The Guest Bedroom is Like a Real Room and Stuff.

before

One of my favorite rooms in our whole house is what I’m sure was originally a nursery. It’s very small, on the corner of the second floor, and accessible from both the hallway and the main bedroom——meaning that it has two large doors, two large windows, and a radiator. For some reason every time I post a floor plan of the second floor, I wind up with loads of comments suggesting that I turn it into a third bathroom, but there’s no way that’s happening. Aside from the obvious plumbing nightmare, I like it way too much as a room. It’s filled with light, it’s super cute, and it’s probably looked more or less like this for 150 years or so already (we’ve yet to nail down an exact date of our house…partially because I’m a little lazy and preoccupied and partially because it’s complicated stuff!), and I don’t really want to mess with that. It even has the original gas light fixture! It’s too nice to be a closet and too small and awkward to make a great office, so for now we’re using it as a small bedroom, as intended.

mekkoandlinusonbed

After we got a little smart and ditched the queen-sized air mattress for a real mattress for our own room, we kind of just threw the air mattress in here for guests. It took up basically the entire room. Very often we’ve had actual guests, but when it isn’t Nora’s room (or Chandler’s room, or Katie’s room, or Emily’s room), it’s Mekko’s room. Mekko is a little diva when it comes to her sleeping arrangements——she doesn’t like to be crowded by Max and Linus and I, so she elects to sleep on her own at night, and who am I to deny her that small luxury? Sometimes during the day she’ll allow Linus entry into her domain, but only if he promises not to lick her or impede on her ability to sprawl.

After a while, I began to feel a little bit guilty about forcing our houseguests to sleep in a glorified dog crate, though, so Max and I started keeping our eyes out for a cute little twin bed that would fit the room better.

amvets

Hooray for quick trips to the city of Buffalo. Hooray for AmVets. Hooray for $20 bed frames. So many hoorays.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: thrift stores very often have tons of vintage bed frames, I assume because they don’t sell very well. The matching rails are usually in a weird pile somewhere nearby, so it’s just a matter of finding the right pieces. Then you’ll want to MEASURE, since old beds can sometimes be non-standard sizes——and while it’s possible to modify and old frame to fit a standard mattress (or have a mattress and sheets made to fit the bed), that’s a whole headache I’d rather avoid. So. MEASURE. It’s very hard to eyeball it when it comes to bed frames——they ALWAYS look tiny without a mattress. You can pull up standard mattress sizes on your cell phone while you wait. Then you can cut the slats yourself out of 1×4 pieces of lumber at any home improvement store. BAM. Easy bed.

Also: regular mattress, no box-spring. No pillow-top thick monster mattress shenanigans. Max and I have bought both of our mattresses at a Sleepy’s clearance warehouse center at steep discounts, and they’re both great mattresses. Never pay full price.

That is everything I know about buying beds. Use this information responsibly.

guestroomfromdoor

We really aren’t even close to making this room a real priority and have just sort of thrown thrifted stuff in it, but it actually looks pretty adorable! Mekko feels super civilized about it, as you can tell.

Based on the condition, I’m guessing the bed frame is from the 1950s or so, but these spool “Jenny Lind” beds have been produced for approximately forever——this style (with turned corners on the headboard and footboard) began to be produced around the 1850s (you can read a good history of these beds here!). Even though it’s a little sweeter and more traditional than the stuff I’m normally attracted to, I like that it’s cute and classic and goes well with the house. I think Max and I are both having fun mixing things up, here——we’re buying furniture slowly and as we find it, with the loose criteria that we love it and that we have a place for it, and we’ll just sort of see where it all lands and how it plays together. Also, $20 bed.

sidetable

I bought those little teak side tables this weekend off Craigslist! Good news: $20. Less good news: I traversed both a nearby nursing home and a clandestine gas station meeting to procure these tables. Long story. But they’re here now, and they’re cute!

The little rug weaving thing came from an auction. Yeah. I go to AUCTIONS now. Steppin. It. Up.

Separate post. Exciting times. Auctions are bananas.

