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 

 

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.

Kitchen Makeover

So I promised pictures of my kitchen renovation a few days back and here they are!

As you can see from the picture below the kitchen was quite dated. Outdated cabinets, hardware, light fixtures, etc. I desperately needed a quick fix since I can't afford to renovate the whole kitchen right now!

 This kitchen was a nightmare!  At first we thought we could just paint over this dated mustard color....only to find out that there was a layer of wallpaper, drywall mud, and another layer of wallpaper underneath!  It turned into a stripping wallpaper nightmare!

 

Justin attempted to repair the walls after the wallpaper was removed...only to decide they were to bad to save. So yes, a day and a half wasted stripping wallpaper only to decide to rip out all the drywall!  That was not a fun week!

Preparing to paint the cabinets...

 Can I just say I have a fabulous mother-in-law, who worked her booty off painting these cabinets!

 The cabinets were painted a cream, and glazed to give a tea stained effect, to play up the older style of the cabinets. We also updated the hardware to give a more contemporary feel.

 

 We chose Sherwin Williams "Heart of Palm" green for the kitchen. I love green and white kitchens, and the fresh clean vibe they give.

(The green in photo below appears more lime than actual color.)

 A new fridge and pantry door helped update the space. (The old pantry door matched the wood cabinets)

The End Result: What do you think? An improvement?

Here is the before photo of the breakfast room...

 

 The first thing we did was rip out the built in...and you can see all the old trim was dark brown.

 The breakfast room was the same wallpaper removal process as the kitchen...as you can see below it was quite a mess!  The nook in the wall is what seems to be a closed in window. We plan on putting in a double window there in the future.

 Justin added crown throughout the kitchen and breakfast room which makes it look so much better!

I must say, I thoroughly enjoy chilling in my calming tropical breakfast room in the morning sipping my coffee, and enjoying the view outside! It is quite soothing!

~ Elle