The Easiest Guest Room Makeover EVER

Welcome to the easiest bedroom makeover we've ever done. Seriously. The “client” is a friend of mine that had a really boring guest room that needed some freshening up (and cooling down) so when Haiku Home (the company that makes this lovely, modern, simple fan) reached out about a makeover I called her up and said, “Lady. It's time, let's do this.”  But like most people, her guest room wasn't where she (or we) wanted to splurge – so our goals were for it to be inviting, pretty, comfortable but affordable and fast. Eighty percent of the pieces in this room are ready-made and bought off the shelf so this room is extremely easy to duplicate, and yet, we think it still looks unique and not generic.

Here was the space before:

Typical guest room – neglected, unconsidered, and yet did the job just fine. Suzanne (my friend) likes neutrals throughout her whole house, but we still needed some contrast and personality – just not through color. The only thing that she wanted to keep (which we also liked) is that antique dresser. Otherwise she gave us carte blanche to start all over.

The reason we picked this room for the makeover was because A.) she's a new friend and I like to be popular (I'm kidding) and B.) because it was desperate for a fan since they don't have air conditioning and Suzanne had asked me for a recommendation of which one to buy before. I know that people struggle with this a lot, afraid that a ceiling fan will look bad and dated and they certainly can, but when they are simple, streamlined and super quiet/energy efficient then they are a VERY good thing. We have two in our home and if we could add more we would.

This room is east facing with two large windows and it didn't have central air. Portable or window AC units are functional but also a bummer to look at and to deal with, so the obvious (and best) solution was a ceiling fan. The style of the house is 1920's Spanish Mediterranean. I googled “mediterranean ceiling fan” and this came up which was terrifying y muy malo. My overall theory with ceiling fans is that the more “decorative” they are, the tackier they can go. I haven't seen every single fan out there on the market, so there might be some that are better, but generally I'd say keep them simple and streamlined. Stay away from fake shiny wood, crystal, and tulip shaped glass shades (replace with simple round ones easily). There are so many options out there, but man I wish that I had known about this one when we moved in.

This new fan is virtually silent and, unlike the one we have in our bedroom (not Haiku but fine), it doesn't shake. It's extremely energy efficient so if you want to keep it on all day you don't have to feel guilty. This fan also has a motion sensor built in and knows when to speed up or slow down based on the temperature in your room. If you want to adjust it manually, you can control it by remote, an app on your phone, or a finger pad/switch on the wall. Or you can just put the remote on the wall and click it there if that's your jam. We aren't big on loose remotes in our house (I lose them, the children want to eat them) so putting it in a holder in the wall for most of the time is a great option and then if your guest wants it even more convenient during the night they can put it in the nightstand.

We showed you both options, like so:

It's a light switch, only it controls the quietest fan in the world. Man, I'm a ceiling fan person. Just this morning I BEGGED Brian to turn it on. He didn't think it was stuffy and maybe it wasn't (I was nursing Elliot), but I need airflow. When Haiku Home reached out I got so excited because I had seen their “BIG ASS FANS” in cool event spaces and I was tempted to add one to our living room. It wasn't the best idea as our roof-line was slanted but I wanted it real bad. Of course now that I read how they can be on angled ceilings I'm having second thoughts and major regrets.

Back to the makeover at hand.

Please note that we relocated that curtain rod to its proper place – 3-4″ from the ceiling (this is flexible but it's a good number to shoot for). Why? Bringing the rod up makes the ceiling look taller which means the room looks bigger. It's like ankle straps – they cut your leg off, stop your eye and make you look shorter. I still wear them, but “flattering” they are not. Don't put them on your room, though because you always want you room to look bigger and you NEVER want it to look smaller (or stubbier). In case you need a crash course head HERE.

For the art we went to Minted and picked out and chose frames for a collection that we thought looked collected, curated and natural. Since Suzanne and I are both from the Pacific NorthWest we definitely wanted that beautiful forest photograph, and we used that as our art “jumping off point” then added in the navy blue watercolor print and line drawings to make a complete collection.

My best tips on choosing art (especially prints) are:

1. Frame for the piece while keeping the room in mind: Meaning don't frame a seascape in a red frame just because you needed another pop of red in the room. It should look good in the frame FIRST and in the room second.

2. Get a variety of mediums: A room full of photographs can look generic and bad hotel-like. We used a print of a painting, two drawings and a photograph.

3. Mix in an original painting or something vintage: Once you add that “unique-to-you” piece it elevates the whole collection. Styling is all about creating a story where you're changing the context. Like in fashion, dressing up some cute Gap/Target/Madewell pieces with a pair of crazy vintage 70's clogs or the perfect vintage suede jacket, can really make the outfit, so it is when it comes to dressing/styling a room. If we hadn't mixed in that seascape the room would have looked good, but with it the room went next level.

