"We moved too fast, and tripped into the guest room."

Let's face it, I have "a thing" for guest bedrooms. I love the idea of going away somewhere and still feeling like you're at home which is why I am attempting to create an overnight oasis for our future guests. I say future guests because we won't be able to offer anyone a place to sleep in our spare bedroom until I get my act together and clean it. It's sad to admit, but I still have some boxes with decor items in the room from when we first moved in and a lot of other random things I've collected. I promised myself, and Matt, that today I will be cleaning this mess and prepping it so that I can start decorating it as soon as possible.

I will be re-using the bedding from our San Francisco apartment because I still love it after three years, which says a lot coming from me. Although at first I was tempted to buy something a little more contemporary, I've decided to save some money and work around what we already have. I will however need to purchase the following:

1) Headboard (perhaps a matching footboard as well)
2) Night-stands
3) Wall art (I'm most excited about this upcoming purchase)
4) Curtains/Sheers
5) Tie-backs
6) Accent pillows
7) New sheets

Here is what I already have for the guest room:
1) Bedding
2) Lamps
3) Curtain rod
4) small knick-knacks

The guest bedroom is extremely small, so I will have to measure to see whether or not we will be able to fit any other furniture in there besides the bed and night-stands. If it doesn't work out, our guests will still have access to their own closet to hang clothes and for other storage. It's going to take me the majority of the summer to finish this project because I have a very specific look in mind, but I know that it will all be worth it. To get in the mood for decorating my own guest bedroom, I've started to collect some inspiration photos. I'll be pulling concepts from each and post the final inspiration board as soon as I'm finished.
P.S. This first one is my favorite...

via Keep on the Sunny Side

via Darling Dexter

via The Design Notebook

EIGHT WONDER OF THE WORLD: The Mustache and Beard

I suppose it's only fair to say that I'm a bit bias when it comes to facial hair. Matt has sported a mustache since we were twenty and slowly over the years also started donning a beard. He is very proud of his facial hair, as other men are, and despite my attempts at convincing him to shave for special occasions, I'll admit that I prefer him with a 5 o'clock shadow. Not only do I prefer stubble over long beard hairs, but there is something so masculine about a beard that is growing in and a mustache that, in this case, will never cease to exist. Much like his father, Matt has vowed to never shave his mustache and claims that he feels naked without it, so I've grown accustomed to his new face, facial hair and all. It's a package deal and my only request is that he kept it maintained and groomed because we all know that there is nothing worse than an unkempt beard with food and toothpaste in it.

While looking for some artwork for my office, I stumbled upon the wonderment that is facial hair art. True, mustaches and beards have both been revived in recent years and these days are a requirement if you go to San Francisco State or live in the Mission District, but I can't ignore the fact that art focusing on men's beards and mustaches has caught my attention. These little jewels are usually done by an artist specializing in "indie" art and certainly have a "cutesy" feeling to them. They are often times humorous, glamorizing, or poking fun of the recent trend and I love each of them dearly. I think that it would be great to frame a collection of say 3-5 and hang them strategically on Matt's side of the bathroom. Let's just say that I am pro-facial hair and want this fad to stay for as long as possible. After all, I've never met any man that didn't look better with some hair on his face. Here is my ode to the mustaches and beards in my life, I'll be framing a few of these little gems over the next few weeks and can't wait to see the results.

via I Made You A Beard

via Jax Beard

via Fang Found This

via Riqsane

via Lee Hansen Graphics

via Stachist

via I Love Facial Hair

via AMPERSTACHE

via Pichaus

via Lacyadair

"IF BEDS COULD TALK, IF WALLS COULD HEAR, IF WINDOWS SEE..."

I'm very excited about starting to work on my first interior design project. Matthew's aunt Robin recently asked me to help decorate her guest bedroom and I jumped at the opportunity. Not only am I going to be doing what I love most, I'll also be learning in the process. There is nothing more fascinating to me than the design process. From conceptualization to realization, decorating is so much more than just picking a wall color and pillows. Whenever I'm asked to design a room as part of a school project, I always start with a work of art. Whether it's contemporary canvas art or a framed Klimnt, there is so much life and color in artwork that I am instantly inspired and start brainstorming. Artwork helps point you in many directions including bedding (patterned or plain?) and accessories. In Robin's case, she fell in love with this painting from Cost Plus and wanted to center the design concept around this. She has some existing furniture that we will be able to reuse in the new room and will not be purchasing any new furniture. The main work will lay in painting the walls, reupholstering some of the existing cushions (on a chair and bench) and framing some other artwork. Below is a VERY rough color board that I threw together during lunch today. It's a start but still a far cry from what the room will evolve into. The bedding may have to be neutralized a little since this pattern may be a little too bold and busy. Like I said, just some basic ideas of what we're getting ourselves into. I am thrilled to start putting it all together with Robin, but before then, there is a lot of prep work to look forward to.