I thought the colors were a little bright and silly and not my taste, but I bought it anyway because it was cheap (I AM HUMAN I AM FLAWED) and then Max threw it on the floor in here and it looked cute! I know, I am full of exciting stories today.

chairlitho

I hung art! I had it in my head that it didn’t make sense to hang art until the walls are restored and painted, but you know what? That’s going to take a long time. I’ve accepted it. My time is limited. The least I can do is grab a hammer and a couple hooks and just start hanging stuff up so it isn’t sitting around in piles. What’s one more tiny hole to patch? Nothing, that’s what.

I like this funny little litho, though. We found it at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago. It kind of toes the fine line between pretty and ugly, between tacky and not-tacky, which is sort of how I like most things in my life to be. Aside from my body. Everything else should be a little ugly.

It maybe needs a better frame at some point, but whatever. I’m into it and its weird 80s-ness. I can’t explain. Art just has to speak to your soul.

In addition: chair! True to form, I have been slowly accumulating a very stupid and nonsense amount of chairs I don’t need and someday will probably have to get rid of when my friends and family mock me. Right now, though, I can put them in corners and pretend people will sit on them. Who doesn’t want to just sit in a chair in a corner under that magnificent bright blue 80s lithograph? I don’t know anybody who wouldn’t want that out of this little room.

Details

Here are some more snapshots, in case you’re not following all the complex data being thrown your way. Cute dog. Cheap bed. Cheap rug. Cheap tables. Cheap chair.

I have no idea where Mekko’s bandana came from. It just showed up in our apartment one day, so we put it on her. She’s pleased to look even more androgynous than ever.

olddetails

I’m excited to really get to work on this room someday. It has the same American Radiator Company “Rococo” style radiator as the rest of the house (except smaller and flesh-colored), that crazy gas fixture, and a beautiful old sash-lock with a little ceramic knob just waiting to be stripped and restored. I want to make sure it’s staying a bedroom before making any big decisions about it (wallpaper? overhead light? rug? furniture? curtains? blinds? did I miss anything?), but anyway. It’s going to be way cute.

above

Until then, Mekko is not complaining.

 

About Daniel Kanter

Hi, I'm Daniel, and I love houses! I'm a serial renovator, DIY-er, and dog-cuddler based in Kingston, New York. Follow along as I bring my 1865 Greek Revival back to life and tackle my 30s to varying degrees of success. Welcome!

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129 Comments

  1. 10.7.13
    marie said:

    I just love this room and would definitely help you restore your house just to have a chance to sleep there.
    Also, I am so jealous about this Craiglist site. Our equivalent here is called “le bon coin” and people just seem to sell old Ikea furniture for more than you would buy it new at the store.
    Lastly, I think you have the most exquisite taste in home decor. Keep up the good work!

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      Thank you, Marie! And TRUST me, Craigslist is not a magical treasure trove! PLENTY of garbage, old IKEA and otherwise. :)

  2. 10.7.13
    Sandy said:

    I love this room and the way you have furnished it. Everything is just the right scale and look – you have done so well! When you mentioned Mekko’s bandana I thought, at first, that she had just strolled in one day wearing it! A pet just as ingenious at styling as her owners….

  3. 10.7.13
    Kathleen said:

    I SO enjoy reading your updates, and as usual, you’ve created such an inviting space on a little budget.

    I wonder if this was a “fainting” room? There’s an interesting article here:
    http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advice/the-little-room-upstairs.shtml

    • 10.8.13

      Huh, I ventured over…very interesting! Thanks Kathleen!

  4. 10.7.13
    Bonnie Ellis said:

    This room makes me want to curl up with books from my childhood, and then take a nap. I absolutely love it.

  5. 10.7.13
    Tamera said:

    It’s so cute!! You have a knack for combining simple sparse things and making it looking amazing. In the meantime we’ve been in our house 2 years and don’t have a single finished room, whoops.

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      Thank you, Tamera! And this isn’t finished at all, it’s just how it looks now with some stuff in it! Nothing is every really finished, though. Your house is looking GREAT, my friend——don’t sell yourself short!

  6. 10.7.13
    Gretchen said:

    I bought a random chair for the corner of our bedroom, and I was all, “we’ll sit in it to put our shoes on!” We never do that, of course, but it’s nice to pretend it has a purpose.

