A neatly made bed with a beige headboard graces the guest room, adorned with patterned pillows in shades of grey, black, and pink. Two matching lamps sit on bedside tables, framing the bed perfectly. A textured throw is draped elegantly over the foot of the bed.
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Drab to Fab Guest Room In 5 Easy Steps

ByLisa

With the holiday season kicking off in just over a week, everyone is starting to feel the pressure! If you are expecting a full house with out of town guests, you might especially be feeling the stress of getting the house in order and providing your guests with a comfortable place to stay. For many people, the guest room is often overlooked until its time to host. But I have 5 easy and affordable tips for you to take your guest room from drab to fab, before the holidays!

Two images showcasing a guest room transformation. Top: Simple decor with a bed, side tables, and a mirror. Bottom: Enhanced guest room featuring plush pillows, a textured blanket, and decorative accents. Text: "Drab to Fab Guest Room With 5 Easy Steps".

Step 1: Declutter

All too often, guest rooms are used as a dumping ground for unwanted things. From exercise equipment you don’t use to piles of clothes you are too lazy to put away. I get it! I am definitely guilty of stashing things I don’t know what to do with in our guest room. But here’s the thing, if you are stashing it in a room you don’t use so you don’t have to think about it, you probably don’t need it. Find it a home, sell it or donate it. Decluttering can honestly have the biggest impact on a room. The best part is, this step is free and if you sell some stuff you may have extra cash to spruce it up!A neatly made bed with a light-colored duvet and two dark pillows is centered in the guest room between two dark bedside tables, each with drawers. A ceiling fan is visible above, and light-colored walls create a minimalistic, serene setting.

Step 2: Thrifty furniture

Because guest rooms are often overlooked, they tend to get all the hand me down furniture. I get it. Furnishing a home can be expensive, but you can work with what you have and still make it look like a million bucks! When we bought our house we had to buy a fair amount of furniture so I was very thrifty. I found the dresser and night stands for our guest room on Craig’s List for $100 and refinished them with a coat of paint and new hardware. If you can’t afford to buy new furniture, make over what you have or make over some thrifted pieces to keep the cost down. If you aren’t into DIY, my friend Ikea has tons of affordable furniture!A large dark gray dresser with eight drawers stands in the guest room, topped with decorative items like a framed photo, vases, and a wooden box. Above it hangs a sizable rectangular mirror with a dark frame, partially reflecting the cozy bed and exquisite wall art.

Step 3: The headboard

I have said this before, but headboards can really give a room an extra boost of style with a relatively small price tag. I found ours on Wayfair a few years ago, but I have made several before, as well as our upholstered bed. Don’t be afraid to pick something different from the rest of your furniture. The days of walking into a furniture store and buying every piece in the set are long gone. I personally love a headboard with some upholstery. It helps soften the hard lines of the rest of the furniture, especially wood.A cozy bed in the guest room features a beige headboard, adorned with gray and white patterned pillows and a coral-colored cushion. A plush, textured blanket in gray is draped over a white duvet, creating an inviting and comfortable setting.

Step 4: Curate the items you have

As I mentioned in step 2, many of us often have to work with hand me down items when it comes to designing a guest room. But if you carefully select the items and mix and match, you can create a new room. For example, in our guest room I reused bedding I had from years past. Rather than using an entire set (comforter,duvet, shams, bed skirt), I pulled pieces from several bedding sets I had on hand to create a more curated look. Don’t be afraid to mix and match complimentary pieces. In fact, I highly recommend steering clear of entire sets. Please, no bed in a bag! A cozy guest room featuring a large bed with decorative pillows and a textured blanket. The space has light-colored walls, a ceiling fan, a window with curtains, and a nightstand. A framed picture gently accents the wall.

Step 5: Decor with big impact

Don’t underestimate the power of well selected decor! If I was designing a room from scratch and could only select a few items I would choose lamps, curtains, pillows and a rug. The reason is all of these items can have major impact on the style of a room by adding texture and pattern. To show you what I mean, lets take everything out of our guest room. This is what it would look like. Pretty drab.A bright guest room features a large bed with dark pillows against a light-colored wall. A cozy chair sits in the corner, and two framed pictures adorn the wall. Overhead, a ceiling fan gently whirs as sunlight streams through the window.

By simply adding back the curtains, lamps, and pillows the room feels completely different, doesn’t it?!A bright guest room features a large window with beige curtains and a ceiling fan. Against one wall is a bed with a gray and brown comforter, complemented by an upholstered chair with a patterned cushion nearby. Two framed abstract artworks add flair to the walls. A neatly made bed with a beige headboard graces the guest room, adorned with patterned pillows in shades of grey, black, and pink. Two matching lamps sit on bedside tables, framing the bed perfectly. A textured throw is draped elegantly over the foot of the bed. A cozy guest room corner features a dark brown nightstand with four drawers. On top are a textured beige lamp, a silver decorative piece, and a modern sculpture. The bed boasts a tufted headboard and patterned pillows, while beige curtains elegantly cover the nearby window.

While we do not have a rug in this room yet, it is definitely on the wish list for when we continue our wood flooring throughout our upstairs like we did in our master.

In case you are still not convinced how affordable it can be to take your guest room from drab to fab, let me give you a breakdown of this room.A list of expenses totaling $680 for guest room items: pillows ($60), furniture ($100), paint ($40), headboard ($140), curtains ($65), lamps ($75), accessories ($100), and art ($100) from various stores.

That’s right, I designed this room for less than $700 and that included buying furniture! That’s better than the original Trading Spaces!A cozy guest bedroom with a large bed featuring patterned pillows and a textured blanket. The wooden headboard is complemented by a nightstand with a lamp. Soft light gray walls enhance the room’s calm ambiance, making it an inviting retreat for any guest. A modern, dark wood dresser with decorative items like vases, candles, and framed art is reflected in a large wall mirror, adding elegance to the guest room. The room features patterned pillows on a couch and framed wall art in the background. A cozy guest room features a large bed adorned with patterned pillows and a fuzzy blanket. A bedside table with a lamp sits nearby, while sunlight filters through the window's light curtains, casting gentle rays on the framed picture hanging on the wall. A bright, modern guest room features a large bed with beige and patterned pillows and a textured headboard. Framed art pieces adorn the light gray walls, complemented by a ceiling fan. A chair with a cushion and a dresser with decorative items sit in the sunlight streaming through the window.

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A cozy guest room features a plush bed adorned with patterned and solid pillows, while a knit throw blanket is draped elegantly over it. Soft curtains frame the window, inviting natural light in. The text at the top reads, “Transform Your Guest Room: Drab to Fab in 5 Easy Steps.

This post, Drab to Fab Guest Room In 5 Easy Steps, appeared first on Garrison Street Design Studio.

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