Thank you for finding That Old House amidst the chaos of the Internet. We are delighted that you are here.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

A Bottle Of Water, A Chocolate Mint, and Thou: Seeking The Perfect Guest Room

  
Okay, I know I said I'd take you on a ride straight up the side of a mountain today.
But that was before I knew I'd be taking my Dad to the doctor.  
Our trip on the Duquesne Incline will have to wait.


Meanwhile . . . .

Do you love guest rooms?  Who doesn't?
They keep guests out of your own room, and they never get messy.
Well, almost never.

The Lettered Cottage blog is hosting a weeklong link party ... about Guest Rooms!  So, I dug up this old post about our yellow guest room and joined in.  If you've seen this one already -- and lots of you have -- then you may want to just skip on over to The Lettered Cottage, for the  "Guest Bedroom Re-do" party.  Go visit; be inspired!

***********************************************************************************

 With two guest bedrooms, and a third available in emergencies if the guest doesn't mind sleeping in the midst of one or two or 12 boxes, we love to have overnight company at That Old House.

The small yellow room at the back of the house is our first, and I think our coziest, guest room.




When we bought the house, this little back room was lavendar,
with floral wallpaper borders and pink woodwork.

Oh, my eyes!  My eyes!
:-)

*******************************************************************************
Now . . . gone are the Barbie colors, and if you knocked on our door 
in the middle of the night and needed a refuge. . . .
this is where you would stay.

Come in. . .

Don't you just love guest rooms? They never get messy.

The Yellow Room is our smallest bedroom, so we maximize guest storage (does that
wording make it creepily sound as if we are storing our guests?).

Near the door, there's a vintage bombe chest, burled wood, one of my best Craigslist bargains.
Thank goodness for people with more money than sense, who re-decorate and get rid of their old stuff -- cheap!
The top and middle drawers are empty, for guests to use.
The bottom drawer holds extra sets of linens for the bed.

The lamp is a pineapple, a symbol of hospitality.  Like all my lamps, a bargain.


A little peachy-pink tole basket (Home Goods) holds bottled water,
York Peppermint Patties, and hard candies when guests are in residence.

We have an old hotel luggage rack, bought for $6 when the
downtown Carlton House Hotel closed in Pittsburgh in the early '80s.
You can just spot it under the window.


On built-in shelves -- books, a plastic carry basket for bath items, and two sets of towels.
Extra towels are stored on the shelves underneath, behind the doors.


There are yellow towels for guests in this room; they always know which are theirs.
Guests in the Pink Bedroom get ... yeah, you guessed it.

A pair of Teddy Bears perches on the shelves;
you never know when you might need a Teddy Bear on a stormy night.


In the closet, kept empty and ready for guests' clothes, there are wooden and padded hangers, and extra pillows.
(Now how often do you see the inside of someone's closet?  It's the only one of mine you will ever see!)


On an old quilt rack (yard sale): extra blankets and a sweet little blue, pink & yellow printed quilt.
Note: The quilt rack has since migrated to daughter Anne's apartment. 
I'm looking for a replacement, one that I'll like better than this one!.

For bare toes, a little rug, hand hooked by a gentleman who was my father's best friend.
His wife was French, and the little rug has "Bonne nuit" and "Bon jour" worked into it.


And on one of the bedside tables, a lamp I bought on Ebay.
Can you see what it is? Look closely. . . .

It is a miniature replica of an old wicker suitcase.
There's a small brass handle at the top.

I just get such a kick out of a suitcase lamp in a guest room.
Simple things amuse me.
Just ask my husband. He amuses me no end.


The low-post cherry and poplar bed is one Howard and I bought 30 years ago at
The Whale's Tail antiques shop in Mars, Pennsylvania.
I love it, but there is a creakiness factor. We warn overnight guests.
Beds that are almost 200 years old have a tendency to audibly protest when used.
Can't say that I blame them.

The nightstands are from my in-laws' beautiful block-front Newport-style
mahogany bedroom furniture, handmade in Boston in the 1940s.
Most of this set is in our master bedroom, but these little guys just fit in so perfectly
in this small space that they just toddled across the hall to the guest room.


