OUR LIL’ GUESTROOM | MY FAVORITE SKI PILLOWS

While our guestroom lacks the usual visitors these days due to Covid we look forward to the day when we can host our friends and family again. Be sure to read until the end because we are giving away a “SKI” Pillow from The Salty Cottage & Tangerine & Olive !

I always love a room makeover, especially bedrooms since they are smaller projects. I like to select a design inspiration first; I always define a color pallet as well as a theme. One simple idea is to re-purposing a wedding theme, whether that is your color, destination, or clever theme. Another great idea is always to play off the environment and cues that are around you in nature or your hometown.

AFTER

BEFORE

 

For our Guestroom I re-purposed our wedding ski theme and a number of decorations that had been gathering dust in the closet. I also knew I wanted to tie in the red colorway from the signature Stowe sign and Gondola.  Tangerine & Olive has by far the best selection of handmade decorative pillows that I have ever seen so that was my first stop when decorating this space. I adore these handmade pillows by The Salty Cottage and purposely kept the base color of the room neutral with grays and white to allow the red pillows and accents to pop. Bob helped me hang our vintage skis that were signed by our wedding guests next to the bed. Their placement offering visitors a warm welcome when they see their name commemorated on our wall and hopefully sparking memories of that fun day in September celebrating our nuptials. The final touch for our space was a happy little discovery. There was an odd 6’ by 6’ space that would have gone unused, but I brought my design skills back and proposed we turn it into a ski closet. Our ski boot cubbies were constructed from re-purposed shelving that we removed from the kitchen to open up the space. Bob researched and selected these  ski holders which we are quickly realizing we will need to double up on as our ski collection grows. Finally a couple simple clothing rods provide ample storage for ski jackets and extra layers.

There you have it our Lil Guestroom with my favorite Ski Pillows. Checkout my Instagram feed this weekend (Dec 5-6) for a chance to win an adorable SKI pillow similar to the one I am holding below! Thank you to Tangerine & Olive a local Vermont shop that curates the best in handcrafted, small batch Made in American goods like The Salty Cottage pillows featured in this post! For my online shoppers I am linking to all Pillows here, or better yet pay Kimberly a visit at her Stowe shop and tell her I sent you!

 

LIL’ GUESTROOM | DIY BASEMENT REMODEL

We love the home we  bought in Stowe, it is comfortable, well designed, and can grow with our family overtime. While it needed nothing done to make it move in ready overtime we have completed small renovations to make it our own. Our Lil’ guestroom was one such project.The walkout basement was finished when we moved in but it felt more like a doctor’s office then a comfortable play space with cold linoleum flooring, and large florescent lighting that hung from the ceiling. My husband works from home so we setup his office, added a few of Parker’s toys and called it good. Fast forward 2.5 years and with Dawson’s arrival our guestroom was displaced from the 2^nd floor and added to the cold chaos of the basement. If you can visualize this we had Bob’s desk, next to a queen size bed with pink & green comforter, across from a couch and the boy’s play stuff. Talk about a multipurpose room, if you were trying to take a quick nap during the workday this might have been a good setup but after some time we decided that the basement needed a remodel.

AFTER

BEFORE

The main focus of the remodel was to create a cozy private space for our visitors, our very own Lil’ Guestroom. The basement already had a half bathroom so if we added a proper Guestroom visitors would have their own private space apart from the chaos of two little boys. While Bob and his father (two very handy men!) went to work on framing some of the unfinished space we were using for storage I got to thinking about how I would decorate the finished space.

I always love a room makeover, especially bedrooms since they are smaller projects. Our living room is still not complete because I find a larger more public space daunting; bedrooms feel less overwhelming. I like to select a design inspiration first; I always define a color pallet as well as a theme. One simple idea is to re-purposing a wedding theme, whether that is your color, destination, or clever theme. Another great idea is always to play off the environment and cues that are around you in nature or your hometown.

For our Guestroom I re-purposed our wedding ski theme and a number of decorations that had been gathering dust in the closet. I also knew I wanted to tie in the red colorway from the signature Stowe sign and Gondola. Tangerine & Olive has by far the best selection of handmade decorative pillows that I have ever seen so she was my first stop when designing this space. I purposely kept the base color of the room neutral with grays  and white to allow the red pillows and accents to pop. This neutral base also allows for easier design swaps down the road.Bob helped me hang our vintage skis that were signed by our wedding guests next to the bed. Their placement offering visitors a warm welcome when they see their name commemorated on our wall and hopefully sparking memories of that fun day in September celebrating our nuptials.The final touch for our space was a happy little discovery. There was an odd 6’ by 6’ space that would have gone unused, but I brought my design skills back and proposed we turn it into a ski closet. Our ski boot cubbies were constructed from re-purposed shelving that we removed from the kitchen to open up the space. Bob researched and selected these amazing ski holders which we are quickly realizing we will need to double up on as our ski collection grows. Finally a couple simple clothing rods provide ample storage for ski jackets and extra layers.

There you have it a Lil Guestroom DIY remodel, now don’t be a stranger this cozy space is waiting for you! I want to say a huge thank you to Tangerine & Olive a local Vermont shop that curates the best in handcrafted, small batch Made in American goods like the pillows featured in this post! She is generously offering 15% off all throw pillows through the end of March with the code LILVT. I am linking to all Pillows here, or better yet pay Kimberly a visit at her Stowe shop and tell her I sent you!