Monday, September 16, 2019

Second Guest Room Reveal (Finally)

Well sure, it's been well over a year since our house renovation was completed, but after working on the living room and bathrooms and big guest room,  I kind of ran out of steam/ideas/money for the second guest room.

That said, I did buy a new bed and headboard before Christmas because both of the kadults were going to be home and I wanted each of them to have a comfy place to sleep, but other than the bedding to go along with the bed, I didn't do anything else.

This room ended up holding boxes of childhood treasures for Sam and Allie to go through and choose what they wanted to keep, which was the plan for when they were here at Christmastime.  I bet you are not surprised to hear that they didn't want to go through the boxes and that I could "get rid of everything" - can you feel my heart breaking?  Or at least stopping momentarily; as a sentimental person who has a curated collection of childhood curios (and yes, I realize that a better word would have been keepsakes or mementos, but I was going along with the C theme), I didn't want them to have regrets about tossing everything.  The boxes stayed unopened until March, when I finally waded in to start sorting everything, which ended up being a big job that I only managed to do for an hour or two each time because otherwise I wanted to save everything instead of being practical about what could be tossed or donated.  And then April 9th happened and that project came to a screeching halt.

As I started to feel better, that room began to bother me.  Not only were the boxes still in there, but additional stuff had stacked up; it was mostly things that I needed to put away in the closet, but couldn't because of my back.  It got to be overwhelming.  On Saturday Jeff solved that problem, at least temporarily, by bringing the boxes into his office, and then he put the closet stuff in the closet.  The room was finally clear, and I didn't have to see those boxes and feel overwhelmed.

We hung up a few things that I'd earmarked for that room, washed the bedding, vacuumed, and then I got to work on the one project that I knew I could not only start, but finish - and in just a couple of hours, imagine that!  The room itself is not really completed; I need to hang more things on the walls and figure out the lamp situation (as I have had to do with every room, why are lamps so challenging for me?), and I'd like to find a small, but tall, table for a nightstand.  Oh and I want to get a black and cream ticking bedskirt but hoo boy, they are expensive!  I'm hoping Target steps up with that item soon.

I know, I know - get to the pictures.  Here it is:
The first go-round.  
Second try - I moved the floor lamp to this side because I felt like the other lamp was too close in height to the jar of cars.  I like this look much better but can't really use the floor lamp here because it pushed the nightstand away from the wall by at least five inches.  Still, it's given me some ideas for a lamp.

Jar of cars??  Yes, a jar of old Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, remnants of Sam and Allie's childhood:
Please enjoy my mad car stacking skillz.  I went round and round the jar and made it to the top with a nice outer edge of cars and surprisingly, nothing caved in along the way.  Then I carefully filled in the middle with the rest of the cars.
With the lid off - I left some of my favorite cars for the top layer.
What I started working with - these were dumped out from a big bin of cars that I saw about a year ago when Jeff was moving things in the attic.  I knew I wanted to do something fun with them but wasn't sure just exactly what until I saw an empty glass jar in my kitchen.
All sorted, and if you know me you know that after I'd color sorted the cars, I considered moving everything to ROYGBIV order for fun, but decided to save my energy for the stacking that was to come.  You can also see the smaller jar at the top of the picture - this was my original inspiration for the project, but very quickly I realized that I needed a bigger jar.  I bought the biggest one in Target that day.
I ended up putting all of the big trucks into the smaller jar.  Logan is currently mad for big trucks so when I saw them gathered together, this was a no brainer.
See?  Intently watching big trucks while the grownups chatted.

Back to the guest room:
A picture of Paco from back when his face was black, and a dachshund chalkboard reminiscent of our sweet Jackie needed to be in this room.  
The sheets - I saw them online when I was scrolling for sheets and was sold immediately.  I love them!  The bed is a full size, so there were a lot more fun sheet sets available.
The quilt and shams are from the boy's section at Target.  Hey, it was the red that I wanted, in a cotton quilt - once again, having a smaller bed opened up more options.  And yes, I do need to hang something above the bed.  Any ideas?  
Other side of the bed holds a chair that originally belonged to my Grandmother but we've had for over 25 years, and a cute side table that I inherited from her.  I like that I can use it for a nightstand - the high bed made it work perfectly.  The large picture hanging near the chair was what Jeff and I bought for our first house.
I found this old Coke box when we were out with Karen and Jimmy in July, and while I already have two of them, I loved that you could read HOUSTON, TEXAS on this one so it came home with me.  Nothing is in it yet, but I have a plethora of little collectibles in boxes so one of these days I'll get to work filling it.

