Today I’m sharing guest bedroom and family room updates. Where each space stands right now and what we’re actively shopping for to get them both to a place we love.
The back family room and the guest bedroom are so close. When you walk into either space right now, they don’t feel like construction zones anymore. They feel livable, comfortable, and mostly like themselves. But Mike and I both have that final vision in our heads, and until we get there, neither room is going to feel truly settled.
So this spring we’re making a push to get both rooms to a place we love and move on to the next project.
Part of that means shifting how I’m shopping. I still go thrifting and to the antique stores, but it’s less of a pull for me right now. When I do go, I tend to find art, mirrors, and smalls, and while I love those finds, they aren’t necessarily what I need for these two rooms at this stage. What I need right now are specific pieces, and the more I hone in on exactly what I’m looking for, the more specific I get about it.
I also want to be intentional about mixing some new pieces into our spaces. Not everything needs to feel like it came from the same era. That balance between old and new is part of what makes a home feel collected rather than like a museum, or a showroom. So while I’m still keeping my eye out for the right thrifted finds, I’m also turning to online shopping to get there a little faster.
The Guest Bedroom Update
If you walked into our guest bedroom right now, you might think it was done. The walls and trim got a fresh coat of paint a couple of years ago. The curtains are hung and the bed is made. There’s a small nightstand I found at a local thrift store and a beautiful Eastlake dresser with a marble top from an estate sale. It’s comfortable and our guests stay here happily.
But this isn’t the final version in my head. Not yet.
The room is missing pattern and personality. Right now a lot of what’s in there are placeholders. Pieces we pulled from around the house to fill the space until we find the right things. And honestly, I know that once the wallpaper goes up, everything else is going to click into place. The bedding, the curtains, the final furniture selections. All of that will be so much easier to pull together once the walls are done. The wallpaper is the anchor for this room and I’ve been putting off the other decisions until that one is made.
Beyond the wallpaper there are a few other finishing details I’m excited about. The newly installed guest bedroom door still needs to be painted to coordinate with the room. Also, I want to swap out the dated louvered closet door for something that feels more like us. And then there’s the project I’m probably most excited about — the attic cubby. When we removed the old plywood door that covered it, we never replaced it. My plan is to build a small hidden door and shelf in its place. Just one of those little details that adds character and makes a space feel intentional rather than overlooked.
Finding the Right Wallpaper
For the longest time I knew I wanted wallpaper in the guest bedroom but I couldn’t picture exactly what it was. What I could picture was the feeling. I want our guests to turn down the hallway toward the bedroom and see something warm, cozy, and inviting. I want to be in the bathroom getting ready and look out into the hall and catch a beautiful play of pattern. The vibe was clear even when the specifics weren’t.
So I started there and worked backwards, and I gave myself permission to take my time with it.
The process happened in phases and I tried not to rush any of them. First I spent time sourcing and mood boarding. Searching wallpaper sites and Pinterest, saving anything I was drawn to without overthinking it. That list gets long fast. But once I felt like I had done enough collecting, I shifted into a different mode. Instead of just gathering, I started studying. I went back through everything I had saved. Images from online, from books, from rooms I’d pinned, and I asked myself why I had saved each one. Was it the color? The scale of the pattern? Did I want floral or geometric or something that was a little of both? How did the wallpaper make the room feel. Was it a small overall print that created that cozy enveloped quality I was after? Or did I need something with more scale?
That second step, really sitting with the images I kept coming back to, is what helped me get specific. And then came the samples. Getting them on the actual walls in the actual light of the room before making any decisions.
I’m glad I didn’t rush it. This is the kind of decision you want to get right.
The Feeling I Was After
Our guest bedroom faces west and gets the most beautiful afternoon light. The whole room already feels like a cozy little nook. Like the kind of place you want to curl up with a book or take a long nap. It feels like a real escape. I knew the wallpaper needed to support and enhance that, not compete with it. I wanted color and I was drawn to florals. But I also wanted some structure to the pattern. Something that felt a little more tailored than a loose all-over print.
That’s when I found Florence by Claret and Key and fell in love.
Why Florence by Claret and Key
The pattern is a floral column composition. Florals arranged in a vertical stripe, almost like a block print but with enough structure to feel elevated. It had exactly the combination I had been searching for. Seeing it styled in their room photography helped. I even used AI to render it on the walls of the actual guest bedroom so I could get a realistic sense of how it would feel in the space.
One of the things I love about Claret and Key is that on certain patterns, including Florence, you can customize both the pattern color and the background color independently. Not every wallpaper on their site gives you both options. So finding one where I could control both was another check in the pro column. I ordered quite a few samples in the different color combinations I was considering and lived with them on the walls for a while. That’s what made the final decision clear. I had ordered some with a lighter background and the pattern as the pop of color, but in the space that combination wasn’t giving me the warm enveloped feeling I was after. The version with the hazelnut background and the pattern in natural wicker was the one. It felt rich and cozy without being dark, and it was exactly the atmosphere I had been trying to describe from the beginning.
