Welcome to the Guest Room

My guest room was one of the first rooms I ever furnished/decorated after we moved in. I love blue and white so when I found this Ralph Lauren comforter set called, "Porcelain" I decided to go with a blue and white theme.

In March 2010, I added a secretary to this room.  When I was working on adding some things to this room, I knew I wanted to mix it up a bit. I fell in love with this floral Sanderson fabric and had balloon valances, pillows and a table topper made. The wall paint was custom matched to the yellow in the Sanderson fabric.

What better way to pamper your guest than with breakfast in bed.




Had a little "kitty" pillow made out of the Sanderson fabric. If you look closely, you can see that the floral pillows are edged in the same wavy, blue and white striped fabric that you see in the table skirt. Charles Faudree says it's about the mix, not the match.   Love that!

I looked many, many years for a dress form for this room.  Each time I'd find one, it would either be in terrible condition or priced over $300. One day while out antiquing, I found one and it was perfect...just what I'd been looking for all these years.

I couldn't find a price tag on it anywhere. I walked to the front of the store and asked the two ladies behind the check-out counter for a price. They couldn't find one either and told me it was "NSF" (not for sale).

So often when I've come across dress forms in the past, they were marked NSF and usually in use by the store keeper to display clothing. Since it didn't actually have a sticker on it saying "NSF", I persisted. I asked the ladies if they would call the owner of that particular booth, and ask to make sure. (I really wanted that dress form.)

Reluctantly, one of the ladies called and as she was talking to the owner of the form, her eyes grew large. She couldn't believe it...the owner was willing to sell it and for only $95. Yipee!  The other lady behind the counter began to have herself a regular hissy fit, saying she would have bought it for herself if she had known it was for sale. Both ladies went on and on about how they had no idea it was for sale and what a steal I was getting and how THEY wanted it. I couldn't write my check fast enough...I was so worried the owner would call back and say she had changed her mind!




This blouse was my Mom's and is almost 60 years old, now. The pic above better shows it's true color.

While out antiquing one December, I found the wonderful old doll house shown above and below. It was already decorated for Christmas and it stole my heart. But the price was a bit high, so I walked away.

After Christmas, I went out of town to visit a friend in Virginia. We were out touring Mount Vernon one afternoon and I kept thinking and thinking about the doll house.  Suddenly I knew I had to have it!  Has that ever happened to you?

I panicked.  What if it had been sold while I was out of town!  I called the antique store and they said it was gone.   Oh, noooo.   I asked if they would make sure, hoping it had just been moved since Christmas was over. About an hour later, while standing just outside Mount Vernon, they called me back on my cell to tell me it was still available and the owner had just taken it home after Christmas. Happy day...meant to be!

I picked it up as soon as I got back into town. The Christmas decorations on the dollhouse were very faded and falling apart. So I bought some garland and ribbon and made wreaths with bows for each of the windows. I'll do a post sometime soon to show some close-ups of this cute house. The details amaze me, down to the individual bricks of the chimney.




I keep extra towels here in a wicker basket for my guest.




Years before I stumbled across the doll house, I found this dresser in the same antique shop. The shop owner told me someone had bought the matching bed, but left this beautiful dresser behind.  I could not understand why someone would buy a bed and leave this dresser behind.  I would love to know how the bed looked.  I guess I should be glad they did leave it behind since I loved it the second I saw it.

I love its graceful curves.




I'm in awe of the craftsmanship it took to make the curving drawers and doors on this piece.




This silverplate shaving stand is another antiquing find many, years ago. I sometimes fill it with potpourri. The photo almost makes it look like the mirror is cracked. It's not, that's just the ceiling fan reflecting in the mirror.  I'd love to find a pretty chandelier for this room one day.




Max supervised as I took pics of the guest room this afternoon.




Here's a cozy spot to curl up with a good book.

A garden seat with a quatrefoil design was added to this room in April 2012.  It's handy for holding books and a nice cup of hot tea.

Here's a little close-up pic of the secretary I added into the room in March 2010. Isn't it fun to find pieces and to gradually make little changes to our homes. I love doing it slowly, taking my time. I want the rooms in my home to feel as if they have evolved. Good thing since my pocketbook likes doing it that way, too.




Hope this room lived up the little "tease" from yesterday.  Thanks for coming along for the tour!