So there you have it - a guest room that is sort of finished and sort of a work in progress.  It will be fun to see what ends up going on the walls; I'm not in any hurry but when I find the right thing, I'll hang it up.  And then take a picture and show it on my blog, of course!

25 comments:

  1. It looks great! Can’t wait to see what kind of lamp you end up with! (Your final purchase and any other trials!). I love love love the bedding!

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    1. LOL on the other lamp trials...you know there are going to be some!

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  2. I cant believe the kadults did not want to go through boxes of childhood collectibles. I would have been all over that! ( I say this now but I know my momma has multiple boxes of Barbie doll stuff in her attic. I will cringe the day she wants me to take it home because I do not have the room for it, yet I wont be able to bare to get rid of them.. .lol).
    The cars in jars is a fantastic idea! What a great way to Preserve some childhood fun! Somehow I think my Barbie dolls in jars would just look weird ( and a little psychotic...haha).

    Also, what is a "ticking" bed skirt?

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    1. I'm laughing at the thought of Barbie dolls in a jar...but what about Barbie shoes and purses in a small jar? I don't have enough to do that - maybe you do? Yeah, don't get rid of your Barbies!!

      Ticking is a really old fabric pattern that looks like a soft vertical stripe - really hard to describe it but if you just google "ticking pattern" you'll see it.

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  3. Oh my gosh, Shelley, I love it!!!! I have soooo much stuff of the boys' and this winter, I plan to tackle my youngest's bedroom. He is a hoarder, so I figure that I'll make the first pass and then he can go through everything. Donald Driver (former GB Packer) adorns his walls. I think it's time for him to go...

    Love that cars in the jar idea! You are just so clever.

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    1. Good luck - seriously - with getting your son's rooms cleared and organized - my original goal was to hand each of mine one plastic tub with everything. And that's with us keeping the Legos and Brio train set here...but it became clear that I either needed to purge more or get additional tubs.

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  4. Shelley! You can MAKE a ticking bedskirt...simple sewing at its finest.

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    1. Sure, any talented seamstress could, but this is beyond my skill set beginning with figuring out yardage and repeats and stripes - even on a good day that alone would make me throw my hands up in despair. But it's a large amount of fabric to manage for someone who does very little beyond repairing t-shirts with a sewing machine. This is one of those things I'm willing to pay for...but hopefully not at the $100+ price point. :(

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  5. I think you have shown a pic of your grandmother's chair before? I covet that chair...

    I told my mother that when they moved out of their house 10 years ago, throw out or donate anything of mine. I didn't want it. Well, just last week, she gave me my 7th grade yearbook and an old picture I painted of our cat that was on a square of cardboard. I recycled the yearbook and tossed the picture. She still has a lot of stuff.

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    1. Yes, that chair has made the rounds in our house(s). I keep thinking I should have it recovered but can never commit to a fabric color...which is one reason why I don't have a tattoo - I change my mind too often for something permanent like that.

      That's interesting you aren't attached to childhood items - I still have my 7th and 8th grade yearbooks, LOL. Shows how different everyone can be, right?

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  6. Oooooo, the car jar is great. You can make a lamp out of anything. I bet you could turn car jar into a lamp if you want it to be functional as well as awesome looking.

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    1. That's not a bad idea...a car jar lamp. I know they sell kits - but of course, I'd have to find a lamp shade and geez louise, have you SEEN all the different sizes and shapes of lamp shades? It's crazy.

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  7. Of course everything looks great. I would have for you to see just how undecorated my house is 13 years into ownership lol. And now we keep talking about selling it so who knows if I'll ever do anything more?

    Pretty much all my childhood items were given/thrown away as we moved constantly. I was never really allowed to keep things. So, of course, I kept a bunch of Jennifer's stuff but I'm pretty sure she doesn't even really want any of it, though she might like the idea of it being around because she never wants me to throw it away.

    Lamps are also my nemesis so I feel for you there. I'm on the hunt for a floor lamp right now and it's not even fun to shop for one, it's just aggravating!

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    1. I always decorated our places, even our apartments - I just liked doing that (haha obviously). It's funny though - both Jeff and I had a harder time putting things up on the walls after the renovation...maybe because the house looked so different to us, I don't know, but I've been slow to decorate here.

