Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Art And A Bookcase For The Guest Room

Remember this “Things That Are Awesome” print that we got at a local craft fair last Christmas by an amazing artist named Rachel (here’s her shop) with the intent of hanging it in the guest room (you know, so everyone can study all the things that are awesome while they stay)?

Craft Things That Are Awesome Far

Well, we finally got it framed and hung.

Guest Room Art1

This is actually an angle of the guest room that we haven’t shown for a long loong time. As in, this post from two summers ago is the last time we shared it. And then a year later we grabbed that big mirror and hung it over the mantel in the kitchen and a while later we had a yard sale and sold the old Ikea dresser (it had seen better days and one drawer was broken).

Dresser After

So that wall sat bare for a while until we dragged this bookcase in (it’s leftover from book photoshoots, so the tutorial for the different colored shelf-backs is in the book). Then all we needed to do was run to JoAnn and grab a frame for the art (with a 40% discount coupon at checkout of course – do you know they take coupons on your phone now and you can just go to their site to get them?).

Guest Room Art2

From that far away shot you can’t really appreciate the sheer awesomeness of the Things That Are Awesome print (and of course we love that a fellow Virginian whipped it up).

Guest Room Art3

But this detail starts to do it justice I think. We could stare at it all day…

Guest Room Art4

Oh and one other thing on the agenda was to anchor the bookcase to the wall (not only for Clara’s safety but for anyone who stays with us with kiddos, which happens about once every month or two). Thankfully this bookcase, which we originally bought from Target, came with an anchor system, so we installed it and breathed a nice sigh of relief.

Bookcase Tether

A few days later I walked in and saw this, which pretty much made my day. Apparently the bookcase has Clara’s stamp of approval.

Swan Rider

What rooms have sat dormant in your house for years and then suddenly felt like a flurry of activity? Anyone have any theories why that happens? Maybe it’s the ones that you think are pretty far along in the beginning so you shift your focus to a bunch of other rooms and then years later you realize that one room has been sitting around getting ignored for a while?

Comments

  3. Maddie says

    Great little update for this room! I actually have the same print and know what you mean about staring at it all day. I think I said “I love you” right to it about ten times after hanging it over my desk :)

    Also love the sneaky doll – Clara belongs on the “things that are awesome” list for sure.

    Reply

  4. Thais Bessa says

    Not the subject of the post, but I was about to ask you guys about the guest room’s crown molding. And it is just like I expected: it makes this yummy colour even nicer! Love it!

    Reply

  7. Suzie says

    I like this room so much more now, since seeing this side! The new bookcase and art make it all make sense now. I was one of those who didn’t really *love* this room when you first revealed it…not that my opinion actually matters…but now, I think it is great! Love Clara’s baby placement, too!

    Reply

  8. Jamie says

    Right now, the guest room, since it’s becoming a nursery this fall. But it was pretty empty (i.e. no bed) since we rarely have overnight guests.

    Reply

  9. Nancy R. says

    Love the doll. Quite the nice touch. We have more than a few over at our house, and they are all named Gracie. I am a little sad that my girls seem to be outgrowing them too fast for my liking.

    Reply

  10. Jen says

    The blog header is different, isn’t it? You probably said that an I totally missed it though! HA! I’m in a flurry of activity right now. My brother and sister-in-law are visiting at the end of the month. He lives across the country so I haven’t seen him in 3 years and I’ve never met her. SO EXCITING! All of those little projects that I’ve been sitting on are getting done, which is awesome!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yeah we lightened things up on Friday with the header and the background. A little spring blog cleaning, haha!

      Have fun with your brother and good luck with all the house activity – sometimes we love a visit to kick our butts into gear :)

      xo
      s

  12. Christina P (NS) says

    Sneaky song reference at the bottom is Beastie Boy’s of course!
    This house is gorgeous, the outdoor space is particularly inviting!! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  14. Ashley says

    I bought that poster right after you all featured it on YHL. I LOVE it, but I haven’t framed it yet. I haven’t really found any frames that I like in that size – UNTIL TODAY! I really like how you all framed yours. What is the grey matting? Sorry to be a copycat!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s the paper that came in the frame (the front had words on it about the size of the frame and the back was that solid gray color :)

      xo
      s

  15. Aly says

    When you say things like “two years ago was the last time we did this and here’s the post”, how the crap do you remember that? Is it just memory or do you have some sort of tab? I can hardly remember what I did two weeks ago let alone which angle of a room I posted a picture of two years ago!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I search a few terms on our site (ex: guest room wall bookcase mirror) and find the most recent post that mentions them, and the date is right on it. I’d never remember myself, so thank goodness the blog is like a big searchable photo album for us :)

      xo
      s

  18. Pam the Goatherd says

    My favorite part of this update is the herons on top of the bookcase!!!! Where did you get them?

