The four bedrooms in our home are all upstairs. The primary bedroom comes up first, which is a bit odd. The smallest bedroom is right next to it, and a couple of larger bedrooms are at the end of the hallway. Our older daughter knew exactly which one would be hers when she first walked through them. And her sister picked the one next door – no surprises there! So the smaller room between the kids and us ended up as the guest room. And now it was time to renovate the guest room to be multi-functional.

Define the outcome upfront

The primary function of this space is to provide a good night’s rest to our house guests. When we have family visiting from India, they stay with us for a few weeks to a few months. So it needed to be comfortable for more extended stays and give them a place to unwind away from the kids, pets, and our usual hustle and bustle.

So with that, if I had to describe what I want this room to end up as, I’d say calm, elegant, and practical.

This queen-sized bed was the first thing I bought for this room. We had friends visiting us within the first couple of months of having moved here. It’s timeless, affordable, and looks more beautiful in person.

Consider secondary functions for the room, if any

Along one entire wall of this room, almost 13 feet, we had closets. Indeed an overkill for a guest room, even for extended stays.

So, as I was drafting this blog, I wrote about how, at some point, I wanted to remove one half of the existing closet (that you see in the photo above) and incorporate it into the room.

Doing so would create space for a desk in here. Of course, the setup would be convenient for our guests, but also for us. Our home office is ideal for just one person to work in at any given time. Not having a dedicated office during the pandemic has been a substantial challenge for me.

Late that evening, I poured us some wine and told Amit I had a new project in mind. I was hardly done sharing my plan when he immediately brought out his tools and took down the shelving inside the closet. I didn’t even get a chance to take the before photos with the closet doors and shelving – haha! Well, that’s how we roll.

Here are some in-progress photos, though. Amit removed the door frames, jamb, and header. There was a shelf base on the floor that had to be ripped out to reveal the subfloor. Fortunately, we had run the hardwood flooring vertically across the room. So it was easier to extend it all the way to the wall.

I plan to write a separate post about our decision to use hardwood flooring in our bedrooms upstairs. If that topic is of interest to you, subscribe to our email list. You’ll be notified of new posts on the blog.

Plan the space

Initially, I had the bed against the wall with the window, similar to how the previous owners had the room laid out. It worked well to make the bed the focal point as you walk into the room. However, this setup didn’t effectively use the space we just created by tearing down the closet.

So instead, I oriented the bed with the headboard against the only uninterrupted wall in the room. This way, I could add sconces on the wall and keep the nightstands minimal.

I’m thinking of a narrow desk for the alternate office area, a comfortable chair, and a couple of floating shelves. If I can find a comfortable enough desk chair, it could even work for lounging when the room’s hosting guests.

Apart from that, all the room needs is a full-length mirror and maybe a shelf to help guests get dressed. Also, having a full-length mirror opposite the window would help bounce much-needed light in this room.

Select a fitting palette

So, let’s see – a calm and elegant room. This is a north-facing room that gets the least amount of natural light compared to the rest of the house. At 10′ x 14′, it isn’t the smallest room we’ve had to design, but it isn’t spacious either. Given these realities, I knew choosing the right paint color would be crucial and a challenge.

Going with white was out of the question since the low-light situation would make it look dingy. A dark paint color would undoubtedly make it look cozy. However, I was concerned the moody vibe wouldn’t align with my goal for this room. Also, our primary bedroom is already painted a dark color. And I wasn’t sure about having two dark, moody spaces separated by the light-toned hallway.

Since I was testing warm grey paint colors in our family room then, I tried some of the lighter shades here. This is one of the many reasons I love using Samplize to test paint colors. I usually start by narrowing down the color palette for our home and have a few shades of each color shortlisted. With Samplize, it’s so convenient to use peel and stick samples of these shades you’re contemplating in multiple rooms.

Ultimately, I went with Benjamin Moore Classic Gray for this room. The trim will be painted in Benjamin Moore Simply White. Now that the room is painted, sometimes, the walls look a bit flat or even gloomy.

However, I want to wait till I’ve added the rug and accessories. If it still looks off after being styled, I might have to go with a paint color that’s a little more saturated. Really, it isn’t unusual to pick the paint color in the end in tricky rooms like this one.

I’ve lately been drawn to the idea of painting that wall in the nook a dramatic dark color, adding wallpaper, or a mural. Anything to not make it look drab on Zoom calls. I would love to hear what you would do if you were me, so leave a message!

Add finishes and textures

Since the room was neutral and muted, texture and brass accents would help add some interest while still keeping the mood tranquil.

Also, I decided to mix and match nightstands to bring some personality to the room. We already had a tree stump that Amit had finished for our younger one’s nursery from years ago. To balance the rawness and visual weight of the tree stump, I found this nightstand as the perfect counterpart. Moreover, it’s mirrored shelf and glass would reflect some light around the otherwise low-lit room.

Next, matching wall sconces would bring some symmetry to the mismatched nightstands. Here’s an antique brass sconce I’m considering for the room that’ll elevate it a bit. Another option is to keep it muted and textured by going with these ceramic sconces.

I’m planning to paint the bi-fold closet doors the same color as the wall. It’s white right now and draws unnecessary attention to it. I plan to add super-sized hardware to add a little drama but still stay away from making these basic old closet doors the feature.

So that’s the plan for the guest room. I can see the finish line with this one and will source the furniture, lighting, and design accessories next. Check back for a post on how it turned out in the end, what went well, and what we learned as we put the final touches to this room.

If you’ve recently remodeled your guest room, we would love to hear about your experience. So leave us a message below!