    • 10.8.13
      Jo Longobardo said:

      I have one of those too – My girlfriend uses it to dump her stuff on when she gets home. Better than the floor, I guess…

  7. 10.7.13
    Emily R said:

    Looks great!

    Just a note about antique beds and box springs. I have an antique bed that is not standard. It’s just a hair shy of double, so I have to use a box spring that sits on the rails, and has cleats screwed the length of the box spring on both sides to keep it from getting knocked off the rails. So, in order to avoid the way to big for the bed mattress problem, I got a reduced height box spring. It’s only around four inches or so. I don’t remember it being any more expensive. I can’t remember, it was around 10 years ago. But they exist, and they work great for antique beds.

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      Yes, you’re absolutely right! I was just talking about people using regular sized box-springs over the slats on platform beds. It happens ALL THE TIME and is one of my huge pet peeves!

  8. 10.7.13
    K said:

    What the hell. I used to have a guest room filled with hand me down stuff that hailed from the 80’s and things that cost $20…..and it did not look nearly as cute. And that’s even before the cute dog gives it that little extra something. Love the progress and always look forward to your updates!

  9. 10.7.13
    Amanda said:

    I think you might have a future working for This Old House. Seriously. I’m digging your style like no other. I live in an 1870 farmhouse, and it’s impossible to find a blog that isn’t “twee” with everything in bright colors and spray paint and other tchotchke bullshit. Keep thriftin’ my friend.

  10. 10.7.13

    Oooh, I like Kathleen’s suggestion that it was a fainting room. I think you should call it that whether it was or wasn’t. How awesome does it sound to ask someone, “Would you like to lie down in the fainting room?”

    I am all for hanging art before the walls are finished. It makes the room look so much better while you are waiting to finish it.

  11. 10.7.13

    Those side tables are adorable! Katy want.

  12. 10.7.13
    Brendan said:

    The room turned out great! It’s so cute! Did you end up throwing a coat of varnish on the bed frame? It looks so shiny and in great shape. What a crazy, strange and wonderful find! Also, I’m kind of in love with that lithograph too!

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      Thanks, Brendan! And no, all I did was clean it a little! It’s probably not all that old (1950s?), so the condition is pretty good overall.

  13. 10.7.13

    Thrift store magic!

  14. 10.7.13
    Steph said:

    Aw, what a simple, bright, cute space. I like the litho, its minimalism keeps it from looking too cheesy. You’ve got lots of rooms to experiment with!

  15. 10.7.13

    Bedroom chairs aren’t for sitting on – they’re for throwing your clothes on in a heap. Especially in somebody else’s house when you’re staying over

    • 10.7.13
      Lena said:

      I would have written the same comment! You totally need a chair in the bedroom for the clothes!

  16. 10.7.13
    nancy50 said:

    The little room that could – it’s looking great! I’m looking forward to your post about auctions – all I know about them are from old sitcoms where Lucy or That Girl or Mary Richards twitched their collective noses and ended up buying some Edwardian piece of furniture they could ill afford…

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      It’s a lot like that, haha

  17. 10.7.13
    Erin said:

    That bed frame is SO cute. I want it!!

  18. 10.7.13
    Shannon said:

    Great! Now I want to take back that Jenny Lind bed I gave my sister in law! *dramatic sigh and pouty face*

  19. 10.7.13
    Becky said:

    I love the pics of Mekko. She knows the space looks good and that she looks good in it. Way to work a room, dog.

    More importantly, this room is so right as a little bedroom! Good choice.

  20. 10.7.13
    Lena said:

    So cute, love it! I love that your house is getting a bit more ecclectic- I’ve always loved your style but I have a bit a more ecclectic taste and it’s nice seeing how you incorporate art nouveau pieces or now this Jenny Lind bed.

    • 10.7.13
      Lena said:

      oops, I meant to write “art deco”, not “art nouveau”.

  21. 10.7.13
    Marcie said:

    The guest room looks great! The room may have been put together cheaply but it is not cheap, it has character and history. I love the old gas light and sash locks. I have a thrifted spool bed similar to yours that is destined for our former bedroom/current junk room/soon-to-be guest room. Thanks for inspiring me to get off my duff and get going on that project!

