Before and After: A $600 Bedroom Redo Mixes Hand-Me-Downs and New Finds
Guest rooms might not be getting any use right now, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve some love. For Bridget McCullagh of Bridget’s Beehive, staying home provided the perfect opportunity to tackle the empty guest room. “My boyfriend and I bought our house in December and have been slowly making over the space,” she says. “Our guest room was filled with mismatched furniture and items that didn’t fit elsewhere in our house. It was also painted a sterile blue-grey color that many sellers paint houses before selling.”
But all that aside, she says, the room “had so much potential based on the large size and abundance of natural light.” Plus, those hardwood floors!
“When we heard that we would be home for the foreseeable future, we decided to tackle some easy house projects,” Bridget says. “I had already picked out paint for this guest room and we knew we would be using items from other parts of the house, so shopping would be kept to a minimum. It was a good way to spend weekends while social distancing.”
“The whole makeover took about six weeks,” Bridget says. “We didn’t rush anything because we didn’t have to!”
They started by panting the walls green, Bridget’s favorite color (Sherwin-Williams’ Saguaro). All of the trim was originally wood-toned, but Bridget wanted the trim to pop against the green walls. Taking the trim from wood to white took a lot of work. “The longest part of the process in the whole room was painting the trim,” Bridget says. “There was so much prep work to sand everything and fill in holes left by the previous owner. And painting bright white next to deep green definitely takes a steady and patient hand.”
When it came to outfitting the room, Bridget worked with things she already had, things that were gifted to the couple, and new purchases. The nightstands both came from Bridget’s grandmother, the bed’s white quilt was an old one they already had, and many of the plants and art pieces were gifted from friends.
The caned chair was a piece that Bridget had scored from Letgo and recovered. While the window shades are the same, Bridget added bold floral curtains she bought at Anthropologie. The matching pink lamps both came from West Elm.
Recognize the dresser? It’s the same one Bridget already had, now painted a zingy chartreuse (Benjamin Moore’s Lichen Green).
Of course, decorating while under quarantine presented some unique challenges. “It was also hard to pick everything online. I have never appreciated shopping in store more than now!” Bridget says. But, she says, “I love everything about this room. The color changes throughout the day as the light shifts and I often find myself wandering in the room just to look at how pretty everything is!”
While it’s not getting much use these days, Bridget is still happy with the redo. “The room feels warm and welcoming and we can’t wait to have guests again. Although we did spend quite a bit of money on this room, I’m happy that we were also able to use items from around the house. My grandparents’ side tables and assorted decor from friends make this room feel extra special.”
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