Guest Room Color Scheming

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.