When my husband and I first moved into our current home, one aspect that took us a while to wrap our heads around was what to do with all of the additional square footage we had gained. Initially the focus was on fixing up the high traffic areas (living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom). Once those areas had been addressed we went on to tackle our master bedroom (see this post). In essence, the first floor was the immediate priority and we decided to put a hold on addressing the upstairs until our downstairs was taken care of.
Around the middle of July, with the reveal of the finished living room, our downstairs areas were pretty much done. It was finally time to move onto tackling the upstairs. To give you a little background on the upstairs layout, it is technically a loft space with one half of the floor opening up to the downstairs and the other half of the floor containing walls, closets and a half circle window (which I adore!). This side of the upstairs was the obvious choice for the second bedroom.
I know you are probably looking at these pictures and thinking, "where's the guest room?" Well, the couch is actually sleeper sofa that pulls out to a queen sized bed. Reason being, we plan to be in this house for at least 5-7 years, in which time we will most likely be adding a new family member to the mix (and no, not another bulldog much to Dolly's disappointment). When that happens, we still want to have a place for guests to sleep, but won't have the space upstairs to accommodate a traditional adult sized bed. Therefore, buying a sleeper sofa was a perfect solution. It gives us a great sitting area and guest room all rolled into one.
We all know that I have quite the ginger jar habit, so naturally I wanted to create a space that incorporated a splash of chinoiserie. My overall vision for this space was inspired by the ginger jar, but morphed over time based on items I would come across while perusing various home stores (best decorating lesson- you've got to be flexible!). White, gold, green and various shades of blue became the color story for my new guest room. Below is a list of everything used + sourcing for each item.
Details:
- Sleeper Sofa- Pottery Barn Buchanan Square Arm Upholstered Sleeper, White Twill
- End Tables- West Elm Terrace Side Table, Antique Brass
- Lamps- Ralph Lauren Farrah Crystal Lamps, purchased at Home Goods (similar here)
- Throw Pillows- Northern Parker Interiors
- Throw Blanket- Sferra Brushed Cotton Herringbone-Weave Throw, Moss
- Coffee Table- Vintage Find (similar here)
- Accent Chair- Restoration Hardware Professor Chair, Indigo Belgian Linen
- Chair Pillow- Kelly Wearstler Bengal Bazaar Lumbar Pillow, Indigo
- Coffee Table Books- The Houses of Veranda, India Hicks: Island Style, Domino: The Book of Decorating
- Green Coasters- Holly Stuart, Saxon Green
- Coffee Table Tray- West Elm Small Rectangle Lacquered Tray, Gold
- Hurricane- Simon Pearce Revere Hurricane
- Star Burst- Target Sea Urchin or Small Spike Decor Sphere
We plan to build a wall with double french doors in 2016 to turn one half of the upstairs into a true guest room, but until the space still affords a degree of privacy to anyone staying upstairs. I love the way this space has come together and dare I say, it might even be my favorite room in our house. It is so bright, cozy and the perfect spot to enjoy my morning cup of coffee while watching my morning dose of Robin Roberts on Good Morning America.
I will keep you all updated as we continue to fine-tune this space. But for now, I am pretty ecstatic with the way everything has come together and am looking forward to having our first house guests staying up here for Thanksgiving (my sis and brother-in-law). The nightstand water has been set out along with the fresh flowers, so now I just need to get working on making up their bed. Now it's time to get back to prepping for Turkey Day!
