Remember when this odd little 6′ x 6′ space…
…became our reading room?
Well, it needs to act as our guest room now, so a couple weeks back, we started clearing it out…
…and patching the walls…
…and talking about how to build a bed with a little more storage, and create walls with a little more character, and a little less stuff on ’em. I started having crazy visions of a sunburst mirrors landing on my Mom’s head in the middle of the night, so it was time for them (and the shelves) to say buh-bye!
After the room was completely clear, we loaded the car up with a bunch of wood from the home improvement store…
…and (spontaneously) decided to take a 2-hour road trip to Cullman, Alabama for some old gymnasium flooring from this place…
It’s called Southern Accents and they carry all kinds of awesome architectural salvage.
What a fun day that turned out to be!
Back at home, and after some hardcore rub-a-dub scrubbin’ with mineral spirits and soap & water, we started attaching the old floor boards to the back wall in the room…
Here’s what we eventually came up with…
(Note: We’ve still gotta add some trim molding below the baseboards.)
Simple, Moonlight White-painted board and batten on the side walls, a rustic gym floor back wall, a Moonlight White-painted plywood floor, and little cheery pops of color and texture here, there and everywhere!
The daybed we built was inspired by Pottery Barn’s $749 Stratton Daybed…
I think we spent around $75 to build, caulk and paint ours. If you’d like info on how to build one too, click HERE to visit Ana-White.com.
(Note: Because Kev and I each have the attention span of a gnat when it comes to directions, we didn’t actually use any plans to build our bed- but if you’re lookin’ for some rock solid instructions, and wanna cut out all the guesswork, definitely check out Ana’s plan!)
On the left side of the room, we used our leaning ladder / magazine & book rack. We haven’t secured it to the wall yet, but we do plan to do that in the near future…
For the board and batten on the side walls, we just used pre-primed MDF 1×2’s from Home Depot. They were super simple to put up with our nail gun, and because our baseboard and crown molding are flat, everything finished out nice and neat. (After a couple of tubes of caulk!)
I got the little green and yellow bucket from Ashley and Myra during our trip to Nashville this past January…
I’m such a sucker for brightly-colored vintage metal! I got the red, white and blue Bingo tin on Etsy a while back…
I’m SO gonna hide surprises in that sucker every time my Mom comes up for a visit!
We got the Pottery Barn Stratford wall sconce on eBay…
I camouflaged part of the cord by hanging one of our framed quotes on top of it…
The light has a dimmer switch- which I love. It looks so warm and cozy in there at night!
The rest of the frames hanging on that wall were also swiped from our old guest bedroom…
(My Mom’s birthday is June 13th!)
We decided to go with a more random arrangement than usual this time, and we’re really diggin’ the way they play with the board and batten.
It was such a fun little redo to work on together!
Just gotta add that trim below the baseboards, and attach a curtain rod and some curtains on the inside of the doorway for privacy, and we’ll be done!
I think.
Source List:
Paint on ceiling: Sea Salt – Sherwin Williams
Paint on side walls: Moonlight White – Benjamin Moore
Paint on floor: Moonlight White – Behr Premium Plus Porch & Floor Paint (Home Depot)
Pottery Barn Stratford Wall Sconce: eBay
Rug: TJ Maxx
White Pick-Stitch Quilt and Euro Shams: Pottery Barn
Floral Pillow: Ikea
Red Stripe Euro Pillow Cover: Ikea
Natural and Red Stripe Lumbar Pillow Cover: eBay
Ceiling Light: Ikea
White “Ribba” Picture Frames: Ikea
Wood Picture Frames: Walmart
Large Seagrass Baskets: HomeGoods
Blue Step Stool: J&G Flea Market, Prattville, AL
Ivory Throw Blanket: gift from our realtor
White Storage Containers: Ikea
Side Table: HomeGoods
Ladder: Nashville Flea Market
Green & Yellow Bucket: The Rare Bird Antiques, Goodlettsville, TN
Red Bingo Tin: Etsy.com
Blue Button Tin Photo: Etsy.com
Red Door Photo: LetteredCottageArt.com
Love the reading room redo and that floor on the wall is just fabulous. you mentioned maybe doing curtains and a curtain rod. Would you consider a roman shade? I am thinking sleeping on that bed so close up against the wall curtains may be cumbersome to have there.
All in all, you have done it again and put together a perfectly lovely room.
Hey Cheryl!
We’re actually hanging the drapes on the inside of the doorway, not on the window.
It’s a second story room that backs up to woods, and like I mentioned in a reply above, my Mom was a teenager in the 70s, ifyaknowwhatI’msayin. 😉
You guys are absolutely amazing. How do you keep out-doing yourselves? I was sad scrolling down and seeing the stripes go, but when I got to those after pictures…oh my. Can I come live in that little nook? 🙂
YES Aura! (True story: You were in my dream last night!) LOL!