Speaking of that piece, I was hoarding it for me because I love it. I didn't even put it on the flea because I didn't want to sell it. Suzanne is a lucky woman that owes me 1,457 freshly made margaritas (a specialty of hers).

For the bedding we also did a mix. For the first time in years I chose a comforter over a duvet/duvet cover. This is due the fact that it was so attractive (Nate Berkus for Target) and while I prefer a duvet (because these jimmy legs can't hang with a top sheet) I know there are those of you out there, including our parents, who love a top sheet and therefore can rock this comforter. She already had those sheets, then I added two parachute pillow covers and a couple decorative throw pillows on top of this awesome custom bedframe which World Market sent through.

On the other side of the room we added a pretty ladder that she already had, and tucked some pretty linens/hat and bag onto it – mostly for the photo. Look around your house – there are many a place for vertical ladders and they do strangely wonderful things for that space as well as give your guests a place to hang their hat and vintage sisal bag (which all house guests should have).

The rug is extremely awesome and totally affordable ($199). It's from Target and just so good. For a queen bed you'll need the 8×10 or in this case 7'6″ x 10′ size. The nightstands are also part of their new mid-century collection which is super simple and totally affordable.

The lamps on the nightstands are from Rejuvenation but we switched out the shades for a smaller one for the shoot. To be truthful we only used one and put it on both sides like there were two because it looked SOOO good but we didn't have two. I had one left over from a different shoot. Don't worry, we left her with two lamps.

Please note that adorable bathroom in the background. The sink is hilarious because while it is so beautiful it's so shallow that the water drenches the front of you every time you turn on the water. Whoops.

The only piece that Suzanne had that she wanted to keep was that simple antique dresser. She's had it since high school and it was sentimental. We switched out the handles (she had brushed nickel contemporary ones) with these simple black handles. While we could have used a new dresser and that would have looked great, we all know that a couple pieces of vintage really gives a room some soul.

I've been hoarding a bunch of old leather bound books for a while, so she inherited a couple of those simply because they looked so pretty in the shot – but for a guest room you could have a lamp and a jewelry box and call it a day. I'm a fan of keeping the guest room relatively empty except for the essentials, so while we styled it a bit for these shots, feel free to just have lamps and maybe a candle/flower or two for the guests.

About 1/2 way through the day I got worried that the room would look generic without enough color and with (almost) everything being from a major retailer, but it really didn't. It's simple, layered, interesting, beautiful and quiet.

Thanks to Haiku Home for sponsoring this makeover. Their fans are seriously good – simple, quiet, energy efficient and extremely effective – as we were styling it got stuffy in there, so we popped it on and that fan cooled us down in minutes.

We went for this for this clean white one, but there are tons of other options (bamboo, aluminum, custom colors and even fans painted by artists). Since Suzanne's room had recessed lighting that was all on one switch we didn't use the hard-wired switch because it would have controlled the lights, too, and then guests wouldn't have been able to turn on the fan in the middle of the night. So if you have the same situation stick to the remote for the on/off switch. If you want one with a light (like we have in our bedroom) then this is a great option for you.

There you have it – the easiest, simplest, and almost all sourceable guest room ever. I love that you as readers could really order this whole room if you are into it and be done with your guest room.

As an extra special added bonus, Haiku Home wanted to offer you all the chance to win your very own Haiku L Series ceiling fan to jumpstart your makeover project this Spring. Follow this link to enter their giveaway contest through Friday, May 20.

So what do you think? Would you want to be a guest here?

Sources:

Art: Lupine Print | Wild Pea Print | Stone Pile Watercolor | Whispered Rain Photograph

Bedding: Two Shade Yarn Black and White Throw Pillow | Striped Throw Pillow | Quilted Navy Sham | Polka Dot Sheets | Striped Comforter and Pillow Set

Furniture: Linear Weave Lounge Chair | Granby Cylinder Drum Table | Millsboro Walnut Nightstand | Textured Woven Bryn Upholstered Bed | Teak Step Stool | Dip Dyed Stool | Sahara Grey Area Rug | Dresser (vintage)

Details/Accessories: Ball Curtain Rod | Ritva White Curtains | Round Base Table Lamp | Vintage Ladder (similar Lucy Leaning Ladder) | Abbot Throw Blanket | Architect Tripod Table Lamp | Endicott Soft Iron Drawer Pull | Sunburst Mirror | Nate Berkus Desk Clock | Navy Blue Decorative Pillow

If you're craving more bedroom makeovers check out: Master Bedroom Refresh Plan, Curbly's Makeover, Old World Meets Modern Master Bedroom, Master Bedroom Makeover, Ian's Bedroom: A (Not-So) Bachelor Pad, Venice Bedroom Before and After.

***Photography by Tessa Neustadt

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