Easter Guest Room

So you can't just stop at the living room, right?

Treat your guests (or yourself) to a new spring-inspired bedroom in time for Easter.

Spring Bedroom by designscheme featuring zig zag lights

1. Breezy white drapes $399.00

2. Super colorful patterned rug $799.75

3. Golden and marble and a fun (sun) shape $299.00 

4. Pink pastel and white chevron (perfect!) $180.00

5. Green, like how you want your lawn to be $129.00

Have a Happy Easter!

Advice from PB

A long long time ago I found these three PDF guides (links below) from Pottery Barn on space planning. They are great no-fail guides for basic room planning.

1. Space Planning
2. Living room
3. Bedroom

They even have those grids to draw your room to scale.

Things Every Home Needs: Bedroom

This post is part of a series titled "Things Every Home Needs"

Bedrooms. All you really need is a place to sleep and get dressed. So here are the basics. Keep in mind that I would recommend white linens because when laundry needs to be done it is easier to just throw in a load of whites with some bleach and not worry about colors. Plus, kids change their minds a lot, so buying white linens keeps things simple and saves money in the long run.

A comforter. I would highly recommend a down or down-alternative comforter.

Down keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Here is the one pictured above. This one is great. Or you could get a true down.

 

Pillows (2 per sleeping spot), pillow protectors, pillow cases, a fitted sheet, and a flat sheet.

For the last three items (pillowcase and sheets), you can buy each of these items individually. However, usually it is cheaper to buy these in a set. I recommend Fieldcrest sheets from Target. These Fieldcrest sheets that have a faint stripe pattern which makes it super easy to make the bed instead of trying to figure out what side of the sheet is the long side and which is the short side.

Clothes storage (closet, dresser, under bed)

 

I really like these storage containers because they fit under a bed without having to use bed risers.

A nightstand for each person with a lamp.

Alarm clock (if don't use cell phone).

I prefer an alarm that can charge my iPod, has a radio alarm (so you wake up to a radio instead of BEEP-ing), and obviously displays the time, digitally. And if I'm being picky I don't like the time to be in displayed in red, I prefer green or blue. So this one is perfect.

Fan (ceiling, floor, table)

Has anyone found a quiet fan, besides a ceiling fan?

Optional:

Headboard. I would recommend a fabric headboard because isn't the point of a headboard to make a softer place for your head?

Radio. Your alarm clock can double as a radio.

"Junk" storage. This is important if you have kids as this is a great place for toys that end up in their room. You can use the under-the-bed plastic storage totes mentioned above.

Laundry hamper. If you don't take your clothes straight to the laundry room, get a hamper or a basket.

An extra blanket or blankets, depending on where you live. This is a good place to add some color and personality to your all white linens.

 

 

Are you looking to simplify and organize a different room? Check out other rooms here.

Bleachable

We talked about adding color to an all white bathroom. But there are a few basic household items that should always be white.

Before I go on, remember that it is completely, 100% okay for these items to be a color other than white. I just find that it is nice for these items to be white because you are able to bleach white. I also find it easier to just buy a basic white item instead of debating what color, and what shade of the color, to buy. So, to keep it simple, just get these items in white.

First off, bath towels and washcloths.

 

Bath linens are my one must, must be bleachable white items. Once again, it is okay to buy these in a color, but I would strongly suggest to buy these items in white, especially the bath linens.

Rules for white bath linens:
-At the very least I would purchase one "body" towel and a few white washcloths.
-Buy the softest towels you can afford. If you can only spend more on either the towel or the washcloths, spend it on the towel.

 

 

Other items that I would suggest purchasing in a basic white color, for the purpose of keeping it simple, are pillowcases and a white down (or down-alternative) comforter. Since this is most of the bedding, it would be convenient to stick with white sheets so you can wash everything together. Adding a colorful, patterned throw to the end of the bed would add interest so you don't see just white. That being said, I would easily change my mind and buy non-white bedding. But buying basic, white bedding simply keeps it simple and classic. Classic items also cause you to spend less money in the long run because the item is less likely to go out of style or not fit with the decor of the rest of your home.

 

So, tell me in the comments, are brown linens better because they hide dirt, then I don't have to do laundry?