Guest Bedroom Resources

Our guest bedroom is, like the rest of our house, very small. It was important to us that our guest room sleep two comfortably. However our 2nd bedroom had different ideas. We looked around for a trundle bed, but the cost was too steep. If we decide to make an addition to our family this room would become their room so we didn't want to spend too much money on something that will have to change. So we found a bed frame on craigslist for $10 and with a $5 can of spray paint it made a cute little red bed. The mattresses came from friends parents who were downsizing at the time. While we still wanted a trundle and still couldn't afford it,  we came up with what Lee calls "The poor man's trundle". We simply stored the spare mattress under the bed. The secretary desk was originally a purchase for our living room, but since we converted the powder room into our computer room we had no room for it down there. We moved it into the guest bedroom. It's the perfect place for Lee to work on his car models or a guest to write a note, and hopefully one day a homework desk. The desk was another Ikea purchase, here is the link. We added bookcase top to the desk, here is that link.

On the other side of the room is my beloved farmhouse bench. I bought it from craigslist a few years ago, and as much as we re-do the house it always find a use and a place. Originally it came with a cushion that I now use on the pew in the dinning room (read more about that here).
The red star shutters were a 70 cent purchase! That's right 70 cents. Homesense had them on super, duper sale and I bought 3 for 70 cents each. It took me along time to figure out what I wanted to do with them, but I was at home depot and saw some hooks on sale, put two and two together or should I say 3 and 3 together and the final product is our shutter hook boards.

Decorating the 2nd bedroom has been a challenge. The truth of the matter is we are planning to adopt in the next few years, but with the adoption process there are many unknowns. You don't know how long it will take, it could be quickly after you apply or a long wait to find the perfect match. Our child could be a boy or a girl. They could be an infant, a toddler, or a young child. So trying to plan a room with so many unknowns is difficult. There is no point in leaving the room empty but there is also no point in furnishing it with expensive finds we might have to throw away or sell at a loss later.
We feel comfortable with the amount of money we spent decorating the room. And hopefully we'll have a post about decorating the room for a little boy or girl soon!