A Dramatic Home Office and Guest Room Makeover!

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Of all the makeovers I’ve done in our home, this dark and dramatic home office and guest room makeover ranks up there as the most extreme! Our “middle room” as we call it was a playroom/sort of home office and also a pretty sad excuse for a guest room hah. Everything that didn’t have a place elsewhere kind of ended up in here, along with approximately 200 of my daughter’s toys, with not much thought given beyond let’s keep the clutter contained. Well, that didn’t last too long hah. The constant mess grated on my nerves and the lack of proper storage space in here really wasn’t working well for us as a family. Something had to change!

Before I get to the reveal, here’s the BEFORE photos so you can see exactly what we started out with!

Yikes!

And here’s the AFTER!

A Dark and Dramatic Home Office and Guest Room Makeover

Hurray!

SHOP THE ROOM

CHOOSING THE RIGHT PAINT COLOUR

One of the first things I wanted to do after clearing out and donating everything we didn’t need was paint the room. I’ve been in love with dark green spaces for a couple of years now and I knew that was the direction I was going in. Enter Benjamin Moore. We’ve used their Aura paint line before, back in Toronto when our bedroom was black, and I feel like it really shines when choosing dark colours. The finish is so rich and velvety it is totally worth the price tag! Choosing a green was harder because a lot of them read grey in this west facing room but I ultimately landed on In the Garden. It is a lovely rich forest green- not too olive, not too grey.

Choosing the right green took some time!

MAKING A HOME LIBRARY

The library shelves were next on our list. I love the look of the classic Crate and Barrel/West Elm shelves that a lot of people have in white but not the price tag so I ended up finding and ordering these shelves from Amazon. Although I would have preferred more of a walnut finish for the shelves vs. espresso, I find the mix of walnut and espresso works very well in the room and stops it from being too matchy-matchy, you know? Styling these shelves has been one of my greatest decor joys!

A DIY IKEA DOUBLE DESK SOLUTION

Next up was the desk area. I searched high and low for a desk large enough to accommodate two computers but it was almost impossible to find something under $1000. Then I spotted an Ikea hack on Pinterest and voila! An Ikea walnut butcher block countertop on two Ikea trestle legs (the exact ones we used are discontinued it seems but here is a good alternative) and we had the perfect solution for a double desk!

THE GUEST ROOM CORNER

The guest area of the space needed a place to rest and some colour. I debated long and hard between ordering the grey, the tan, or the navy blue velvet daybed. In the end, navy blue won out for its richness and compatibility with the green walls. I dressed the bed in linens and lots of velvet throw pillows from World Market and topped off that corner of the room with sconces from Target and art from Etsy. The green velvet blackout curtains are part of Ikea’s Sanela collection but this colour was discontinued. By chance, I found them on eBay and they are almost exactly the same colour as the walls which was perfect!

THE FINISHING TOUCH

The rug was the last remaining piece of the puzzle and Rugs USA came through beautifully! I admit I was a bit nervous ordering such a large rug sight unseen but I feel like reading reviews and looking at photos others had uploaded really helped cement my decision. I’m so glad! The subtle blush pink, green, blue, grey and ivory tones in the rug tie everything in together so beautifully in the room. It’s definitely the perfect statement-making finish touch!