  22. 10.7.13
    Gillianne said:

    Yays, new post! A low-key and light-filled space. (Love the weekender bag on the doorknob, too.) A little spray paint in black or indigo would carry the litho frame for a long time, but you have more pressing tasks. Joining others in looking forward to a post about Daniel the Auction Hound. This little room manages to be spare and cozy at the same time and has “welcome” all over it.
    P.S. OF COURSE every guestroom needs an occasional chair-bookshelf-clothes holder-hamper. They’re great makeshift nightstands, too.

  23. 10.7.13
    Katie said:

    Love.
    You should take a picture of each guest you have in the chair under the litho as a photo guestbook/reason you need the chair. Because obviously you need more reason to justify your chair accumulation.

    • 10.7.13
      JB said:

      Love your photo with guests idea. Looking forward to those.

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      I’d love it, but I think the guests would kill me!

    • 10.8.13
      JB said:

      Put a bag over the guest’s head for photos & their pose can capture their personality.

  24. 10.7.13
    Kibby said:

    Lovely! You’re just so darned talented and can make any room look like you spent a million bucks on it! I just love every detail of that room, especially that lithograph.
    Lucky Mekko and guests who get to use that bedroom.
    Also? I concur that you should definitely call that a “fainting room.” Can’t get more dramatic than that!
    Always happy to read your updates, please keep them coming!

  25. 10.7.13
    Alissa said:

    Love this room! I have a $20 vintage bed without rails, but it is brass and has what can best be described as “these things that look like robot hands” where the normal rail connection should be. It looks like the orginal rails were rounded at the ends. Have you ever made rails for a bed like this? Or should I just continue my online search? Also, what did you do with a pit bull in the city? We just moved back to Seattle from Southern California and I am beside myself. Our dog has so. Much. Energy. Apparently the sun zapped it out of him…

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      I have no idea!! Robot hands? I’m sorry!

      Ugh, Pit Bull energy…it’s tough. We’re actually still in the city about half the time, so we try to go on long walks, sometimes we jog with her…but really, it’s never enough. Luckily she gets to run around a lot in Kingston. I wish I had better advice! If you can get to a dog park, that’s always a great workout for Mekko, but unfortunately we can’t really take her except on off-hours (she gets a little…too excited).

  26. 10.7.13

    I mean, any post with a dog picture immediately is a winner. Also, sweet finds! Also, I have a chair hoarding problem as well. I get them in two’s… because they match! pairs are so much better!… and sometimes I hide them in my trunk until my husband’s at work then sneak them in. :)

  27. 10.7.13

    Omg, I love how your house looks like a real house and a real room and omg this gives me so much inspiration for really making changes. I own a roofing company and neglect the inside of my house. Thank you for not looking too good to be true or to emulate.

  28. 10.7.13
    Shauna said:

    Mekko is just too damn cute. We tried to get our Boxer/American bulldog to sleep in her own room, but she’s the opposite. Must have snuggles, all the time.

  29. 10.7.13
    Jaimie said:

    This room is great. Very inviting for guests! I know this isn’t a need for you and Max at this juncture in your lives (or ever, I don’t know your plans) but I’m always envious of old houses like this with a little adjoining nursery. As a mother, it just seems so handy to me — have the baby close by for convenience, but able to have a little bit of privacy when desired. And what baby wouldn’t like to sleep in such a peaceful, light-filled little room? Delightful.

  30. 10.7.13
    KathyG said:

    That turned out so cute! I’d love that cozy room as a guest! I agree, get the art on the walls! Enjoy it for the next 2 years while waiting on the paint.

    Request, could you link a floor plan in this story again please? Thanks hon. ;) Now, question, I’m a bit confused – this is temporary stuff, right? Assuming that you and Max are in the ones at the other end of the hall? Then what will the what-you-called the “main bedroom” actually be?

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      It’s at the bottom of this post! http://manhattan-nest.com/2013/09/19/upstairs-kitchen-is-gone/

      I don’t really know how temporary or permanent this will be, honestly! My current plan is to leave this room as a guest room and make our current main bedroom another guest room. But all that could change!

