An Empty(ish) Nest, A Guest Room and Future Plans

No, you’re eyes have not deceived you!  Yes, I am back with an actual, real life blog post.

Hi friends!

I know it’s been solidly 2 years since my last post, but honestly I needed the break.  SO much has changed around here and I needed the time and space to navigate it. I’m still very much in the thick of it, but ‘m finally ready to come back to blogging on a more consistent basis again. And boy have I missed yall!

There’s a lot going on over here, but the biggest change in #thecottagebungalow is that Naomi and I are empty(ish) nesters now! Bryanna has moved out and away from home, and Michael graduated high school last year.  He’s still home while he’s in college, but now he’s a young adult who can basically fend for himself. I heard an online friend of mine call herself an “open nester” and that really resonated with me, so I adopted the term for myself as well. Our home is always a soft place to land for our kids, and that means there will likely be several years ahead that they need to come home and recalibrate as they navigate adulthood. ESPECIALLY in this economy! So our door is always open. I honestly just can’t believe I started this blog when Michael was 4 years old! He wasn’t even in school yet, and now he’s a high school graduate about to start college and Bryanna is 23!!  Many of you have been with me for a very long time and have watched Bry and Michael grow up before your eyes.  It’s so wild! What even is time.

Over the last couple of years we have weathered a lot of change, and so has our home. Ya’ll, we have a legit guest room in the house now that Bry has moved out.  I actually refused to touch her room for almost a year after she left, just in case she needed to come back…spoiler alert, SHE DID! But once she flew the nest for sure-for sure we decided to take advantage of the space and turn it into a proper guest room. At least for the time being.

Now as a reminder, this room is technically the primary bedroom in our house. When we first moved in we let Bry take this room, Michael got the second bedroom and Naomi and I turned what was being used as a den by the previous owners into our bedroom.  Our little bungalow is only a proper 2 bedroom, 1 bath and this is how we’ve been able to make it work for us all these years.

I allowed our kids to have full creative freedom of their rooms so this space needed A LOT of work to get it to a place where anyone other than a teenager would want to spend time. I will say though, it was really fun creating this space!  I wanted it to feel like a boutique hotel for our guests, so I came up with a design that incorporated my love of moody, layered spaces and I love how it came together.

 

We finally got rid of the last bit of funky paneling in the house, and you guessed it, it was hiding holes in the walls!  We had the drywall patched and refinished, gave the walls, trim and doors a fresh coat of paint, wallpapered the ceiling and gave everything a good cleaning.

After bringing in new furniture and accessories the space felt like a completely different room! It’s been REALLY nice having a proper place for our guests to stay when they come visit.

This was the first iteration of the space.  We ended moving some things around  after I got some new furniture in the living room. We moved the console Carmeon designed into here and I found a new spot for my beloved peacock mirror. We also created a little gallery wall as well. 

While we’ve always made our guests feel really comfortable and we have an amazing sleeper sofa, we’ve never had an actual guest room in this house. It’s one of this things we sacrificed when we downsized and we genuinely don’t have any regrets about it. Our friends and family have never really cared about that. They’ve always just been really happy to spend time with us and meet us where our home could provide.

Now, as much as we love the space it will be changing again soon. We’ve always hoped to reclaim this space as our primary bedroom once the kids grew up and that time has finally come! Since the day we bought the house we’ve dreamt of creating a primary bedroom suite by adding on a full bathroom and walk-in closet.  As the years passed we expanded that dream and also envisioned creating access to the backyard and making a private little courtyard with an outdoor shower. Last year we worked with our architect to create a plan that would get us everything we wanted.

This has been a TWELVE year dream, and it’s finally in motion. This will be life changing for us in or little bungalow.  We are only adding a little over 300 sq ft, but we will finally have 2 bathrooms! I can’t even pretend to contain my excitement. After months at the county we recently got our plans approved and we have or permit to start construction! We are planning to begin the build right after the 4th of July weekend.

Over the past several months I’ve been working on the design plan for the space and I can’t wait to share it with you soon.

Until next time……

Sources

Paint: Field Trip by Clare Paint

Wallpaper: Mitchell Black ( Designed by Amber Guyton)

Bed: Article

Side Table: Article

Curtains: IKEA

Lamp: Mitzi (part of Dabito’s collection. No longer sold)

Wall Sconce: Mitzi

Ceiling Light: Mitzi

Console: Tov Furniture (Designed by Carmeon. No longer sold)

Armoire: old from Urban Outfitters

Rug: Lulu and Georgia

Hanging Planter: Happy Happy Houseplant

Juju Hat: Accent Touch

Dressing Mirror: Article

Peacock Mirror: had for years from Pier 1

Bedding: Article

Pom Pom Blanket: picked up in Morocco

Throw Pillows: collected from travels

Posted By: Shavonda Gardner · In: interiors, small space living, thecottagebungalow