    The only flurry of activity around here is getting my farm ledger cleaned up so we can finish filing our taxes. Oh, and my preggo goats are all due to have their babies over the course of the next couple of weeks. After the taxes are filed I’m hoping to squeeze some furniture building into the times between helping birth goat babies

    Reply

  19. Ashley says

    I LOVE using coupons at JoAnn’s because they basically take every coupon that exists… INCLUDING COMPETITOR COUPONS! Here is my method… I have JoAnn’s, Hobby Lobby, and Michael’s apps on my phone. I usually have 2 or 3 JoAnn’s coupons that come up every week. Then I use the 40% off coupon that is always on Hobby Lobby’s app (and website) and whatever is on Michael’s as well. I rarely walk out of there having paid more than 40% of my original total, sometimes less. CHA-CHING! Money in my pocket, I tell ya. Money in my pocket :) Hope that helps.

    Reply

    • Leah says

      I did not know that they would take competitor coupons! I also love the Jo-Anns app so that I do not perpetually forget the coupons on the kitchen table anymore! I will have to try the michael’s and hobby lobby though next time I go, thanks for the tip!

  20. Gwen says

    Guys, is everything ok – your bookcase is slightly off-center!! :)

    That’s cool you have overnight guests every month or two! Who do you entertain so frequently?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hahah! I think it’s a good sign if things aren’t perfectly centered – it means we’re busy being type-A about something else! As for who stays, my mom comes around 4 times a year and my best friend (who is also married to John’s cousin, so she’s family) comes and stays for a night around twice a year so our kiddos can play together (she lives near DC). We also have some friends who used to live in Richmond who come around once a year with their pooches (Burger both likes and loathes that, haha).

      xo
      s

  21. Funnelcloud Rachel says

    Wow! Looks great, guys! So honored to have my work featured in your awesome guest room! (And I hope your guests enjoy it!)

    Also, for your readers who are looking for framing options, I highly recommend an online shop called American Frame. (I don’t want to hijack your blog with something that sounds like a commercial and I am not at all affiliated with them, but their frames are both affordable and high quality and I recommend them to all my customers.) Hope that helps!

    xo, Rachel

    Reply

  22. lisacng @ expandng.com says

    Love that the print is from a local artist and haha about the baby doll on the book shelf! I’d LOVE to be your guest :). I think everyone just gets “into” decorating/projects every once in a while. Just need a jolt.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I like to make them do funny things, like I’ll make one sit in her chair with some crayons and a drawing I made in front of it. She’ll find it and say “Oh Mister Penguin drew a rainbow!” – it’s very cute.

      xo
      s

  25. Skaie (sky) Knox says

    Hi Sherry and John! Love the print AND the bookcase! Yes! This past weekend, I painted our laundry room…it hadn’t been tended to in years and the dust bunnies hopped out from under the dryer to prove it! I replaced the hardware brackets on the huge (and very usable) shelf, painted the walls and door a beautiful slate blue, and am about to pop on over to our local Manhattan Beach antique shop (love!) for some accessorizing! Fun! I think it was kind of a non-room, until I started thinking about replacing the kitchen flooring. I saw that we would definitely be remiss if we didn’t also replace the attached laundry room’s “tile” (laminate) as well, so I started seeing a two-fer makeover potential! Fun and almost done!

    Reply

  26. Gwen says

    I like the gray with the print!

    About the paint color in this room – is it actually more blue than it sometimes appears in pictures? Seeing your pictures, I’ve always thought the color was a dark teal (lots of green in it), but in the fourth picture down in this post, it looks much more blue! Is it just the light playing tricks on my eyes? Which picture is most accurate representation of the true color?

    Reply

  27. Julie S says

    I miss the warmth of the the wooden bookcase. You know how those awesome barstools brought the kitchen to life when it was starting to get too slick and painted-everything? Yeah. My opinion is purely that, of course :)

    Reply

    • Tara says

      I was going to say the same thing. I have the apps for both Michael’s and JoAnn’s. Use them ALL the time. No website or searching, just pop open the app and the coupons are right there. It’s awesome!

