2 Anniversary Recap: Guest Bedroom

This sad little space was once my guest bedroom. Can you imagine? Bone cold walls, the same filthy carpet, dreadful shades…the kind you pull down and never can get seem to get back up.

The same story as the rest of the house: new paint (this time a little darker with a combo of Napery & Compatible Cream from Sherwin Williams) and those same almost-like-brand-spankin-new hardwoods.

Now it’s time for the fun part. Because I’m a home nerd and make no secret of this fact, I challenged myself to deck out this room with as many rehabbed finds as possible. Many trips to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, thrift stores and the attics & garages of friends and family ensued…to bring me this…

Oh my. So many rehabs, how-tos, and DIYs are scattered about this room. The type A in me craves a list…

Item	Source
Bed frame	Friend
Dresser	Family
Mirror	One of Mom’s finds
Bookshelf	Arkansas Children’s Hospital…seriously
Mannequin	My Gran
Frames	Thrift store
Chair	My Gran
Curtain rod	Already had hanging around
Curtains	Already had, but shortened

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7 After Party: Guest Bedroom Chair

Another Rehabilitation Station find joins the after party!

Remember this chair wrangled from my Gran’s house? This friend been hanging around the guestroom for a while looking a bit vanilla…

Until now! Inspired by this lovely print (snagged for 40% off at Hancocks), guests now are sitting pretty when they pay a visit to this girl…



First things first, I had to unscrew the seat of the chair. Flip, twist & pop and it was time to get down to business…

Two layers of fabric + batting in between each layer = more staples than this gal was ready to pluck. No worries, a box cutter was on hand to easily strip the fabric and save my sanity.

Since the plan was to add a fresh layer of batting, I settled with removing just one layer of fabric.

Cut your batting so that 3-4 inches remain around the edges of the seat…


Gently pull batting over the edge and work your way around, securing with staples…



Once all of the batting is secure, measure your new fabric in the same way as the batting, leaving a few inches on all sides…

Back to the staple gun! Beware of tugging fabric too tightly. We don’t want unsightly crinkles now, do we?

 
Keep going…

 
All that’s left is to secure the lovely new cushion so that guests don’t fall through.

 
Love it!

   

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1 Topiary Forms, Not Reserved for Green Thumbs

Finding a few fun decorative items to fill the void above the bookshelf in the guest bedroom has been on my to-do list for months. Not the write-down-and-scratch-off-once-complete to-do list, but the one you keep in the back of your mind that haunts you every time to are browsing around Target/TJ Maxx. You know the one.

Well fancy my delight when I stumbled upon the perfect pair of topiary forms online. CSN Stores saved the day! Perfect height. Perfect color. Same gently-used-but-still-oh-so-perfect yard sale feel as the rest of the room.

My only complaint? This greedy gal wishes she had one more friend to turn this pair into a trio. I’ll add it to the list.

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1 Cause For Excitement

Why so giddy, Wilkersons? We have a big weekend in store!

Not only is my lovely older, littler sister getting hitched but our guestroom will finally be broken in. That’s right, our first guests are staying with us at the Wilkerson construction site. We can’t wait to show off our casa to Eric’s parents, eat a little wedding cake, and shake our tail feathers on the dance floor.

 

-Cara

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6 Our Friends are Famous

Watch out. Someone in our home is skyrocketing to superstardom.

While giving our coffee table a good dusting this morning, I spotted a familiar face. Excuse me, a familiar body.

Our mannequin is famous! As the cover girl for one of my favorite coffee table books/trash-to-treasure bible, I can’t believe I didn’t recognize those curves before now.

 

Even with a little wear and tear over the years, she’s still looking pretty good. But let’s just keep that between you and I. If she had a head, it would be the size of a hot air balloon.


-Cara

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5 How To…Create a Frame Collage

Empty wall? Small budget? We’ve whipped up a creative (and inexpensive) solution.

Encountering a similar dilemma in our guest bedroom, we wanted to stick to our eco-chic theme and create inexpensive wall art using recycled materials.

Supplies

-	Several large photo frames (we rescued ours up from local thrift stores & family members)
-	Nails
-	Hammer
-	Tape measurer & level if you are feeling precise…or you could just eyeball it like we did

Let the fun begin! In just a matter of minutes we transformed this boring wall into a wondrous work of earth-friendly art.



First, play with your photo frames a bit until you find an arrangement that suits you. Line them up on the floor as you would want them to appear on the wall…
    

     
Next, if you are a bit OCD about getting the frames just right (no harm in being too careful) measure the distance between each frame and mark your wall accordingly or use the old trace & nail method…or just eyeball it and start hammering away like we did.

Wilkerson Word of Wisdom: Nails really work better than picture hangers in this case since most of the old frames we found didn’t have much for a picture hanger to “hang on” to.

Keep going!

Wilkerson Word of Wisdom: Have one droopy frame that won’t stay put? Just add another nail beside the first to create more support for the frame to rest on (make sure the two nails are level!)

That’s it! Once all of your frames are hung, you are one project (and one empty wall) ahead of the DIY game.

 
Now our wheels are turning about other around the house objects could we recycle as thrifty wall art. What are your thoughts? We’re dying to know!

-Cara

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3 History Lesson: Guest Bedroom, Round 3

1. Chair: Picked up last year during a sale at Garden Ridge, this sturdy fellow was intended to live out his years on our patio. He’s just filling in until a new Rehabilitation Station find is ready to make its debut in this spot. Coming soon!

2. Throw Pillow: An old friend. This guy, originally hailing from Ikea, has made an appearance in various areas of the Wilkerson household, but we think he fits in pretty well in this space.

 
3. Quilt: A wedding gift from Eric’s grandmother, this lovely quilt serves double duty as a means to cozy up this nook as well as the chilly feet of slumbering guests.

-Cara

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7 How To…Shorten Curtain Panels Without a Sewing Machine

With several 108” curtain panels stacked neatly in our linen closet and two bare windows in our guest bedroom, we were excited to pull these bad boys out of hiding and repurpose them with a simple trim and a bit of iron-on adhesive.

Supplies

- Curtain panel in need of a trim
- Iron on fabric adhesive (we used 3/8” Heat n Bond)
- Iron
- Tape measurer
- Straight edge
- Pen


 
Find a big enough space to lay the panel out flat. Beware, cats may encroach.



Measure the distance that you would like the curtain panel to be, allowing a few additional inches to fold over as a cuff.

Example: We wanted our panels to be 92” when all was said and done, so we marked our panels for 96” to allow 4” for the cuff.

Use a straight edge to ensure that your cut is straight.
 

Make your cut.

 
Fold your fabric to the desired length of your cuff—we went with 4”—and iron to create a crease.

Place your adhesive sticky side down and follow the directions on the package for exact heating length, approximately 2-5 seconds.

 
Remove paper backing and allow adhesive to cool. Once cool, fold cuff and iron (8-10 seconds depending on package instructions).



Hang your lovely like-new panel and call it a day!

   

On an additional good-to-the-environment note, we reused two curtain rods that we’ve had idly hanging around the house for years.  With a similar finish, but mismatched ends, we hadn’t considered using them in the same room before.

Silly Wilkersons. We think they look great and definitely fit the shabby-chic feel of this guestroom. 

What do you think? Do mismatched curtain rods float your boat, or does the thought of it bring out the OCD in you?

-Cara

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