The Guest Room (in Progress)

Time for another room reveal, gang! It's been fun giving you all little sneak peaks at our house, room by room, for the last few months - I figured out I've shared a new room once every month since June, so I'm not about to let September get by without showing you another in full. If you missed any of our other room reveals, make sure to check out our kitchen, "French" room and living room. We've been trying to wait until each room feels "done" enough for a decent impact, though no room is ever really "done." We're always going to be making changes because, hey, we're fickle like that.

Though I like to wait to reveal a room until I'm satisfied, I feel like with our little quick look into our guest room last week, I needed to show you the rest. The guest room is definitely the least complete room on our main floor - heck, it's even lost furniture since we've moved in! But I thought I'd share what we have going on in there right now, and hopefully ask some advice on how to fill a rather large, blank space on one of the walls.

So, come on in and take a look at our guest room without even having to brave an overnight in our home!

Here's what it looked like on our very first walkthrough of the house:

Seriously. Purple may have worked for the "Friends" apartment, but not in this little space...

And, here's what we've done so far:

The room's paint color is Behr's "Cucumber Crush." The bedding is from Target. You saw how I made that very simple headboard last week. The unfortunate curtains are the very same ones you can see in the "purple" photo above. The previous owners left them, and I've just been too lazy to make new ones. Don't worry - those will come!

I've had this dresser since my junior year of college - and it shows. I originally was going to paint it a grass green color to match the green leaf color on the bedding, but I think I like the wood look better - although it does need a good sanding and refinishing. This puppy has seen better days (though I'm not sure I would refer to myself ages 20-21 as "better...").

Also relics from college Rachel are those fake Calla Lilies. Sigh... And all those glass vases on the right? I didn't intend to group them there like that. The dresser kind of became a holding spot for them because I didn't know what else to do with them! From time to time, one or two will disappear when a new bouquet of flowers makes its way into the house. The globe was found by Eric at his magical thrift store, and the lamp  lived in our old apartment's living room. The blue mirror was also scored at a thrift store; in its original state, it was a really ugly reddish-brown color. Thanks to Krylon's "Blue Ocean Breeze" spray paint, it's been given a much prettier second life.

Sitting atop of the dresser are a couple of completely awesome vintage placements we found at a Salvation Army a few months back. Again, their placement on the dresser is mostly just due to the fact that we didn't know where else to put them. They also happen to match the room's color scheme! Aside from the San Francisco mat, the one sitting below all the clear vases is a really rad-looking whimsical map of Florida. We've got to find somewhere to display these more prominently.

Next to the dresser, you'll see a little red chair that used to live in our apartment, too. Atop that is a basket I received as a bridesmaid's gift from my friend Lauren's wedding last spring. I thought it fit nicely with the rest of the light, breezy, springtime decor of the room. The pillow used to sit on our old couch in the apartment.

Next to the bed is another piece of furniture I'd had since I was 22: A little white nightstand. 

Topped with a colorful bird tray, a vase of silk flowers and, of course, an "I Can Haz Cheezburger" I won from some Internet giveaway once. The Internet is so awesome, guys.

Below the nightstand sit a few books whose color schemes match the room. You know, Worst-Case Scenario books, two books poking fun at dreaded hipsters, and of course, two of my favorite books of all time (Cat's Cradle and Love is a Mix Tape).

The guest room, in my opinion, has one of the best views in the house. Our visitors get to wake up and look out the window into our sunny backyard.

The window also has a sticker emblazoned with our neighborhood's name. It was on there when we moved in, and I don't intend of ever taking it down. Neighborhood pride, y'all!

Now, you may have noticed a framed picture on one of the walls near the bedroom door.

Hold on to your hats, folks, because you just may not believe that this is an original work from Bradley 3-F. I'm not sure of its title, but we always refer to it as "Bradley 3-F." Bradley may have called it "Leaves in a Puddle," himself.

Eric found Bradley 3-F in a thrift store a couple years ago and was just sort of intrigued by it. Who is Bradley? What happened to make his parents take the time to frame this piece of work, only to donate to a thrift store later? Is Bradley aware his work was given away? Does he know a young, slightly odd couple cared enough about this watercolor to hang it in their apartment and then move it to their new house? If Bradley 3-F is out there, I'd sure like to see if he ran with his raw artistic talent.

Now, below Bradley 3-F used to sit my sewing table, which ultimately became a part of our dining table. I really need to get another small sewing table - if not to eliminate lugging the sewing machine into the French room to sew, just to fill up the awkward empty space below the painting.

And speaking of awkward, empty spaces, what in the heck should I do with this??

The wall by the bed and the back window is just one vast "Cucumber Crush"-colored barren land. I've got a few ideas saved on Pinterest, but I'm not in love with them all. I'd love your suggestions on how to fill this space! It seriously eats at me every time I glance over at the guest room. Something's got to be done! Something that doesn't involved a black-and-white poster of Elvis....

So, as you can see, the guest room is no where near completed. It's got some decent stuff going on in there, but it's got a ways to go before I'm satisfied. But, it's got a bed, and a nice window and a place for visitors to put their things if they feel like emptying their suitcases for an extended stay. Does anyone actually do that when staying as a guest at someone's house anymore?

And, just in case you were worried, Mr. Pancakes has approved this room, and he definitely did not make himself scarce throughout this photo shoot (You don't know how many photos I had to delete because he popped into them at the last second). When the DSLR comes out, he can smell it from a mile away.

Got any ideas to fill a large, empty wall? Shoot 'em my way! I just may put your idea to work!