    • 10.9.13
      KathyG said:

      Don’t mean to rush you! I think a house and its people has to inform choices, so just let it tell you as you go. I have a “dog room” (which people give me a hard time about) and that’s literally all it is. I told the architect, I want this for the dogs, and let’s build out from there…True Story! When I sell it will become part of the master (sort of like yours is), but for me and mine, it is and shall forever be “thedogroom”. HA

      That little room might have been a nanny’s room (I think they called them something different then…) the way it’s attached to another room which might have been the children’s room. And didn’t the husband wife often have separate but connected rooms? Just thinking out loud. So that floor could equal husband/wife/kids/nanny. Then where did Victorian house guests actually sleep? Still thinking…too loudly? ;)

  31. 10.7.13
    JB said:

    This fascinating article & research will uphold your beliefs about your canine companions:
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/opinion/sunday/dogs-are-people-too.html

    Also, about determining the age of your house, contact the local historical association about your wish to know its date of origin. Some old lady/historian like me will emerge who knows how to and will happily do the research.

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      I saw that article! Aw. Dogs.

      We’ve done that, actually! They told us that the best thing to do is to look through the deeds at the city archives, which we did spend an afternoon doing a while ago. It’s hard to tell when the HOUSE was actually built (vs. just the exchange of land), but I might need to read a little closer! All of the deeds before 1900 are hand-written, which makes them hard to read! We’ll definitely do more research, though.

    • 10.7.13
      JB said:

      Gee, sorry no one stepped up. They need to read your blog. Some lone talented researcher will be enchanted & will want to help. It may happen. I definitely would if I were in the vicinity.

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      Actually, a lone talented researcher DID help me find some fun stuff about the house and previous occupants a while ago (using newspaper archives and census data), but I think the deeds are the best chance of figuring out the date (or date range) of construction! I think I’m capable of that stuff, it’s just a matter of setting aside the time to go do it!

  32. 10.7.13
    JB said:

    Using “found objects” to create art, that is what you do so very well Daniel.

  33. 10.7.13
    Kay* said:

    This post is just too hilarious on so many levels…and these pics of Mekko?! Could he be any more dashing? That is a face meant to be photographed. Just one thing though, don’t forget to watermark your photos ;)

    • 10.8.13
      Mom said:

      Thanks for that reminder Kay*, I’ve made it to him several times and he hears me and blows me off. Maybe from another reader he’ll take it and do it.

  34. 10.7.13
    Carrie said:

    So funny, when you first posted the floor plan and I saw that little room I thought “Oh! I would totally make that a dog bedroom. My dogs both sleep with me but I’m pretty sure the princess would like her own bed. Human mattress, no dog bed crap. So I had to laugh at the picture of your kids.
    It’s an adorable room, I would love to bring a stack of books and lay up there and read and drink tea all the day long. Maybe you can do that in a few years. :)

  35. 10.7.13

    Hello most beautiful auction rug.

    I’m digging that knobby bedframe. I want to run my hands all over it, in the least dirty way possible of course.

  36. 10.7.13
    kim said:

    That rug is a little ridiculous. I dig it.

  37. 10.7.13
    Elizabeth said:

    The little rug echoes Navajo yeibichai rugs, the weaver playing with primary colors instead of traditional earth tones: http://www.twinrocks.com/archives/products/271-navajo-yeibichai-rug-genevieve-lee.html. If the ends were originally fringed it’s probably Mexican in origin; if not, it’s possibly Navajo.

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      Thanks, Elizabeth! It actually says Made in Mexico on the tag——I don’t think it’s more than a few decades old (and maybe mass-produced) but it was cheap and it’s kind of fun.

  38. 10.7.13

    You and chairs = me and vanities. I can’t say no to an old vanity. I have nowhere to put them. It is a sickness.

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      Oh no! That sounds like a much more debilitating condition. ha!

  39. 10.7.13
    Alexis said:

    Love your guestroom decor and definitely vote for calling it a fainting room no matter what!

    Your cheap auction rug looks like it might (might – hard to tell form the photos) be a Navajo Yei-Be-Chai rug. Are there small tassels in the corners or is there (or used to be) fringe along the short edges? If it’s the former, more likely to be Navajo; the latter definitely not.

    Depending on the tightness of the weave and the overall quality (all the corners are right angles, no holes or color runs) you may have gotten a real bargain.