      *little side note though; JoAnn’s will let you use more than one coupon in a single transaction, but Michael’s wont. (At least not the one’s here in Tucson).

  29. Lisa says

    Looks lovely and inviting!
    I had a question on the doors. Do those happen to be hollow core doors you painted? We have a hall full of dark ones and we are debating replacing them or painting them. Yours looks great. If they are painted, any suggestions on doing it well?

    Reply

  33. Christina @ Homemade Ocean says

    I love JoAnns….the other day we went and bought a bunch of fabric and I showed her the coupon on the phone which was a 40% off one item coupon and she gave us 40% off the whole transaction! I told her it was a mistake (very politely of course) and she said it was too much trouble to correct it and just gave us the discount off the whole transaction!!! They get an A+ in my book…and I probably just got her fired :)

    Reply

  34. Melissa Sharp says

    I love this room. I think it might be my favorite in the whole house. Love how that deep saturated blue is so dramatic, and yet the room is still bright and refreshing. Such great balance.

    Reply

  35. Anna says

    I would love to see a post on how you guys anchor furniture to the wall for childproofing purposes. I’m not sure the best approach other than buying brackets and using anchors. I’m getting more cautious with my 2 year old. Thanks!

    Reply

  36. Heidi says

    Love phone coupons! Michael’s and Hobby Lobby have apps with coupons too, and JoAnn’s and Michael’s take competitor coupons :)

    Reply

  37. Needle little balance says

    Nice!
    As we are in the middle of moving -which means many many books in our case and many shelves – I´ve always wondered where you guys keep your books? I could use more book case/book storing/home library inspiration :) I remember there were some books in the summary of your book tour, so I assume you read… but where are the books? :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We borrow a lot from the library, but for the ones we love and have to keep/buy we use the cabinets under the build-ins in the dining room (as well as storing about 20 on those shelves – but they’re pretty narrow so our deeper books have to go in the cabinets underneath). Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

  38. Megan says

    For me, there always seems to be one thing that holds me back from going all out decorating crazy in a room. Currently, it was the enormous desk that was in my craft/guest room. It took up far too much precious floor space and was well beyond what I needed. However, I just gave it away to a friend this last weekend and now the ideas I’ve been working on the last six months can finally come to fruition! First thing is painting. Why I choose purple for the wall color of this room, I will never know….

    Reply

  39. Angela says

    White!! Yes, I love the bookshelf and all the white! Our HGTV renovation motivated us with our living room and kitchen…but we still have the bedrooms…and they look pretty bad. One day…

    Reply

  41. Mary says

    I gave up all my blog reading for lent (it hurt so bad!) – but I’m back and now all caught up on what you guys have been up to for the last 40 days. So glad to be back! And, you guys are still amazing as always.

    Reply

  43. Jen@The Decor Scene says

    Looks great!!! That wall in the guest room looks so much nicer now. This happened with our home office. Now that we are having a baby, both the office and the 2nd bedroom need to be cleaned up and more storage needed to be added to the office. Well we hit up Ikea for two new pieces of furniture and now the office is awesome. Yup we wondered why we waited 6 years to look at that room again and give it new life. Now it’s one of my favorite rooms and it feels complete now. :)

    Reply

  44. Meg says

    We haven’t used the entire upstairs of our house since we moved in about 16 month ago! We put a bed and have a makeshift guest room – but I’m starting to get the itch to tackle those two bedrooms and the hallway. It will be a HUGE change since we haven’t done anything since the previous home owners – and I honestly don’t think they used the upstairs either.

    Reply

  47. Callie says

    I love it!! the Real Art we have in our house from a couple of artist friends is really some of my favorite wall-space :)

    Also this is slightly off topic, I apologize! But where did you get that yellow rug? I always love it when I see it in your photos. I tried ordering one from Joss and Main recently but it turned out to be beige-gold-yuck. They were super awesome and let me return it :| :)

    Reply

  48. Theresa OBrien says

    hahaha as soon as I saw Clara’s addition to the book shelf, I thought of the doll/spider toy from Toy Story….Although Clara’s version isn’t scary. Just funny that’s what popped into my head.

    That print is awesome <— obviously. I love how it contrasts with the wall color.

    Always love what ya'll put together!

    Reply

  49. Kristine says

    Love the bookshelf! I’m looking for a similar shelf for our nursery and that looks like the right fit. Do you remember where you got the bookshelf? I always love your rooms!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I just put the print in front of the original piece of paper that came with the frame (flipped backwards so the gray part on the back creates a small border around it). Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

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