      And see? Jenn wants her stuff, she just doesn't want to have it in her possession right now. That said, when you move I'd make her take it - no need to go that far in moving it, LOL.

      Floor lamps, ugh. I got lucky in my family room by only returning one before finding the right lamp. That's pretty much my criteria for lamps - I have to be able to easily return them, which rules out most online lamps unless it's from Target, so I can return them to the store.

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  8. The room looks great! I especially love the Coke box, and the idea of hanging it up! We have a few old boxes and crates like that from antique shopping that we use as end tables (one is right next to my desk in my office) but I would never think to hang them!

    I can totally understand the kadults not wanting to go through the boxes of stuff, speaking as a fellow kadult who is just now finally going through boxes like that from my parents. And I moved out in 2003. I did a huge purge when I was visiting them in July, and brought back a large moving box full of greeting cards and random mementos, which has actually been fun to go through in small chunks. I am throwing a lot of it out, but have found a few special things that I'm happy to have found and will most definitely be keeping. The funniest thing I've found thus far was an essay I wrote in high school about the couple in the Beatles song "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da" and was POSITIVE that my teacher wouldn't catch on. Turns out nuns listen to more than church hymnals, ha!

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    1. I love cool old boxes and crates - finding different ways to decorate with them makes a place look really interesting. You could hang something other than a Coke box on the wall - you never know what spot will work. I usually walk around my house, holding something up to the wall because the craziest decorating things have ended up working for me when I do that.

      I'm glad you finally did go through your stuff and yes, even with reading old cards and then tossing most is great - you at least revisited some things before bidding them farewell. I'm cracking up at your essay...ahhh, the things we think we can get away with as teenagers.

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    2. That's a good idea! We're still renting until next summer, but I can't wait to decorate my own house again once we buy one :)

      I definitely have a sentimental attachment to old stuff and am extremely nostalgic (and even more so as I get older, which I imagine you can relate to), so I mostly didn't go through all of the boxes because I never made the time to do it. Any time I visit my parents we spend so much time just hanging out and talking that I never got around to doing it while I was there. So it's been an enjoyable little side project as I have pockets of time here and there. It WAS really neat to read through old notes from my grandparents and great grandparents (who I barely remember, unfortunately) and cute cards my brother wrote me before he was old enough to tease me non-stop.

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  9. I love the idea of the car jar. We got rid of all my stepson's Matchbox cars, or I would try something like that. I am picturing cars or trucks in the Coke box, if there are any left!

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    1. Would you believe, there are still some remaining...sheesh!

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  10. Those sheets are so fun! I love little touches like that. There is a line at Kohl's that does fun sheets in adult size. I never am able to get them, but I admire them!

    And I love the cars in the jar!

    I'd like to hear more about why the kids not wanting to go through their stuff stopped your heart. I think that is a completely understandable reaction, but as a kid not caring about the stuff my parents are holding on to, I want to understand how they feel so I don't come off as rude (not saying your kadults did at all, of course). I hope this comment doesn't come off as rude, either. I am just looking for insight!

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    1. Well well well...I'll have to check out Kohl's because fun sheets shouldn't be limited to the smaller beds!

      Don't worry, I didn't take your comment as rude. For me, it's the fact that I loved the specific items I've saved and either remember when I was given them, and/or how much I played with them. One thing I don't have on display is my last baby doll, Linda. Yes, as a 7 year old I named my doll Linda, which cracks me up. But I remember going to Kiddie World with my mother and choosing which doll I wanted for my birthday, testing them out by holding them on my hip like a real baby. She even fit into real baby clothes, which I stored in a little suitcase. I could go on about other things I've saved, but you get the idea.

      The other reason is that I'm sentimental about what we gave our kids and also what they were fanatical about - everything from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Power Rangers to Bugs Bunny - and I guess I want them to have enough of a sentimental attachment to at least a few of these things and keep them.

      I'm obviously projecting my feelings about childhood things onto my kadults, and I don't want them to have regrets later on about having me throw everything away. So that's it in a nutshell. And now I'm curious if you've changed your mind about anything that your parents are holding onto?

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  11. This room is so cute! I love the red.

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    1. Thanks! Me too - red is such a great color to work with.

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  12. Please come to Oklahoma and decorate my house for me. You have such cute ideas and I have ZERO TALENT
    for decorating. :)

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    1. Ah Jill you are so nice. I'd actually love to come visit and help you decorate - I'm sure you have more talent than you realize, seriously.

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