Amazing! What a transformation. Anyone would love to stay in that cozy space! The wood wall is a great focal point!
so creative! i’m new to your blog and you two are amazing!!!!
I loved it before and I love it even more now! You guys are amazing!! Great vision.
oh my gosh i thought i loved it before but this re-do = simply gorgeous! as a designer i’m loving the way you all do a room! the gym flooring on the back wall with hints of red really makes that clean fresh space pop! LOVE it – did i mention = Gorgeous!
Love this! But I think I have loved everything you do. 🙂 I am curious about your plywood floor. Is there a post about what you did on here somewhere? We were just talking about doing something like that in my kitch but I am nervous about it. We just did wood planked walls in our kitchen, that I painted yellow with some gray to tone it down a bit. I kept showing my husband the pics from your blog to get my ideas across 🙂
You guys are so good! WOW!
wow…that looks awesome – amazing!
i enjoyed the photo’s of your cullman trip…i’ve seen that barn/house many times on the interstate – so cool!
I just keep saying “what???” over and over. These are some great ideas. Southern Accents..hmmmm may have to plan a day trip!
Cullman is only 60 miles from meeeeeee!!!
Really? Awesome! 😀 You will LOVE it!
Layla,
It is AMAZING!! You guys are seriously SO talented!! I love everything about it!
You guys are awesome! Seriously, you never cease to amaze me! We have it narrowed down to 3 houses all needing some major help. Think you guys could come up for a week or so and give a girl some direction!! I can cook a mean meal! No really. 🙂
Well since we love to tackle redo’s and we can’t cook a mean meal, that sounds pretty awesome! 😀
Beautiful! both of you are just blessed with great talent!
Really beautiful rustic chic transformation…and your photgraphs are gorgeous. They look like they’re from a catalog. I think I need a photography class.
Hey Steve!
Thanks for the sweet comment! 🙂
Kevin is actually launching a website full of tips about shooting interiors soon…stay tuned!
Sappy email warning……..First of all, a thousand thank yous for your generosity in sharing your talent and hard work. Add to that another thank you for making me look forward to your posts. You never disappoint. What you do is inspire me to think outside my normal little frame of decorating reference (yawn) and berate myself for my lack of energy. You guys are amazing!
And incredibly creative, and hospitable, and visionary, and thrifty and eco-friendly and loving to each other and to us. Whew. I AM sappy this morning.
Love your watch, love your purse, love your hair.
Mz V
Well Mz V, you are just the sweetest thing and you have really put a big smile on this girl’s face today. 😀
Love your comment, love your kindness, love YOU!
This is brilliant!! Love it..I want a little reading room too..what a clever and gorgeous idea..I swear I would live in that room..what is it about small and cozy spaces??? Just love it! So happy to also have discovered your wonderful blog…love how you told a story with this post..you made it look so much fun and obviously it was a labor of love! Please stop by my blog too…started it almost 3 months ago about the building of our new home and my love for design/decor.
http://www.theenchantedhome.blogspot.com
PS Am your newest follower….
Wowza. This is my favorite room redo in a LONG time. It’s so bright and simple…but full of character. I love it!
This is so gorgeous. The white makes it look so bright and open. Our home has a tiny little room like this, but it’s a 6’x8′ and is difficult to decide what to do with. Looks like come spring it’ll get a good priming and coat of white to brighten it up. Now to find a good use for it!
Looks great! Can I come visit? LOL!
I love that you shared the resources too. That’s a handy little feature that I think I’m going to use when I share projects!
I loved your striped reading room, so I’m a bit sad to see it go- but I also love your new guest room! It looks amazing! I love the floorboards on the wall idea. In fact, that would look perfect on our fireplace! I’ll have to find out how many square feet I need, then check out the salvage places.
That is SO SO SO cute. You have a flair, that is for sure. Thanks for taking the time to document everything… even down to where you bought the pillow! Truly an inspiration.
I love how cheerful that room is!! As well as your entire house. The reading room is delightful & I love the character you have given the space with the worn wood walls. Did you guys add the red paint onto the gym floors or were they already there? So neat!
Thanks Shelly!
The flooring was already like that, and it was so fun digging through the pile for the pieces that had it on them!
You guys do such an amazing job with every single space! I would love to travel to all the little shops you get to see and spend hours looking around. If I’m totally honest, I’m a little sad to see the old reading room gone because that was the inspiration for my whole house! I will miss that room for sure but glad u are loving the new room!
Hey Natalie! Thanks for the sweet comment, and as for the “old” reading room- we’ll always have the photos of it! LOL!
