Blue is the new neutral

I've been talking about fixing our guest room for months. Actually, I wouldn't call this room a "guest room" just yet. Does it count as a guest room if the guest bed is on it's side and unassembled? This room was in a sad state and filled not only with the designated guest bed (on it's side and unusable) but spare pictures, office supplies, and old lonely furniture.

It wasn't until our drunk friend Carlos decided to take a nap in my mom's bedroom that I actually got motivated. After washing Mom's beer-smelling sheets, I headed down to Home Depot and picked up a quart of red paint, white paint and a gallon of Newport Blue. Because I'm on a budget and my husband will kill me if I spend anymore money on home products, I did a treasure hunt in my house and found some really ugly nightstands that my dad picked up at a flea market years ago and a headboard that would have looked great in the tropics but didn't really fit in with my guest room plans.

So like the seven dwarfs (minus six of them), off to work I go! I started by clearing out the room and the cobwebs. I should have fixed the guest room sooner. The room didn't just resemble a storage junk room but a haunted storage junk room with all the cobwebs. Once the furniture was cleared I painted the walls Newport blue. Fortunately, the room is pretty small (10x10) so I was able to finish the paint job in around 1 hour.

While waiting for the paint to dry, I decided to work on the furniture (because I'm way too cool to watch paint dry, haha). I took the ugly nightstands and the ugly headboard into the backyard. Every guest room deserves a matching furniture set but not everyone can afford a matching set. And that, my friends, is where spray paint comes in handy. With 4 cans of primer and 4 cans of Slate Blue spray paint, I had a matching bedroom set in less than an hour. I love spray painting! I know I sound like a total weirdo but there is something so calming and effortless about spray painting. I love the hiss from the can and I love seeing how the item in front me just transforms before my eyes in seconds. I would redecorate a room and buy crap furniture I don't need just to have a chance to spray paint. I thnk I need to go to spray painter's anonymous.

I noticed that I didn't have any lamps for the guest room. I could get away with being lampless because the room had canned lighting but I couldn't get away with naked nightstands. The other day I found a great lantern in red at Marshalls for $9.99, which took care of one nightstand. But what about the other nightstand. I thought about the options I had in my house. I could a picture of me but that might scare of guests from ever visting me again. I could place a stack of books that someone would never read. How about a plate? I thought. I could place a cute random plate on the nightstand as a clever spot for guests to place their jewelry and glasses before going to sleep. But knowing my friends I might end up with actual food on that plate or a half empty beer can (ahem, Carlos).

Rummaging through the garage, I found a crusty mustard-colored bird cage. There's no mustard in my guest room. There is a ton of blue, lots of red acccents and some white but no mustard. So what's a girl on a budget to do? I found a can of glossy spray paint (ooh, spray paint) in Red Apple and gave the bird cage two coats. Ta-dah! A cheap skate's alternative to a lamp!

After the furniture and accessories were complete, I went back upstairs and started stenciling the wall. I decided to do the wall that the headboard would be on (I think it would give the room more "oomph"). I then assembled my once sad guest bed and placed some fresh red linens on it. I brought the nightstands and accessories upstairs. My once sad haunted storage room is now a real guest room.