A Luxurious Guest Room

Being nestled away from the main section of the residence, this small room offered a place where we could be more whimsical and theatrical with the design elements and colors.

For this project, I designed a beautiful third-floor guest room.  Being nestled away from the main section of the residence, this small room offered a place where we could be more whimsical and theatrical with the design elements and colors.  I wanted people to walk up the stairs and feel pleasantly surprised by this hidden jewel of a room.

I loved working with so many material in this room that it’s difficult to talk about just one or two favorites.  Our color palette of yellow, grace, and sienna gave me ample room to explore the capricious style of the room.  I covered the walls with a gorgeous Brunschwig & Fils chinoiserie grass cloth left over from the client’s previous residence.  I hadn’t the heart to discard it and was so pleased to use this amazing paper again.

One striking aspect of the guest room is the overabundance of elements that work so nicely together.  From the solid cotton velvet fabric of the canopy to the leather window seat and tortoise shell window shades, details such as the unusual guacamole color of the seat and the amazing tiger print silk on the interior of the canopy make this room a real treat for the client’s guests.

You know you have a great client when that client truly lets you shop.  Finding wonderful items for this guest room made it such a fun experience.  I found these amazing Chinese male and female lamps, the final piece added to tie the room together.  They both wear custom green silk shades with a yellow trim accent.  Initially, the client had a different, extremely heavy and massive bed allocated for this room.  We decided it overwhelmed the small space.  Instead, I found an antique bamboo bed at United House Wrecking.  The bed was a true diamond-in-the-rough, needing to be cut down to Queen size and missing several turnings.  I was so excited when I found it, and even more so when the client was also able to see the bed’s potential.  After refurbishing the entire piece, we couldn’t be happier to have such a gorgeous bed as the main focus of this guest room.

Designing a room like this takes a certain willingness to take risks.  Don’t be afraid to add multiple color combinations.  Sienna ingested with yellow and lime green adds warmth and striking contrast to this room.  Mirrors on the side tables add reflection at a completely different level and are an unexpected touch to the room.  Be careful not to overdress every window, as a simple and inexpensive tortoise shell works equally as nice.  Finally, invest in at least one set of high thread count sheets.  You (or your guests) will sleep better for it!