My Italian Guestroom Makeover

A while back I blogged about my inspiration for a guestroom makeover, "An Italian Villa Retreat".

Hence, that is part of the reason I have not blogged in awhile. 

I have been quite busy redecorating my guest room.

I have a few more finishing touches to do I am currently distressing some shutters I hope to put up next week! But here is my handy work so far!

I am quite happy with the results!

 

 First I tested TONS of paint samples to see if I wanted to go blue or creamy yellow...

I finally chose a creamy yellow...but it looked so dull....

 

After painting it, I knew it still needed something...so I asked my mother-in-law for help!

 

My mother-in-law is a professional faux painter, and she showed me how to do a simple aging technique with this block stippler brush!

 

 1 day later, and some exhausted arms...

 

Below is a stock photo of the quilt I bought for the room..."Mansfield Park" from Kohls.

 

Next, I needed to update the closet. While it is a guest room I still want it to be useable space for me when guests aren't here. So I decided to turn it into a transitional desk space for me!

First I painted it "Tame Teal" from Sherwin Williams.

 

Then I had my husband cut shelving for me, which I then sanded down and distressed with two different shades of stain to give the boards an aged look.

 

It was easy to install the shelves because the closet had a built in closet system so I could adjust shelves to my preferred heights!

 

Added some books, flowers, wrought iron accents, Italian wine bottles, and tah dah!

 I found this cute little frame at a garage sale, distressed it, and added a cute Italian picture.

Now I can sit at my lovely little desk and enjoy views of Italy!

 

 My next step is to paint a view of the Italian countryside for my new guestroom!

Now I am dying to visit Italy! 

~ Elle 

 

Much Ado About Nothing

This weekend I was able to watch the new Much Ado About Nothing with a good friend.

I realized how rusty I was on my Shakespeare though! If you haven't seen it I would highly recommend it!  However, I grew up watching the 1993 version, and wished I had watched that recently to brush up on all the characters and who's who since I'm so rusty with my Shakespeare!

I always loved the poetic song "Sigh No More, Ladies" that they read aloud in the version with Kenneth Branagh & Emma Thompson. They incorporated it into this new version as a background song playing at a party.

"Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,

Men were deceivers ever,

One foot in sea and one on shore, 

To one thing constant never.

Then sigh not so, 

But let them go,

And be you blithe and bonny,

Converting all your sounds of woe 

Into Hey, nonny nonny.

Sing no more ditties, sing no more

Of dumps so dull and heavy.

The fraud of men was ever so, 

Since summer first was leavy.

Then sigh not so, but let them go

And be you blithe and bonny,

Converting all your sounds of woe

Into Hey, nonny nonny!"

Other great quotes from Much Ado About Nothing:

"I would rather hear my dog bark at a crow, than a man swear he loves me." (Beatrice)

"When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married." (Benedict)

Hope you had a 'bonny' weekend!

~ Elle

 

An Italian Villa Retreat

I've recently had the urge to redo my guest room. It has always been this glam purple and silver theme, which if you know me, it isn't me at all. I only chose it because I wanted something girly I hadn't done before. But lately I am realizing that it doesn't suit me, or the style of my house. 

This urge really came over me when I came across this photo on pinterest...

 I had a hard time explaining the exact makeover style to my friends, as well as finding any other photographs like it. That is, until I realized it reminded me of an Italian villa, and based my search off that!  So I am labeling the room makeover "Villa Retreat".

While researching villa styles I came across this breathtaking villa and absolutely felt inspired to share this amazing place with you.

Col delle Noci

Col delle Noci is a renovated 17th century farmhouse located on the beautiful Umbrian countryside in Italy.

 Noci sits on Castello di Reschio, a very private 2,700 acre estate that borders Tuscany.

Noci consists of two buildings: The main house, and a self-contained guest annex.  The terraces, gardens, and pool allow you to take in the stunning views of the entire Reschio estate and nature reserve.

 I adore the bed frame below and am wondering where I could find something similar!

 I love the exposed wooden beams in these rooms.

 The master bedroom has it's own bathroom, fireplace, study,  and access to the garden.

 I am in love with the light breezy, yet vintage countryside charm of this room.

 Wooden shutters are really a must to complete this Italian countryside look.

 Old worn wood, wrought iron elements, and tile floors seem to be other staples in this look.

 The photograph below of the main living area is just call to me saying, "Come home"!

 I can picture myself standing here chopping fresh herbs from my garden right outside those double doors. Listening to my children's laughter outside the open doors as the breeze floats in. My husband napping on the sofa, or lounging in the pool after a hard day of work...oh that would be the life!

 And then once the children are to bed, lounging out on this beautiful terrace, sipping on wine, enjoying the view with my wonderful husband. *sighs* 

Hey, I can dream right??

So what do you think? Does this sound like a good style/theme to base a guest room off of?

I hope you approve because I am starting the redecorating immediately! Hopefully I will have some photographs to share in the near future!

~ Elle

*All photographs are from http://www.italianvillas.com/villa.aspx?villa=111492. I do not claim ownership to any of them. Please visit Italianvillas.com for more information on this lovely villa.

Weekend Report - Part 1

So this last weekend my horribly missed girlfriend, Mattie, from Madelyn St. Claire came for a visit!  She lives in St. Louis, and was a bridesmaid in my wedding 5+ years ago!  I was sooo excited and happy to have her visit! Boy, did we have a busy weekend showing her Houston! My sister, Jenn, from Contemporary Harbor  joined us for the weekend fun!

Our Saturday started at the beach...

Unfortunately it happened to be extremely windy and extremely cold that Mattie felt the need to wrap herself in towels!

The wind blew poor Jenn and Mattie right out of their shoes...!

 Actually, that took off and such a hurry across the beach in chase of a hat...If only I had caught it on video...it was priceless!  After a serious nose dive into the sand, the hat was rescued!

 Proof of the nose dive into the muddy sand hole!

Well we survived the beach...however windblown and cold!  We managed to clean up pretty nicely if I must say, and went to Mario's Italian Restaurant in Galveston, TX.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner out on their beautiful patio.

 Couldn't have asked for a better time!  Well...maybe a little less wind! :)

(Sunday events and pics to follow!)