Lighting, Window Treatments, and a Rug! One Room Challenge Week 3

Hello again, my sweet readers! The One Room Challenge is in full swing here at The Brick Nests. I’ve just finished a few more major parts of this project, and I’m loving how the tree fort nest is shaping up! With all this progress, I’m really starting to see my vision for this guest bedroom come to fruition. This week my focus was changing the window treatments, laying down an area rug to soften up the new shiny wood floors, and last but not least, finally deciding on and installing lighting (one of my favorite parts). We have lots to talk about!

In case this is your first time visiting, be sure to check out the last two posts on our guest bedroom makeover, Week 1 and Week 2, to see how far the room has come. We are so enjoying being involved in this inspirational One Room Challenge event and, as always, we’re sending out a huge thank you to Calling It Home for hosting. This event is biannual, with twenty featured design bloggers documenting their room transformations over six weeks, in addition to hundreds of other guest participant bloggers (like us) who have linked up to take the challenge too. Be sure to check out some of the room transformations in progress–you will not be disappointed!

Lighting is first up on my agenda this week. There is a fair amount of natural light in this room from the three windows, but this old fixture wasn’t doing much to add to the brightness or the allure of the room. So alas, it was sent to snuggle up with its dear old friends, paisley wallpaper and brown carpet, in a pile of renovation rejects awaiting their trip to the dump.

The spot on the ceiling above the foot of the bed is a perfect position from which to hang a light fixture or smaller chandelier. I want the new lighting to make a statement rather than just serve the purely utilitarian purpose of providing light to the room. Since the new light fixture will be another focal point in the room, I need it to drop down a bit closer to eye level than this old fixture did, so it’s more in the line of sight. Furthermore, the ceiling height isn’t super high ( 7 feet), so I also need to consider the size of the light fixture relative to the ceiling height, and how that ratio might affect the perceived proportions of the room. With all these things in mind, I began my search.

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This Serena and Lily Malibu chandelier is a beauty I’ve had my eye on for a long time, but with no real spot to put it until now!

As much as I love this, I had a few reservations about choosing it. As I mentioned before, this guest room has its own staircase, and often times when my boys have friends over, they run laps in the house, up one staircase and down the other, finally congregating in this back room far away from the grown-ups (mark my words, when my kids’ teenage years descend upon us, there will be a fierce battle over this room!). So after I set my sights on the Malibu chandelier, I kept having this re-occurring nightmare of wild children swinging by the tassel of this expensive chandelier, resulting in the beautiful beads rolling all over the floor, and culminating with me sobbing softly or more realistically yelling loudly as I enter the room and discover the catastrophe. Dramatic I know, but after waking up in a cold sweat a few times, I knew it was a sign that I might have to start considering some other options.

Another reservation I had about this chandelier was the price. I am quite good at justifying expensive things for my home (don’t tell the hubby) if I love them and feel they fit the space perfectly. However, this room gets minimal use except for the occasional house guest (and occasional group of wild children sneaking up to jump on the bed with friends), so it was hard to justify spending so much money on lighting for this space. Furthermore, since the wallpaper I chose for the room is also by Serena and Lily, I was worried the room might start feeling like a catalog. I think it’s important to mix styles, and that buying from many different shops and online stores helps to make one’s nest unique. So I’m sorry to say, Malibu chandelier, you are out! But I hope our paths cross again soon (in another room makeover, perhaps?), because I do love you!

Now back to the drawing board–or rather, I should say Pinterest board (we have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to lighting–check it out!). Also, let me whip out a photo of my old-school bulletin board so you get an idea of some of the other choices I considered.

Shades of Light and Lumens have wonderful lighting selections, so I decided to search through their offerings to find a less expensive alternative to the pricey Malibu chandelier. What drew me most to the design of the Malibu was the cascade of beads. Therefore, I decided to focus my search on lighting with a similar beaded element, and I found two options. First up was the Wood Beaded Draped Chandelier, but I thought the dark beads were a little too heavy, and the proportions not right for the room.

Next up was this Rustic French Country Ceiling Light.

Yes, this one is perfect! I just love the rustic earthiness of the natural stone beads combined with the sparkle and lightness of the glass beads. The gray color plays well with the other color choices in the room, and the semi flush mount works perfectly in my cozy and not very tall space. Look at how stunning this light is, and for a third of the price of my original choice! Score! Who doesn’t love a bargain?!? I have a lot of great lighting in my home, and several favorites–but this one is contending for top dog for sure. Here it is, installed and looking fabulous!

And check out these super cool photographs showing how it looks when it’s lit. The shadows it creates on the ceiling are so dramatic, and the glass beads really catch the light.

So lighting is just about done! I’m still working on table lamps and will hopefully include those in next week’s post. But moving on–the next order of business is a rug. This space is a little cold as it is over the garage, and despite attempts to insulate the room, it never is quite as warm as I would like it to be. Cold and cozy do not go hand in hand, and I want this room to be cozy! In order to keep the little piggies of guests from getting chilly, I knew a soft and shaggy rug underfoot would be necessary. I was in luck, as I already had a Restoration Hardware rug that would fit the bill! I had originally bought this rug for our family room, and it had been residing there for some time. I love the natural, neutral color and the soft feel of it, but unfortunately it does shed a lot. Constantly brushing rug fibers off my children’s clothes was getting to me, and for that reason, I moved it out of the family room. It will be much better in this low-traffic spare guest bedroom, and the size and color work well too–bonus!

A side note: rug shopping can be difficult to do online, but don’t let this deter you. I have bought just about every rug in my home online without seeing or touching the rug in person. This rug was probably my only mistake, as I underestimated the shedding with small children constantly rolling around on it. When I’m purchasing a rug or other large piece online, whenever possible I like to have a back up plan–a second possible location where the piece might work, so that I don’t have to deal with the hassle of the return process if it doesn’t work in the original intended spot. Finding a new location for this rug in the spare bedroom is a perfect example! I am constantly changing things around in my home to find where things fit best, and I always keep in mind that just because something doesn’t work in one place, doesn’t it mean it won’t work in another! So purchasing online seems less scary when you think of it that way.

Anyway, last, but certainly not least, we must discuss the window treatments. You all know how much I loved (that’s sarcastic–hated!) the paisley trim curtains that were in the room, but those are long gone now. I really like the timeless, clean look of woven wood texture blinds, and the natural material goes with my tree fort inspiration, so I decided to go that route for this guest bedroom makeover.

 

The combination of the low ceiling height and narrow width of these small alcoves isn’t really optimal for curtains, so I elected to keep them sans drapes, and I love the result. The clean, simple, textured blinds are a huge upgrade from the dated curtains and roller shades! I purchased these at a local fabric and blinds warehouse, but similar options are available online.

Here is a before picture to remind you of how far we have come in Week 3 of the One Room Challenge! It’s halftime, baby!

Now that the bones of this room are in good shape, here’s what’s left to do:

1. Arrange furniture (some old, some new)
2. Choose bedding
3. Hang artwork
4. Pick table lamps
5. Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize!
6. Reveal the room to the world and start managing the massive influx of requests for sleepovers

Okay, we are getting there, and the next few weeks are going to be capital F-U-N! This guest bedroom is going to be cozy, inviting, calming, and colorful. But before I can make good on all those pie in the sky promises, we still have more work to do! Check back here next week to see how I jazz up this space with all the elements needed to transform it from just a spare room into a fresh and beautiful guest nest!