A COZY GUEST ROOM

I always want our guests to feel comfortable, welcomed and cozy when they visit our home. When we moved to a larger house in the suburbs of Phoenix we knew we wanted our home to be a place for family and friends to visit with ease. We also wanted enough space for our kids to have their own rooms. This new house is really the perfect entertaining house because it has a total of five bedrooms. With one guest room already complete, we decided to tackle our downstairs bedroom just in time for holiday visits. 

Our downstairs living spaces are designed with a mix of modern and traditional elements with a soft color palette. I wanted to transition a warm and tranquil feeling into this guest room all while staying true to our modern eclectic style. 

The first thing we did was upgrade our guest bed to a mid-century style wooden bed frame. I found this queen size bed at Living Spaces, and fell in love with it for its lines and the price. It's only $395 and they set the bed up in our home. 

Then I found my dream vintage rug from SFrugs.com. It had all of the colors of rust, sage green, blues and creams. They had amazing customer service from shipping the rug to the cleaning process. Finding the right rug for a room is a tall order because it sets the tone for everything else. When I told Ash exactly what I was looking for she found the right style and size rug for me the same day. Definitely check out SFrugs.com and reach out to her if you're on the hunt for something specific. 

Once those items were in place, I picked out a paint color to make the space feel cozier. I love the brightness of all white, but it was looking a bit too bare. I found the perfect soft green hue called "Retreat" by Sherwin-Williams. We used their Emerald line and went with a flat wash to keep it modern. We painted the walls three-quarters of the way up to give it a modern effect and also allow some brightness of the white to remain in the room. 

We furnished the room with a modern, distressed dresser from Living Spaces, and played up the brass accents by finding brass brackets and a marble shelf from Cost Plus World Market. I also fell in love with these black leather ottomans with modern brass legs, and decided to use them as side tables.

We found a live edge table for guests to set their bags on, as well as a distressed blanket ladder to display throws, plants and candles. Guest rooms always have at least one chair in them, and this rattan chair from Living Spaces was just the right size to fit. 

Max Wagner is one of my favorite photographers, and he recently opened a print shop where you can purchased beautifully framed prints of his work. I love the minimalism of this palm tree print, and thought the contemporary style balanced the distressed accents. 

The details of spaces always make rooms feel special. I found twig brass hooks to mount on the wall for bags and hats. I also found a distressed mirror from World Market and hand-blown glass vases to keep the cozy, homey feeling. Soft oatmeal color linen curtains rounded out the room. 

If you know me, lighting is my favorite part of decorating a room, and I found this light that is similar to my Jonathan Adler one on Overstock. We put a dimer to allow our guests to adjust the brightness. I had these a pair of ceramic wall mount pendant lights from Pigeon Toe Ceramics that I had not installed in our old house. I brought them with me, and I was able to install them in this room. They could not have been more perfect. 

I can't wait for my cousins to visit and be our first guests to stay in the room. Though I love my master bedroom, I keep finding myself wanting to spend one night in our guest room just to know what it feels like. Haha! I hope you enjoyed this makeover. Now it's time to conquer our family room! 

SHOP THE LOOK:
Bed
Bed linens
Throw pillows
Rug
Pendant lights
Marble shelf (sold out from World Market)
Brass brackets
Glass vases
Side tables 
Paint "Retreat" by Sherwin-Williams
Brass midcentury light
Blanket ladder
Candles
Dresser (out of stock)
Art work
Twig wall hooks
Mirror
Live edge table
Leather pouf 
Curtains 
Chair

Photos by Rennai Hoefer; This post contains affiliate links; Some items were donated for my use.

GUEST ROOM MAKEOVER & CONTEST

One of the best things about our new home is that it has plenty of space to host friends and family. I've always dreamed of creating a hotel-worthy guest room that made our guests feel welcome and rested. Living Spaces helped make my dream a reality with some of the most beautiful and affordable furniture around, and I'm excited to share it with you (P.S. you can win this whole space).

