Tag: attic

I was going for drama and bold color in the guest room, but it’s just so damn dark in there.

I had almost a gallon of paint leftover from the den, and I was eager to do some painting. I knew it was a risk, but I was excited about making a big change and I went for it. I love the color downstairs! I hate the color upstairs!

There’s more light coming in from two much larger windows. The ceiling is white. The wall color is broken up by blush pink curtains, art, and a wall of french doors. Upstairs? One small window placed low, walls that close in on you because of the roof pitch, and no delineation with just a single door breaking things up. I wanted cozy, but it’s more like a cave. And not a cute designery chic cave. It doesn’t feel good to be in that room. It’s not cute even walking by and seeing it from the hallway.

I still like the mockup and idea, but in reality, the bed is backlit and the white bedding reflects the dark teal surrounding it.

It was a big old mistake. But it’s just paint! Time to rethink and try again.

The walls curve to meet the ceiling throughout our finished attic, and I prefer to treat them as one rather than creating an arbitrary line to break them up. Wallpapering the entire room with a small scale print would be super sweet, but the plaster is textured and I wasn’t going to skim-coat the third floor anytime soon. I’m seriously wondering if I should do it now though? It’s messy and time-consuming to DIY, or messy and expensive to hire out, but you know I love a good wallpaper and that’s the only way it can happen.

I’ve loved that room by Thomas O’Brien forever, though that print is probably too geometric for the wonky angles of our guest room. Something with more movement like our hallway paper would be easier to pull off.

And while I’m not an accent wall fan, the example below is lovely. They actually do continue the wallpaper around, it’s just very low and the ceiling is planked.

Another planked ceiling example (this time with beadboard, which is a better fit for my house). I like the nonstandard trim color, too.

I’ve only done one coat, so at least I’ve only wasted one day’s work. The problem is that I’m not really sure yet what I’d rather see instead. This was supposed to be a quick and easy update. Cheap and cheerful. And now I’m like, I should skim-coat, rip up the carpeting, redo the floors, and hang wallpaper!

Or you know. Just repaint. But what color(s)?

I recently worked on the guest room as part of a styling shoot. It’s super cute as it is, but I’d like to make a few changes and to bring it to the next level. It’s so close to completion that I want to continue working on it to see it through! The furniture is all new, and all from the same source. Obviously, that’s great for a shoot, but for real life it’s missing the soul and patina that antiques and vintage pieces bring. The lamps are good and I like the bed and bedding, but the curtains are not great (especially if I’m keeping that antique portrait above the bed — the rod cuts right across it).

It’s a funny space, all angles and textured plaster. The entire third floor had been painted bright white before we bought the place, but I think this attic bedroom would be perfect as a cozy space rather than trying to force the light and bright thing that doesn’t come naturally because of the architecture.

When our house had been split into apartments, the third floor had a main living room with a large closet, a kitchen with enough room for a small table, tiny bathroom, and two bedrooms sans-closets under the eaves. We’re using the kitchen as a craft room, and the main living area was a playroom for us that I’m now transitioning into my office (still waiting on major pieces to arrive). The bathroom got a makeover with a hand-painted tumbling blocks pattern, and the smaller of the two bedrooms hasn’t really been touched.

Some of it is farther along in my head than in real life, but this is a rough representation of the layout with color and design choices.

A lot of what you see in that board represents actual furniture and finishes, but not everything. Specifically, I’m talking about that black nightstand. It’s one a refinished vintage pair of nightstands, and I’m in love! My kids use the guest room for sleepovers though, and they aren’t always kind to lovely, smooth finishes. I found an inexpensive set on the Facebook marketplace with similar lines and I’m painting them black. They’re currently in the garage awaiting their third and final coat.

So now I’m trying to home in on the wall color. I’m thinking a deep, muted teal, but I also love olive green, mustard, and brown. Not gray, and surprisingly, not pink! I saw a blue room with black trim at the Lake Forest Showhouse last month (I’ll recap it soon), and I’ve been wondering if that’s a combination I need in my life.