Our Cheery Guest Room Reveal

Welcome to our guest room! It’s small yet mighty, and we packed a lot of function into the footprint. Let’s take a tour!

The Little Guest Room That Could

The guest bedroom in our Chicago home has been through quite a journey over the last decade! It’s a small room – clocking in at 7′ x 10′ – and it gets a lot of use from friends and family visiting Chicago. Our phase one makeover was a mix of contrasting elements, from black-and-gold wallpaper paired with minty walls, to floating wood shelves and a thrifted headboard. It’s worth a click to see how far it has come! Many years later, we gave it a moody makeover, and ultimately, we changed the layout completely when we renovated our kitchen. (Here’s that story!)

The tricky thing about the guest room is that it’s located right off our dining room, which is visible from the living, dining and kitchen on our first floor! As we’ve played with the style and layout over the years, we found ourselves craving something more cheerful, a reflection of where we are in our design journey.

We love where we landed, and we can’t wait to share it with you! This room has seen more transitions than any other room in our home, partly because it’s been so tricky to figure out, and partly because this is the first time we sat down to piece the design puzzle together. Up until now, it’s been a nice guest room, but now we can officially say that the room truly shines and functions as best as it can!

Florals In the Guest Room

As soon as I saw this wallpaper, I knew it was The One. I ordered a sample, and it was love at first sight! In an effort to make the room appear as large as possible, we painted the ceiling Sherwin Williams Poolhouse, which is similar to the background color of the paper. We really leaned into the blue theme, painting the millwork Sherwin Williams Inky Blue, a pretty blue that pulls from the petals of the florals.

You know we love a big splash of red whenever possible, and these velvet ruffle pillows felt like a nod to the paper without being too on-the-nose. We upgraded the nightstands to these floating drawer tables (they soft close, too!), which are much larger than our previous solution.

Prior to wallpapering, we had our electrician add outlets beneath each table, using these outlets which have combo USB/USB-C charging capability. And these squiggle arm wall sconces not only swing side to side, but we have them installed on a dimmer switch to get the vibes just right! All the plate covers were wallpapered, a small detail that prevents the eye from landing on too many ‘wall warts,’ instead allowing the focus to be on the wallpaper and decor.

Speaking of, this soffit runs the length of the room, and it’s always felt like an eyesore. The combination of wallpaper and similarly painted ceiling color helps to conceal it better than paint alone ever did!

Form + Function

Opposite the headboard wall, we have everything the room needs to function beautifully, and not a single thing we don’t. None of the furniture on this side changed, but we did some rearranging of the dresser drawers to create a few empty ones for our guests. The other drawers contain extra bedding and towels for their use!

The large mirror does a beautiful job bouncing light around the room, and the addition of this small(ish) table lamp provides the softest glow in the evenings. (I love the scalloped shade!) There are plenty of hooks for coats, towels, clothing and bags, and we have a luggage rack we pull out of the closet and set in front of the door before guests arrive.

We’re so happy with how this room turned out, so much so, that we keep this door propped open at all times! It’s the cheeriest little peek as we walk through our home. After completing the room, I spent a night in the rom to ensure nothing was missed to make it more comfortable. The new end tables provided ample space for my phone and water, the nearby charging was a game changer, and the various dimmable lighting options set the tone for a relaxing evening. I found myself smiling and enjoying every inch of this room!

Looking for more makeovers? This blue + striped modern study is a recent favorite, our all-walnut Red House kitchen continues to be popular with our followers, and this subtle-y pink bathroom feels like a warm hug. You can view all of our before + afters right here – we have over a decade’s worth to browse!