Guest Bedroom: Before & After

I am finally getting around to posting my new and improved guest bedroom. It is by no means finished since I'm always wanting to change things, but it is much better than the ugly, mismatched look we had going on before.

It's actually an inviting and serene place now, where I can get stuff done (it's also our work space). In addition, I am no longer embarrassed to have guests stay in there. And we do get quite a few guests because J and I live in NC but we are from OK, so family and friends come to visit us, which we really appreciate!

Are you ready for it? Here are some BEFORE pictures:

Do you see the sweet little dog sleeping on her blanket? Love her

Now for some AFTER pictures. Sorry they are so dark! (It's weird how natural light makes a room look darker in pictures than it really is.)

Here are all the things I did to the guest bedroom:

1. Painted the room

2. Made a paper lampshade

3. Painted green desk white

4. Covered the file cabinet with woodgrain contact paper

5. Covered the lampshade on my desk with pretty fabric

6. Made a cork lamp base, but have since replaced it

7. Created a starburst mirror for $2

8. Sewed a pillow

9. Made-over a torch floor lamp

10. Spray painted and reupholstered the desk chair

11. Made no-sew curtains for $10

12. Made a wall decal out of contact paper

13. Sewed a dog bed for the girls

14. Changed the furniture pulls with spray paint

15. Made a fabric tissue box cover

16. Spray painted some dollar store birds

17. Made some easy & inexpensive wall art

What do you think? :) Thanks for looking!

Linking to Just A Girl's Show & Share Day, Funky Junk Interiors, & Remodelaholic.

How nice! Someone featured me!

I don't want to sound boastful or anything, but I just wanted to share that Jessica B. over at Sugar in My Grits featured my blog last week. I am so appreciative that she would take the time to - not only look through my projects - but to have nice things to say about my tutorials in a post. That means so much to me and totally made my day when I found out. 

I also want to mention that you should check out her blog because she has a lot of good stuff! Jessica B. is a military spouse and a mother to both human and canine children. I can definitely relate to her with regard to the furry little ones, but the non-furry ones? Not so much. hehe 

Anyway, I am so appreciative to Jessica B. Thank you!

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On an unrelated note, I picked up some cool-looking knobs at Pier1 for my wood TV stand. This project is not a DIY project at all, though I wish it was. I'm just showing it here because of my post yesterday about spray painting furniture pulls, and it's interesting how much of a difference this one small change can make.

I decided not to use spray paint in this case because I wasn't sure what color would work for my living room (it's full of rich, warm colors). I didn't really want to spray paint it a metallic gold color, any of the pale colors wouldn't work, and the brighter colors can look cheap, so my lil' DIY hands were tied. At least that's what I'm going with...

Before with an outdated pull

After with Pier1 knobs

I'm kind of liking the knobs! They were $4 a piece...not too bad, right?

Obviously, I still need to do something about the beaten up piece of furniture. Does anyone have any suggestions? Paint? If so, what color? Stain? Would I have to strip it first? Your advise is greatly appreciated.

Simple change: Spray painted furniture pulls and knobs

Do you have some ugly knobs or pulls that don't match the rest of your decor? Spray paint is the answer, my friends. It is such a simple solution with a HUGE impact. It can completely change the look of your furniture. I am an avid hardware spray-painter and have had really good luck with it! I haven't noticed any signs of paint rubbing off the hardware. It's almost fool proof, which is good for someone like me (haha). 

Have you seen my bathroom cabinet hardware transformation? I am still so happy with it. Since then, I have also spray painted the hardware in my kitchen -- pictures are coming soon! But here is my latest transformation: 

Before

After

I'm not sure the photos do this justice. The bronze pulls looked so out of place in my gray, white, and green room. 


Sorry, this isn't a great photo either, but here is the nightstand table that I did the same thing to. I like it! :)

What do you think? I used Krylon Metallic -- only $2.96! Heck yes! Much cheaper than changing out all of the knobs and pulls. 

Have you spray painted hardware? Have you tried other kinds of paint? I'd love to hear! :)

I'm linking to...
Paisley Passions Thrilling Thursdays; Beyond the Picket Fence Under $100 Linky Party; The Shabby Chic Cottage Transformation Thursdays