What’s Still to Come in the Guest Bedroom
Once the wallpaper is installed, the rest of the room will start to fall into place. I’ve tried to finalize a few pieces along the way but nothing has felt quite right or settled without knowing what the walls are doing. The wallpaper is the anchor and everything else needs to respond to it.
Color wise, I’m thinking about bringing in some blue and maybe some lavender alongside the warm hazelnut of the background. The blue would be a thread that ties the guest bedroom back to the rest of our home. I think lavender alongside that warm hazelnut could be really beautiful and unexpected. The wallpaper will be the dominant pattern in the room but I do want to layer in some additional pattern. I’m just not sure yet whether that will come through the drapes, the bedding, or the lampshades. That’s one of the decisions I’m looking forward to making once the wallpaper is actually on the walls.
The Details I’m Still Deciding On
The iron bed is one of my favorite things in the room. We found it at a flea market and it was red when we brought it home. I painted it blue, and for a while I thought that might need to change. But now I think the blue might actually be a really charming and unexpected pop of color against the hazelnut wallpaper. I’m going to wait and see how it feels once everything else comes together before I make any decisions about it.
I also want to find a sconce for beside the bed. Right now there’s a rattan lamp on the nightstand that I love, but a sconce would free up that surface and feel more intentional in the finished space.
One other decision we need to make is whether to go with a rug or carpet in the guest bedroom. Right now the room has hardwood floors throughout and with all those hard surfaces it can get quite loud. Every footstep and movement echoes. A rug or carpet would help absorb some of that noise and make the space feel a lot more comfortable for our guests. I’m leaning toward a rug but haven’t landed on anything yet. Again, that feels like a decision that will be easier to make once the wallpaper is in and the color palette is more settled.
A Little Hidden Detail I’m Excited About
And then there’s the project I’m probably most excited about. There’s a small cubby off the guest bedroom that I use for storing decor and holiday items. It also leads to the attic access. It had an old plywood door with a dusty green fabric on the outside when we moved in. I removed that and never replaced it, and what I want to do instead is build a small hidden door with a shelf on the outside to disguise it. Something charming and intentional rather than just a door. A little spot for our guests to set some books or a few trinkets. It’s exactly the kind of detail that makes a space feel like it was thought through rather than just decorated.
The Family Room Update
I love our family room. Even though it isn’t complete and the walls still need one more coat of paint, the atmosphere is already there. In the evening especially, the space feels like a warm hug. Cozy and enveloping in a way that makes you want to settle in and stay a while. Once the built-ins were finished the room really started to feel like a real space, and we didn’t wait for it to be done before we started enjoying it. The bookcases are styled, we’ve brought in a few furniture pieces, and we are in there regularly. But we are ready to take it to the next level.
First on the list is replacing the trim around the doors and window. This wasn’t part of the original plan but when we had the new windows installed last year the casing took a beating, so we’re taking the opportunity to replace it now. Once the new trim is in we’ll paint it the same color as the walls so everything reads as one cohesive backdrop for the built-ins.
Window coverings are a big priority for me right now. I went back and forth on drapes but I keep coming back to roman shades for this room. We don’t have a lot of wall space on either side of the window, and roman shades will function better in the space without feeling crowded. Finding the right ones is something I’m actively shopping for right now.
For furniture we want to make this room really comfortable and functional. Mike retreats here to watch sports and play video games so we want an ottoman he can prop his feet up on and a couple of swivel chairs in front of the built-ins for extra seating. Comfortable and livable is the goal.
Making It Work for How We Actually Live
The rug versus carpet question is a real one in this room. We finished our backyard last year and added a fence, which means we spend a lot of time out there when the weather allows. The dogs are in and out constantly through the back door that runs through this room. As much as I love the idea of carpet, a rug that can hold up to traffic and dirty paws is probably the more practical choice here.
And speaking of the back door situation, I want to add a small wardrobe near it. Right now shoes pile up by the door. My winter coat and hat end up draped over the couch so they’re within easy reach when I take the dogs out. The dogs’ leashes and things are just sort of scattered. A small wardrobe would give all of that a home and make the room function so much better. Just one of those practical details that makes a space actually work for the way you live in it.
Looking Ahead
I’m genuinely excited about where our guest bedroom and family room are headed. Getting the wallpaper ordered and installed in the guest bedroom feels like the moment everything else will start to click, and I’m seriously considering hiring someone to hang it so it’s done right. And finally solving the roman shade situation. Which honestly has been hanging over my head for a while, will be such a relief. With a couple of other rooms needing shades as well, finding the right source and getting them planned and ordered will feel like a real win.
As both rooms come together I’ll be updating the mood boards for each space so you can see where everything is landing. That feels like the natural next step. Getting all the final pieces in one place so we can see the full picture before anything gets ordered or installed.
Mostly I’m just ready to see these visions finally come to life. There’s something about getting two rooms across the finish line that I know will motivate us to keep going on the other projects we have waiting. One room at a time.
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