Vintage Room Makeover with Jean from The Backyard Bungalow (guest post)

Hi HOH fans!

I’m so excited to be here at Allison’s place!  I’ve been following her blog for a loooong time and even though we have different styles, I love coming here and seeing what she comes up with next.  And now that she has a new home, I’m sure we’re all in for some exciting changes!

Let me begin by introducing myself.  My name is Jean and I blog at The Backyard Bungalow.  My ‘Mr. Wonderful’ retired from the Army 4 years ago and we have chosen to settle in Big Sky Country Montana!  I love all things vintage…mixed with modern…and my blog is all about my adventures and mis-adventures in decorating and updating my 1920’s Craftsman home.  I share tutorials in sign making, how to create a charging station and I dabble in upholstery.  You’ll find that I don’t take myself too seriously!

And now on to my post already! I started re-decorating this room in July of 2012. Yeah, July2012! Even though it’s not completely finished, (are we ever REALLY finished?) I pulled back the curtain in January of this year for a peek at my Second Guest Bedroom Reveal.  For instance, I’ve given up on my 30-year tutorial to my husband on how to fold laundry.

My first guest bedroom reveal is here.

I’ll start out with a view from the doorway. I shared the chandelier makeover here and I hinted about the architectural salvage in the windows here.

This little end table (dresser), was painted with Miss Mustard Seed’s milk paint.  You can see that post here. Notice where there should be a light fixture over the bed?  That’s where I removed an ugly light left by our home’s previous owners.  I still haven’t found the right vintage fixture to make over into the same style as the chandelier.  This was one of the projects holding up the “big reveal”, but I decided it just wasn’t that big of a deal.

I have a friend who says that no bedroom is complete without a chair.  I think she may be right.

This is the 4th end table I painted and used in this space.  I tried a square one, a tall round one, a rectangular one and then this.  It’s a perfect fit and I was really happy I decided to do the stencil in blue! I didn’t take any before pictures of this table, but suffice it to say, it was a dirty, wobbly, brown mess. This chair was a COMPLETE wreck when I purchased it for $5.00 at an estate sale.  The transformation can be seen here.

I was racking my brain trying to come up with some “artwork” for this bedroom and felt stumped until I saw this insert from an old trunk.  Instant shelving!  The “picture frames” came from the “pick” I did with my friend, Barb.  That post is here.

Who doesn’t love a stack of vintage suitcases?  No one.  Who doesn’t love a zinc-topped table.  Again, no one.  Who doesn’t love a cool old scale?  No one.  Okay, that’s probably a lie, but I love ’em!

Notice the price tag on that vanity?  Yep, I had it for sale at many of my shows and no one scooped it up, so up the stairs it went to my guest bedroom.  Oh, and that mirror-turned-chalkboard…that’s because the mirror broke in transport.  Ooops!

I may have gone a little overboard on the crocheted child’s apron collection….or maybe just overboard on collections in general.  I’m sure my kids will think so when they’re trying to settle my estate.

The “welcome” sentiment is left over from when my friend, Robyn, came to visit from Australia. Unfortunately, she was greeted with a snoot full of dust as we had just started the kitchen renovation.

Okay, I admit I may have gone a little overboard on the scale collection, too.

But can you blame me?  I mean, they’re pretty amazing, right?

This little side table required a slight make-over on the top.  Check out that post, if you like. So, there you have it….six months of projects and a slightly unfinished guest bedroom.  But that’s pretty much how I roll.  I like my decorating to slowly evolve.  Anytime I’ve rushed the decorating process, I come out with some pretty fugly rooms! For instance, the before of this room:

Stop laughing!  I mentioned before that I was in a hurry to finish this room because my home was going to be toured by millions…okay, maybe just 200 or so people from my small little town, but I felt rushed…and it didn’t turn out at all like I wanted. It just didn’t feel like “me”.

And now it does.

You probably noticed that the floors are still unfinished.  I just couldn’t stomach doing the floors up here while the kitchen was in such disarray.  I’ll get to them eventually…when the pain of the kitchen remodel is a distant memory and the dust clears from my nostrils.

I added the bead board paneling myself.  If you want to see how NOT to do it…kinda…check out it out here and here.

If you made it through all of that AND the added links, congratulations!  I promise, I’m not usually this long-winded.

Thank you, Allison, for allowing me to take up a little space in your world!

Bye from the bungalow,