Wow! You all took a room that was already so beautiful and inspiring and created another masterpiece! You two are so talented! I love that you all take risks and make every room in your house yours (and I really love you put it on the internet so we can all gain inspiration from your talent).
I love the bed, what a great idea. Your pillows are so cheery and springy. The wall behind makes every color pop, even the white!
Oh wow! I loved the redo before the new ideas but I absolutely LOVE this new look! It is amazing! I especially love that pure potential picture. Looks wonderful you guys!
WOW! I LOVE every detail! So cozy and inviting!
You guys are awesome as always! Love the use of old wood on the wall. It just immediately draws your eye!
That looks incredible! Love the flooring on the wall! It all looks so cozy, could I move in?! 🙂
It is just beyond stunning!!! Absolutely gorgeous!!! If you are ever in Vermont, feel free to stop by. My house is screaming out for your help. If only I had one tiny bit of your talent. You guys are amazing 🙂
I love it! Such a beautiful space, you guys are so talented!
You two are amazing! You really gave that small space a lot of cozy personality. I bet your Mom will love it!
I have been staring at this room ALL morning Long. I just can’t get enough of it. I love looking back at the before and comparing all of the changes you have made. That wood wall is soo cool. This may be my new favorite room in your house, maybe.
I love the your guest room! You guys did an amazing job. I have been scouring the internet for a relatively cheap daybed for my office and haven’t found anything I absolutely love. Your guest bed would be PERFECT so I’m bookmarking this to show The Hubs tonight and maybe we can make it together. Thanks for the inspiration!
That room made my heart do a double beat!!! AWESOME!!!! Love the reuse and re-purpose of the flooring!!!
It’s a great new feel for the room. If I had created the reading room, it would be hard to scrap it and start over – but good for you for not getting stuck and making the space meet your needs – it turned out so well!
Dear Layla,
I must echo the comments of others: As much as I liked that reading room, this little guest room is just so perfect! It’s like a little nest or a cocoon. But I just noticed the ceiling, (don’t know if you’ve ever blogged about it before) please tell me some more about it. My house, circa 1976, still has horrendous popcorn ceiling which I hate! I’ve considered removing it (quite a chore) or covering it, and what little I can see of the ceiling in that guest room looks amazing. Are all your ceilings like that or just in that room? Did you guys do it yourselves? Where can I research that? Alas, we are not “handy” like you and your husband.
Keep blogging and sharing your beautiful life with us, you are an inspiration!
Ana Maria
Ana Marie,
You can see how Layla accomplished this ceiling in the following 2 posts:
https://theletteredcottage.net/reading-room-ceiling-re-do-part-one
and
https://theletteredcottage.net/reading-room-ceiling-re-do-part-2
Hope that helps!
Josey
Really beautiful. Loving the floor boards on the wall.
I am in LOVE with the gym floor on the wall & the crisp white — S.I.M.P.L.Y gorgeous dahling!
I am seriously drooling… I would not have thought I could love that little room any more than I did before the redo – but I have some hugely serious little room envy going on right now! You guys are amazing!
Looking at this beautiful project is the PERFECT start to my week on a rainy Monday morning!!! Love it! : )
Thank Betsy! It’s supposed to get pretty gnarly weather-wise here in ‘Bama tonight too. Better make sure all our flashlights work! 😀
LOVE IT!! Love that the accent wall complements the ladder leaning against the wall. Great job!!!
i gotta tell ya Layla, when you told me you were re-vamping this room, there was a little bit o’ sadness in my heart. But I should have known that I would LOVE it, because I just love everything that y’all do!!!!!!
It looks spect-abulous! 🙂
This is fantastic!
I liked it as your reading room, but LOVE it as your guest room!
You and your husband are very talented.
stephany
I’ve been lusting after the stratton bed for years! Absolutely love the transformation, guys.
oh the dark wood on the back wall just invites ya in! Love it!
Lori
Ok, I thought your reading room didn’t need ANY improving, but this is STUNNING! I discovered your blog about a week ago and perhaps may be my new favorite!!!!
Layla!!! In true Elaine Benes form… “GET OUT!” Could this be my favorite transformation ever of yours? Could I have gasped when I saw the reveal? Perhaps. 🙂 I just love it! Great job to both of you!
I could literally feel you shoving me backwards when I read that.
LOL 😀
(And thank you for the sweet comment- miss you!)
The fact that you knew that–that’s why I love you! I miss you too! Like, a lot. 🙂
GOR-GEOUS! I am in love with this cozy little nook! It looks straight out of a magazine. One question – instead of curtains on the doorway, is it possible to do a pocket door? Might give your guests a bit more privacy! Just a thought…. oh, and when you get done working on your house, could you PLEASE come do mine!? 🙂