We all know that pineapples are a pin-worthy subject lately, but did you know that the pineapple is a symbol of hospitality that dates back to Christopher Columbus (see more here)? Well, as a woman that loves a good dark wall and one that loves pineapples, when I saw this Hygge & West ebony pineapple wallpaper I knew that this was perfect for my guest room and source of inspiration for the rest of the room.

The color palette was set by this wallpaper, but to avoid it feeling too matchy, matchy I wanted to introduce some natural textures, grays and other patterns. I selected a full sized, gray upholstered bed. It was only $370, and looks like it costs over one thousand. A crisp white duvet is always something you find in hotels these days, but these black and white accent pillows accompanied by a soft black throw made the bed feel even more luxurious.

I then picked an area rug to anchor the space, and I fell in love with this jute rug with black lines. Other elements that added this natural quality were an outdoor rope stool doubled as a side table and a woven basket used as a planter.

When I think about the different elements that make up a comfortable hotel room a cozy reading chair always comes to mind. This black, brass studded, leather chair is so classic in design and the perfect reading chair for my guests. I added a brass reading lamp next to it that could also be turned if someone decided to read in bed. Of course, being able to put your feet up and relax is important and this printed ottoman called my name.

The room is 11 ft wide and 8 ft deep, so I didn't have too much room for side tables. Instead, I opted for the small rope stool on one side and a brass and marble bookshelf for the other. I decorated the shelves with elements that you would often find in a hotel room such as a clock, books, bottled water, wash cloths and flowers (or in this case palm leaves to continue the tropical flair). You'll also always want a mirror for your guests to check their hair and makeup without having to go down the hall to the bathroom. I love this 44 inch gray mirror. It has an island feel to it and the color softens the room.

Last, but not least, I made sure there was a tray of welcome gifts and small design accents to make the space feel homey. A pitcher, a notebook for messages, a good smelling candle, wrapped soaps to enjoy, lavender body lotion and even brass keys to make it really feel like a hotel. I even had my friend Katie Sterbenz design a sign for the room showing wear to go to enter the oasis. On the right, the guest room, and on the left, Elle's room.

I hope you love the room as much as I do. I'm considering inviting all tired moms who need some sleep to come and use it. haha! But seriously, if you love this room you can WIN it. Living Spaces is doing a Pinterest contest where you can win a $2,500 gift card to shop this room or buy other elements that make up your dream space. Click here to enter. Be sure to check out their 4th of July sale to find amazing deals too!

To shop the space be sure to visit my Pinterest board with all of the items. 

Photos by Rennai Hoefer

BACKYARD MAKEOVER WITH HAYNEEDLE

Even though it's a record 120 degrees in Phoenix, we still enjoy being outside and living in our pool all summer. This is the first summer in our new suburban home, and it's the first time we have been ready to invest in some outdoor furniture. I was delighted to get to partner with Hayneedle to create a modern, comfortable outdoor living space. They offer all different design styles at affordable prices. Do you want to see how it turned out?

Because our suburban home has a traditional style of architecture, I wanted to honor that and insert some modern, clean lines that are true to my style. I think it's important to try and balance the integrity of the exterior space because all modern would have stuck out like a sore thumb.

The color palette was kept simple with off-white, wood and pops of blue thrown in. I picked blue because of the bright blue skies and blue water from the pool. 

On our furniture wish-list was a big dinner table that could seat our whole family, as well as different areas we could lounge outside and watch the kids swim and play. Hayneedle offered so many modern conversation sets. It was really easy to find what we wanted.

Coley and Lindsey, stylists and founders of Junk in the Trunk Vintage Market, helped me put the final touches on the makeover project. You can see more of the design process and reveal photos on Hayneedle's blog. Click here to check it out. Shop the entire space here.

Also, be sure to check out Coley's boho outdoor spot and Lindsey's industrial modern makeover with Hayneedle on their blog. Here's a little peek below.

Lindsey's backyard is amazing! This hammock looks so dreamy!

Coley's backyard is a boho oasis. I love how she combines old vintage pieces with new furniture.

Photos by Rennai Hoefer