Design
Farmhouse Guest Bedroom Update – New Bed And Dresser Alert
The guest room famously gets the leftover furniture, which is kinda fine, as it’s a great place to put the stuff you like that might just not work in other rooms that you care about more. So this room is still a work in progress, but there was enough newness to show you. Close to four years ago, when we first moved in (WHAT IS TIME), it looked like this (and it was so sweet).
It didn’t have a bed or much really, but some leftover furniture and lamps that I think actually looked pretty great. It was cozy and soft, and everyone who slept in there loved it.
But for whatever reason, I designed a custom bed for in here to fit right in the middle of the windows (at the time, I was like “king beds and only king beds forever”). It’s upholstered in this sweet print by Rebecca Atwood that I thought would just add a texture and slight pattern, without being too bold. But we had to pivot. You know the story – the bed I had ordered for our bedroom didn’t arrive in time for our big Real Simple shoot, but this one was about to be delivered, so we put it in our bedroom. And since it’s so crazy heavy, and we’d already assembled it, we left it there for years. But it always was meant to be up here.
Wall Color | Trim and Ceiling Color | Art (vintage) | Bed (custom) | Bed Fabric | Shams | Bolster | Disc Pillow | Duvet Cover | Quilt
So we finally moved the bed up here, and I like it so much, but it’s not a total slam dunk. She’s big, but it could be that I’m not used to it? I’m the one who wanted the king bed in here, which is admittedly really cozy for guests. It’s not that it doesn’t fit, and the old mattress on the simple base was also a king, but this one is higher, and the bed frame and headboard themselves add volume. And it feels slightly crammed in the window, but not criminal.
Floor Lamp (vintage + similar) | Side Table (vintage + similar) | Vase | Dish | Frame | Roman Shade
I do love that I finally found a place for my vintage wicker ghost table (shout out to Shop Wilma in town). I think it gives “quirky bed and breakfast,” and it still allows the linen closet to open for the most part (or is at least lightweight).
I hung a small gallery wall above the bed with pieces I already had, which I like, but the small ones feel too small in this room (maybe because the bed is so big!). I didn’t really have an alternative, so I left them, and they are cute, for sure, but not there yet.
Desk (unavailable) | Picture Frame | Pink Box | Vase | Lamp | Dish
I tried no less than 6 pieces here – the blue demilune, Elliot’s blue vanity, the ghost table, but ultimately, this desk is the best scale and function for this corner. The desk chair was borrowed from Anthropologie (and I might order it), which adds such a nice softness through the shape and the fabric. Brian still sits up here to take his therapy call and work from home when he can’t get to his office to write. So the desk actually gets a ton of use.
I bought the desk from a local maker who turns slabs into furniture, and I like it, but it doesn’t fit the style of the room at all. But I’m just not that motivated to find the perfect desk or piece that fits here (that doesn’t stop me from looking on FBMP most Saturday mornings). It works well enough!
Now, the corner of the room that is working really well is this new dresser vignette. It looks tight with the bed, but there is a solid 2 1/2 feet of clearance, I promise. The colors are perfect (it’s called a brown stripe, but it’s definitely giving a taupey-pink). I love that white painting here (but the kids are begging for the massive TV back, so I need to figure out a solve there). I also hung my lady painting in here, which I love, with the bathroom wallpaper. I removed the pink chair because it was feeling like just so much furniture, but I’ve since brought it back so I could put all our clean laundry on it, lol (we have two of them – one on the bottom landing and one here).
Wall Art | Dresser | Blue Bordered Vase | Vertical Picture Frame (similar) | Horizontal Picture Frame | Oil Diffuser | Round Tray | Lamp (unavilable)
The scale of the dresser is perfect in here, and it adds nice storage. Before we had this really low bench that was a placeholder, with the world’s biggest TV on it (which we all got used to using). I’ve had that Schoolhouse lamp forever, and then collected a new things from Anthropologie (that new vase and tray are both awesome). And yes, those are our dogwood branches from my tree 🙂
I swear there is enough space, but it looks so crowded in the photo. I stayed up here the night before my colonoscopy, and it was extremely cozy and comfortable (the Leesa Sapira Hybrid chill mattress certainly helps – my goodness, these mattresses are so soft).
I layered bedding I already had in what no one can deny is my color palette du jour (or du decade). It’s the same as my bedroom, living room, and powder bath. Unintentional, I promise. These are just my comfort colors.
So that’s the update! Part of me thinks that nothing should go above the bed and that the art is what is making it feel too busy, and then making the bed look too big? Then I wondered if this room needs curtains to add some more visual interest and texture, but it also might be a lot, and we don’t need them (the shades are blackout, top down/bottom up, and just functionally incredible). I feel like you guys have good, fresh eyes with this stuff. I also have zero stress about it all because I know that for a guest room, she is dialed in 🙂
*Photos by Kaitlin Green
that wall color is so pretty! Re: above the bed, what about a swoopy garland or two? It would echo the headboard shape which is fun. I made one with some random tassels in my tiny bedroom and it works out.
It’s Sherwin-Williams’ Artistic Taupe. I remember because I used it in my en suite bathroom, and it’s really lovely!
I think less small things are in needed. It feels cluttered. How about a regular night stand and lamp in place of the ghost table and standing lamp, and I single picture over the bed? Less stuff or put stuff on a tray. Maybe it is just the styling and IRL it is doesn’t feel like this. It is such a pretty room with some very cool things in it, but it seems they all get lost because there is so much there. Perhaps less color on the bed itself and more streamlined bedding would help?
I love the new dresser, the stripe is just beautiful and it’s wonderful with the wall colour I also love the bed in this room and again it’s wonderful with the wall colour. Having a headboard also makes a huge difference. I do think you’re right about the scale though and I do think you can trick the eye a bit. I agree that the small pictures over the bed are making the bed look huge, and a single wide piece would make a huge difference and match the scale. Failing that, and if you have them handy, a line of 3 identical frames of the size of the middle picture or bigger, might do the trick. I also think that small round cushion is too small and dwarfed on the giant bed. It kind of looks like a large throat lozenge, scale-wise, and emphasises the largeness of the bed. The frilly pillows are also very large, in line with the size of the bed but also contributing to it looking huge. I notice you had smaller pillows on the bed originally, and that they were stacked rather than propped up. I think if you use those original pillows, and… Read more »
I think the room is cozy and comfortable. The dresser is beautiful and really works with the color palette. Love the ghost table and side desk, and the bed looks nice here, too! I’d just make some small changes to visually open up the space–remove the floor lamp and move the ghost table closer to the bed, put just one painting above the bed, and remove the round pillow. Otherwise I think it is a great guest room. Would love to see update pictures if you make some tweaks.