Guest Room Redo! And how it was sort of inspired by a bathing suit.

Back in March when we all suddenly became homebound, I decided to finally do something to this room. House projects that consistently hovered around like numbers 12-15 on the list finally had the chance to be completed. Bonus: a bit of a distraction from the state of the world. This room was only rarely slept in, and became mostly a place where clean laundry went to die (or, eventually, perhaps, be folded). I can’t even keep straight how many versions of this room there’ve been–it was a single bed for a time and Parker slept in here, then Parker and Steve when we had Anders, then we had bunk beds in here, then I slept in here on a queen bed when we made the larger master the boys’ bedroom… there’s probably more variations along the way but I’ll spare you. It’s a very small room (unless you live in NYC, than I suppose this may be considered downright spacious), but I think turned out nicely. Here it is.

Believe it or not, part of my inspiration for the color came from… a bathing suit. Allow me to show you. I have had that screenshot hanging out on my desktop since probably February. Finally, I can move it to the trash. It’s from Left on Friday’s website and when it came past, no doubt as a result of proper Instagram pigeon-holing, I bookmarked it. Color scheme! Cut! Everything! But especially color scheme! (I haven’t actually purchased it yet. Was put off by the price, but it still haunts me.) So there began my search for things for the bedroom that match that bathing suit I really like. A perfect quarantine activity. You. might be saying to yourself, that bedding really doesn’t match those bathing suit bottoms and, thank you reader, you would be correct (though I do think it is a bit more green in person). It’s more blue than blue-green, but did you know it’s hard to find the perfect shade of linen and I still quite like the blue I ended up with so we’re good. The bathing suit was just a loose-ended guidance, really. I looked high and low for bedding. Some of my favorite sites were Magic Linen (that brown! I nearly got this one. Love that color so much.), Dazed but Amazed (didn’t have the color I was looking for, but their warm terracota colors are so beautiful), and Piglet in Bed (the winner!).For sheets, I went with a classic windowpane set from Brooklinen (inspired by our stay here! They had Brooklinen sheets and I really liked them.)P.S. These jeans remain my summer favorite.The rug! I spent more time than I care to admit choosing a rug, which was also a good reminder of why I’m just not meant to be a home design blogger. I have decision fatigue. And also, finding a rug in the size I wanted was next to impossible. Technically, the perfect size should still be a bit wider than this one, but it would’ve required a custom rug, and I was not about to spend that much money. Still, I love this braided rug (though would love it a degree more if it was about one inch wider). It’s soft underfoot, does shed a little bit, but with a few vacuums, it’s really not a problem.Since the room is so narrow, I didn’t want to do a nightstand on each side, so I threw symmetry out the window entirely with a sconce on one side, and a ladder and stump on the other. Also, after clicking through Pinterest long enough, I made the welcome discovery that not everyone has the proper bed to nightstand height ratio and it’s okay. My friend Rachael’s husband Joe sent me home with this stump after one of my trips last year to visit them in Vermont. I love it. The ladder is Food52 (also available on Amazon). And the blanket, which really brings home my bathing suit color scheme, is one of my favorite colors ever. I had that blanket hanging out in my Etsy cart for like two months before I decided it was just the one. Next up… blinds! That was an easy choice, and I really like them. They’re the cordless woven shade from Blinds.com. Now I can change with freedom (my closet is in this bedroom, so it was a bit of a fishbowl and I’ve flashed my neighbors a few times prior to these blinds being installed). That sweet sconce is just right (and also doesn’t require an electrician since the cord is exposed!). And shout out to my cosmos on the nightstand which I grew from seed!We worked with Avocado mattress and this amazing mattress was sent to us. After reading up on them and the chemicals and toxins that can go into the process (something you are going to sleep on for hopefully many years to come… whyyyy?! Don’t get me started.), I was so happy to work with a sustainable, transparent company that wasn’t adding to an overload for their customers or for the environment (they’re B-Corp, too!). Plus, it’s really comfortable. We got the pillow top one and it’s fantastic.Shout out to Steve for installing the shelves. I’m still figuring out what is just right on them–do I need a book? Another plant? To hang something on the wall right by them? We’ll see. I love this postcard, though, that I bought when we were in one of our favorite places (Orvieto!) by an incredible local artist (Lida Ziruffo!). Shelves are just maple from Lowes, and Steve hung them with these brackets from Etsy. In a perfect world, I’d get thicker shelves so the brackets hit in the middle, but this is not a perfect world and Rome was not built in a day.Other side of the room, this sweet chair was just right, with an Ikea sheepskin, and the beautiful felt wall hanging from my friend Aubry. I still think I’d like one or two more pieces of art… been eyeing something from this shop! Okay, here’s all the sources. If I’ve forgotten any that you’re looking for, let me know!

Bed frame: Zinus (super easy install)
Bedding: duvet + pillows: Piglet; sheets: Brooklinen
Mattress: c/o Avocado Green Mattress
Ladder: Yamazaki Home from Food52 or Amazon
Waffle Blanket: Magiclinen
Stump: friend in Vermont!
Sconce: Retro Light Store on Etsy
Rug: Braided Rug from RugsUSA
Shelves: maple from Lowes
Shelf brackets: Etsy
Blinds: Cordless Woven Shade from Blinds.com
Chair: Rattan chair from Anthropologie
Felt hanging: Letters + Laurels