process ever since. It was great to finally share it with you today!
Alright- let me have it… what do you think? What’s your favorite part of this room? I’m really happy with how things came together and believe it or not- I’m already working on another bedroom… this time in our basement, which should be interesting! Did you know we had a tiny bedroom in our basement? It has a twin bed and it’s actually quite cute and now I’m feeling motivated to give it a little upgrade after this bedroom project. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this tour and discovering all the layers tucked into it. It’s a space Emmett & I both really love- it very much feels like us. Maybe one of these days we’ll get around to tackling our primary suite, but that one is going to require a big renovation. As always, thanks for reading! With that, I’m off to Canada for some skiing… I’ll have blog posts for you while I’m away though- check back for those!