The blue needlepoint chair I wrote about in another post, here; another Craigslist bargain!

The colors for this room were taken from a beautiful cotton fabric by Greeff/Schumacher.
Soft yellow background, tiny peachy-pink dots, and flowers.

Green, blue, pink, peach and yellow.
That was the palette, and luckily it all came together,
with Benjamin Moore's Corn Silk on the walls.

I've been asked the name of the fabric but I don't remember it,
and I think it is discontinued. I got it at a bargain-barrel price from a fantastic
online site -- fabricguru.com -- from whom I've ordered many home dec fabrics.
Cheap shipping, fast service.
(I am not compensated by them; wish I were, I'd take my payola in fabric!)

Our other guest room would be my daughter Alida's room if she had not heartlessly deserted her loving family and moved 10-thousand miles away to the wild and woolly frontier town known as Los Angeles.

Here's a collage I did awhile back of the Pink Room -- there are pictures of "befores" including the extensive plaster repair and removal of some mystery shelves -- and "afters," but this poor room still is needs its window treatments and other niceties.



I hope you enjoyed a glimpse of our guest room.  It's just the right size for a single guest, or a very close couple. --- Cass

14 comments:

  1. Cass,
    That is a beautiful guest room and so thoughtfully appointed. Lovely colors, beautiful furnishings and the floors are great, too.
    Hope your Dad is doing well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think with that bed any color room would be grand. I also like the covering on the bed and on the pillows. We use to call that type of bed a spool bed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cass..
    I'm tiny,
    I love Yellow..
    the room is perfect for me..
    I'll be there by dark!
    hugs..
    Loui♥
    ps. is Dion allowed to sleep on the bed?
    if so, can he sleep with me?

    ReplyDelete
  4. My guest room should look so good! Mine is still not put back together very well after the floor was repaired in May, because I wanted to get a new headboard, etc., but have not found what I want (for cheap).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, this looks just gorgeous. I would love to stay in this pretty room. Your furniture is fabulous and what a bargain to find that bombe chest on CL. It is just wonderful. Love that fabric too. So pretty. Your accessories are just perfect. I can't imagine having an empty closet anywhere. It's all gorgeous. Hugs, Marty

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh Cass Sweetie...
    I am knocking for refuge, can I come in? Hello, are you home Cass. I so loved this beautiful yellow hughed room, I just hurried right on over. Oh my what a gorgeous job you have done.

    You are going to have such a line waiting to get in, you may have to change this from a guest room to a B & B.

    Oh I love the fabrics, the textures, the colors just everything. Thank you for sharing sweetie.

    Many hugs and much love, Sherry

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi, stopping by from Savvy Southern Style. You have a very pretty guest room with some lovely and thoughtful touches. I especially like the lamps, so fitting.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Everytime you post something about your beautiful old house, I just sit and sigh over all the "lovely" you live with.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sigh, I'd love to be a guest in either room. I love your wood floors with the wide planks, and the radiators!!! Such a nice post.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Too much fun! Love the yellow guest room.

    Melinda

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Cass,
    We'll it looks like the yellow room is already taken but that's okay Pink is my favorite color. I promise I'll NEVER leave and run off to L.A!
    I'm REAL simple, too, so I know you guys would like me.
    You made me smile, again, and for that I thank you. Positive thoughts that your Dad is fine.

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a lovely room. All the personal touches and finer details in place. And the fact that the closet is bare is a true sign that guests are welcome! Just wonderful! Best wishes, Tammy :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Book me in for a fall weekend, please!
    And thanks for the link - I'm redecorating two guest rooms and need inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  14. what a wonderful perfect guest room! I painted one of my guest rooms yellow 2 summers ago and have yet to find the perfect bed spread that won't cost me a fortune! Every one that I love is at BB&B and I just can't do it! Because I love to change things up and if I buy an expensive spread....I will be stuck lol. LOVE your guest room, so inviting!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting That Old House; it's always exciting to find new comments -- they are treasured! Because of increasing spam, I have reluctantly eliminated "Anonymous" commenting. Legitimate anonymous commenters, please forgive me! You might try using "Open ID" instead. Blogger's spam software worked for a good long time, but, sadly, no longer.