Guest Room/Home Office Pt. 2

Remember the first post I wrote about changes I've been making in our guest room/home office? Well I'm finally posting part 2! I made these finishing touches a few weeks before Levi's family rolled into town, and I'm so happy with the look and feel of the room now. The only major thing still missing is a set of curtains, which I've picked out, but are currently out of stock. :( I think they will really complete the room.

In the last post I highlighted the new lantern I found, the large sea shell overflowing with fern branches, and the coral reef piece displayed on the bookshelf. Since then I've acquired a new lamp for the desk, some small desk decorations, and a mirror for the wall. I also printed some scenic pictures from our honeymoon to fill an old frame I had, which we hung on the wall beside the bed.

For the pen holder I got a plastic tumbler from Target for $2 and wrapped it with some twine I had at home. I used super glue to secure the ends and various points while wrapping it around, and I love how it turned out! I did the same thing with this glass vase I got for a buck or two at Michael's - also where the exotic looking flower that I love came from.






















 




I found the lamp at Target, and I think it was called a captain's lamp. (Perfect!)

I like keeping the desk clean and simple - not too much clutter. I envisioned this being the place I would work on my computer, pay bills, etc, but so far it hasn't replaced the comfort of the couch...

I found this round mirror at Target as well, and it kind of reminds me of a window on a submarine. (Also perfect.)

I hope you've enjoyed the snapshots of our nautical guest retreat! Hopefully the curtains become available for purchase to finish it off. Now we just need some more visitors!

Guest Room/Home Office Pt. 1

There are some areas of our home that I have made some springtime goals to improve. I'm focusing especially on our guest bedroom/home office and our patio this spring because of the opportunities summer brings to host and entertain. Levi was out of town this past weekend on a camping trip with the guys, so I decided to take advantage of not having the (welcome) distraction of a husband around and started to tackle the guest room on Saturday.

I was fully intending to take a picture of the space before I started, but it slipped my mind. Since we moved, the room itself has been more or less clear and organized, with the closet being the source of overflowing possessions, but in the past few weeks even the bedroom has become overrun with a collection of Levi's various projects. Guns and gun parts...camping equipment...tools...car parts and repair equipment...you get the idea. Basically, the floor was almost completely covered with all of these items and the bulky boxes in which they were shipped.

I took care of that. Once the boxes were thrown out and I collected all of the man's items into a corner for him to sort through later, I was able to put away some of my own clutter, clean down the furniture, and start thinking about how I wanted to develop the decorations in there. For the longest time I've known I wanted to develop a nautical atmosphere in the guest room as a place where guests will feel extra relaxed and where I'll enjoy working at the desk. I hadn't gotten very far on that theme though, and I was ready to get to a point where I could actually be satisfied with it.

I'm not entirely there yet, but I made a lot of progress! I didn't have the full picture in my mind when I went shopping Saturday afternoon, but I was still able to find some key elements. When I woke up Sunday morning though, before I even got out of bed, all kinds of ideas instantly popped into my head. I was inspired - no coffee yet involved. I did some more shopping Sunday afternoon and picked up a small table (Craigslist find) to put the printer on next to the desk. I'll show off some elements of the desk in another post after I finish them up, but for now, here are the finds for the top of the bookshelf.

I found this awesome lantern at Pottery Barn, and no it was not cheap. But I love it. And after combining a gift card that I received as a generous house-warming gift from a friend with the 20%-off-all-lanters sale they were having that day (I hit that just right, right?), my out of pocket cost was $40 - half of the original price. Considering that was the most expensive purchase, I feel pretty good. I added a 3-wick fat pillar candle (NOT from Pottery Barn, where they cost $20) to complete it, and it glows so pretty.

The next piece is an over-sized sea shell figure with an extra large opening that was begging to hold something. I originally thought of putting some kind of collection of shells and/or decorative balls as filler in a bowl, but my plan changed when I saw this in Michael's. I also wanted to incorporate greenery somehow, so in the absence of a good sea grass option, I went for these fern branches. Some other greenery I tried just looked strange coming out of a shell, but I figured I could get away with the ferns because they look so wild and natural.

The shell was on sale for $12.49 from $25, and the fern was on sale for $0.99. Win.

The last little piece on display there is a simple coral reef figurine that caught my eye at Target. I still don't believe it was worth the $15 I paid for it, but I have a strong weakness for all things nautical and it was just too perfect to pass up. I may move this down to one of the square openings in the bookshelf if I find a picture of some kind to put on top of the shelf instead. But for now, it rests next to its ferny neighbor. The boat picture hanging on the wall was a gift from my former college roommate, who let me keep it after I house-sat several pieces of art for her while she was in temporary housing. (Free art adorning the walls of my house. It was great.)

   



















There's still work to do, but being off to a good start encourages me to keep going! Next time I'll show some details from the desk area, and hopefully sooner than later I'll have scored just the right set of curtains that I've been searching for. Stay tuned!

Snapshot of Home

One of the things I intended to do shortly after we moved was put up a post with some pictures of our new place. I clearly never got around to doing that, and I will spare you from a detailed walk-through of every single room, but I thought I would put a couple up now since we got a lot of cleaning and organizing done this weekend.

I have a lot of favorite spots in our new home - spots that when they're neat and clean, just make me want to stop and look at them for a few minutes. One of those spots took a little while to develop, but once I finally got my collage of pictures hung above the couch, it was done. I have a really hard time picking one favorite room in our condo, but the living room is definitely up there. It was the first that I completely finished decorating...most of the other rooms still have some little thing here or there I always want to add. But this one...it's just right. And forgive the poor lighting, for I'm not at all advanced in the art of picture-taking.

As far as this weekend went, I did a lot of work in our bedroom. It wasn't that bad, all told, but I haven't had anywhere to organize my shoes, so they've resided on the closet floor for the past 5 months, successfully driving me crazy. Why it took me so long to get shoe racks, I don't know, but that problem is now solved. And while I was cleaning out the closet, I finished organizing/decorating the bookshelves, hanging pictures, and getting everything just-so. The result is another room that I just want to stand in and look at.

So I guess it's not quite a "walk-through" of the place, but it's a little snapshot. It is intended to cause friends and family who have not yet visited want to come stay for a while. You know who you are.