be my guest

so that paint color i teased you with? its eddie bauer's dune grass and it made the final cut for two rooms in our abode. numero uno is the guest room....


you might think we took that bedding in and matched the paint to it. nope! but i was pleased as punch to find it post-paint selection as it fit perfectly into my scheme. initially i waffled between a couple shades of green for the guest room....


on the one hand we have laurel leaf, a lovely green color that had just the right amount of preppy cool attitude and would be lovely paired with whites + blacks or perhaps white + navy. on the other hand, also from the eddie bauer brand, there's dune grass....just a touch more of a rich earthy feel. in the end, i thought the depth of the grass shade would have a longer-lasting appeal and it just felt a titch more sophisticated and designer-y to me and those whose opinions i asked.

back to the bedding. it was a must have, tj maxx style. i thought it looked remarkably similar to this oh-so-fabulous print by kelly wearstler....no?

via patricia gray

ok i'll let you take a minute and just SOAK IN the gorgeous nature of this photograph, first of all. the glamorous black sconce? the BIKE? the crisp pattern of the wallpaper against the rustic wide-planked hardwood floors? [big sigh....]

here's another look at her fabric done in chocolate brown. love those fat mercury-based lamps bookending the bed, too.

via decorpad

anyway, i'd call my set a dead ringer:


in a breezy graphic pattern of a different nature are these sheer curtains i've mentioned before.

they're just enough contrast to make things feel calm but still interesting, i think. my mom knows me so well she pegged them for this room the minute she laid eyes on them at ikea. and sure enough, they were exactly the pair i'd been planning on. speaking of the ike, this hefty chunk o mirror in the corner hails from there as well. for $99 you just can't go wrong with the scale of this beast; i'm loving how it visually fleshes out the corner of the room while also opening things up by casting around more light from the adjacent window.

and on the practical side, the full length mirror + club chair provide a place for guests to take a quick seat, do a head-to-toe check, or toss their tote.

however next to that corner is a whole lotta green space. and not the good kind. i'm talking blank wall that is crying to be filled up with a little eye candy.


what i'm picturing is two or three gallery frames, in white on white....a la targay.
they'd be horizontally aligned, filled with some shots like these that i snapped during the building process:


i think this will add a nice personal touch as well as a playful companion to the harder lines of the patterns and mirror in the room.

for now i've got a few little details to warm up the space....a lamp dressed up with shiny glass spheres, some books and a few quirky vases. ideally i'd like tables flanking each side of the bed, both for visual reasons and for guest convenience, but for now this guy is holding down the fort.



and speaking of turning up the warmth, check these brown hued pillows done up in tweed and feathers. just the right mix of menswear fabric and cheeky feather trim. [thank you, marshalls clearance bin!]


another future project for the guest room involves an item from our first house that's been out of commission for a while. any guesses? i'd love to hear!