Thursday, August 26, 2010

Office to Guest Bedroom, Part 1: The Closet

In the process of making the guest bedroom the baby's room, we had to deal with the office. Since we were consolidating the two rooms, these were the priorities:

1. Closet space and a dresser for Wes. Our bedroom has a single closet. It's just not happening.

2. A place for guests to sleep. We have family and friends out of town so this is essential.

3. A smaller desk area. We made a skirted desk not long ago, but there wasn't room to keep it and bring in the bed. Admittedly, the desk didn't get much use, but we still needed a dedicated bill-paying station and a spot for our laptop (other than the dining room table).


First up was the closet. Wes has been using it, so it got a good clean-out, a fresh paint job, and a better arrangement to accommodate some of the things that were in the desk and elsewhere in the room.

We swapped a small, low dresser for the one that was in the guest bedroom. The small dresser is finding a new home at my sister's house.


The closet needed doors, and since we put the dresser in front of it, there wasn't really space for anything but a curtain. I made a simple one out of a drop cloth from Lowe's ($9.48) and a tension rod from Target ($3). I still haven't mastered my sewing machine so I just used iron-on hem tape.

On the wall that used to host the small dresser (the larger one couldn't go there with the bed in the room), I finally hung the warbler prints I've had for a few months. The frames are simple ones from Target ($16.99 each) that I painted with leftover trim paint (Bennington Gray by Benjamin Moore).

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

This looks beautiful AND functional. You have such a classic style! And gotta love drop cloths - I'm doing those in a few places in our house.

Nichole@40daysof said...

Lovely!

Caroline @ The Feminist Housewife said...

It looks great! Brilliant idea with the closet!

Julie Holloway said...

looks so good! I really like the gallery.

Don't you love having a curtain instead of a door. I used two shower curtains in our last home instead of some crusty old doors.

On a side note: you should think of adding those photos of you & your husband that myhomeideas took of y'all to your blog. Y'all are too cute :)

the walton five said...

stunning. and i always love painter's dropclothes as curtains!!

Southern Lady said...

Your room is lovely! I would love a closer look at the prints. The color of your room is perfect, too. Carla

Lacey said...

I was thinking about the closet doors off one of my closets! HOWEVER, I have 2 shoe organizers on each door...problemo!

Let's discuss how you made the curtains with the iron on hem...I need some curtains, and I do NOT sew!

Michelle said...

Great solution! I love it.

Jessica @ Wanting Adventure said...

Great idea to get rid of the doors to save space! I also love non-sewing projects.

margaret said...

jennifer - i know you've probably already posted this somewhere on your blog, but can you tell me what paint color this is? we are renovating our hall bath right now and that is the exact color i have in my mind. thanks so much! i can't wait to see what you do with the nursery! :)

Jennifer said...

Hey Margaret -- the color is Saybrook Sage by Benjamin Moore. Glad you like it!

Rachel said...

Looks great!!

We are in the process of making our office more functional too. We opted for a couch with a pull-out sofa bed.

And we also have the Saybrook Sage in our guest room - and I LOOVE it. It's so pretty.

Flavia @ Estilo Home said...

What a great and easy solution! It made such a difference in the room. Loving the frames as well!

margaret said...

thank you, jennifer! i'll have to go grab a swatch asap. have a great day!

Lila said...

That's a perfect touch to cover the closet. Oh, I really love that pain color too. I'm on the lookout for a good gray!
xoxo
Lila Ferraro

Anonymous said...

This is my first visit to your blog and the color of the walls is what caught my attention. The color of the frames go really well with the sage green and the curtain/door looks really clean and fun!
I look forward to your future projects and hope it will not make me too upset as I only have 1br to decorate.....

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