New Look

Several months ago I tackled redecorating our guest room. Two and a half years ago I used a small fund to get this room ready for my dad and mom who were coming for Allan's kindergarten graduation. We purchased furniture, bedspread, curtains, lamp, etc. and it worked for the time being. But the quality of things I purchased was very poor and so very quickly the comforter started bunching, threads came out, and the curtains faded until they looked horrible. This was what it looked like then:

We didn't know that this would be the last time my mom would be visiting us and that visit doesn't have very good memories attached. (I had just come through surgery, after the graduation party we all got food poisoning - except my mom- and this was when she had just started with the infection in her legs). Several months later I would spend weeks in this room going through drug withdraw and watch little green men riding purple butterflies down the wall. So many painful memories that just made this room very uninviting. I wanted it to have a light, airy, restful feel to it.

In September Philip went away for a few days and I decided to tackle the project (this allows me to have the house torn apart but not have to put it back together right away) and the end result was what I was looking for. There is a very hilarious story that happened during the dismantling process that perhaps I'll write up someday - but hopefully Gail and Denise Harmon will come back and see the final result sometimes!

 I wanted the scripture art to reflect some of the lessons that I learned in this room and so chose John 14:27.

For those who are interested in the specific specs:
Paint color: Sherwin Williams Aviary Blue (Colors go on darker than the swatch - if I had it to do over again, I'd go one or two steps lighter)
Bedspread - Overstock.com
Shelf - Target
Accessories - Hobby Lobby
Faux Wood Blinds - Select Blinds.com
Wreath - Expressions Catalog
Wall Mural - LTL Prints
Scripture Wall Art - there are a lot of places that do this -  I have a friend who did it for us. 

I watched sales on these items for about 5 months. The mural was from a Groupon I used, I watched for B1G1 80% on the blinds, and kept an eye for the other things to go on sale or run a free shipping deal. And I also used a coupon for the paint at Sherwin Williams. They often run very good sales on their paint. The lamp shade and shelf were purchased at Target with a gift card I got by filling out a survey. If you're willing to wait awhile, there are usually great deals to be had. At Hobby Lobby I had to go several different times with several different coupons but the result was very little out of pocket. Oh, and the seashells on the tray around the candles were from my mother-in-laws treasures gathered over her years of living by the ocean.