    Cheers!

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      Thanks, Alexis! See my response to Elizabeth right above you——I don’t think I got anything super special at all, but I still like it!

  40. 10.7.13
    carter said:

    i just found your blog last month and i so look forward to each post! i can’t decide what draws me here more, your delightfully amusing writing or the amazing reno/decor choices. i’m living out my home-reno dreams vicariously through you! can’t wait to see more –

  41. 10.7.13

    Mekko is too cute! Where did you get the marble coaster? It is fantastic – just the right touch of precious and function.

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      I stole the coasters from my parents! Well, they let me have them. For some reason I thought marble coasters were a really common thing, but I’m having a hard time finding any! So weird. I guess these look the same, plus a little holder?

  42. 10.7.13
    Lori said:

    This room is adorable (cute!) and I do adore it. I find it well worth the time to make things interim-fabulous. Love the CL and thrift finds. I’m going to stop passing Jenny Linds by effective immediately! I get a lot of oohs, ahhs, and “I never find anything like that” over CL, thrift shop, and online auction goodies, but it’s all about persistence and checking in regularly. You are clearly a pro. Watching your home bloom is my new fave hobby.

  43. 10.7.13
    Anne said:

    Cutest room ever. My parents have same nesting tables and they are AWESOME.

  44. 10.7.13
    Lesley said:

    Yes I agree it’s good to mix in some older things rather than have ALL modern stuff in your beautiful old house. That bed and those tables look great together. And I love that style of bed anyway. I got one with old chipped up paint and repainted it shiny red for my daughter’s room, with walls painted light aqua. Super cute!

  45. 10.7.13
    Patty said:

    There is no fine line w the lithograph. It is ugly AND tacky and it’s saying, GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      Hahahaha. Well, I’m glad someone hates it. Me and my controversial artwork!

  46. 10.7.13
    Katie said:

    A great room for guests! (And dogs)!

    Tell me more about the bag on the back of the door please!

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      It’s a Wood & Faulk bag! Max got it for Christmas from Grace! It’s super well-made and nice.

  47. 10.7.13
    louize said:

    what a welcoming room! My parents had pretty much the same rug when I was growing up, in some houses it was on the floor, in others on the wall, I always loved it and made up so many stories about the people on it – so thanks for the trip down memory lane :)
    and auctions – I bought my apartment in an auction, that was a very surreal experience!

  48. 10.7.13
    susan said:

    Small rooms like that in old houses were also used as sewing rooms. I love looking at old house floor plans and have seen quite a few that were designated as nursery and/or sewing rooms.

    • 10.7.13
      Daniel said:

      Yes, true! We have another small room that I think may have been a sewing room (it doesn’t have direct access to the main bedroom or hallway, which I guess is more common for a sewing room), but who knows what those kooky folks were thinking!

  49. 10.7.13
    Laura said:

    I was among the early advocates of turning this room into a master bath. The pictures make me see why that would be impractical – giant windows on two walls and doors on the other two do pose logistical problems for a bathroom. That said, I now want this to be a bathroom more than ever…because I’m weird and love bathing and showering in the sun. I would totally have a big cast iron bathtub in that corner by the windows. I would soak there for hours and read all of the books.

    Anyway, love the little guest room that it is and I really love that Mekko has her own room. I wish our French Bulldog would take her loud snoring to another room, but alas, she insists on sleeping in our bed.

  50. 10.7.13
    Jen said:

    Sqweeeeeeeee!!!! Puppers!!! Love those babies. The room looks so great! Love it- ALL of it. Thanks for the doggie included post.

  51. 10.7.13
    Lilja said:

    Memo to self: never check Manhattan Nest when you should go to bed – a new post might be up and you will have to read it in detail. Just because the room looks so good and the dogs are so sweet. And Daniel’s writing style is always a bonus.

  52. 10.7.13
    mia0909 said:

    I love the bed, the rug and everything in this room including the 80s lithograph!love love love!!! I know that this is all sort of a temp arrangement but I feel that the side tables plus the chair makes the room feel like there is a lot of wood in it? I hate saying that bc I do love the tables and the chair as well!! ….. you always do an amazing job at mixing old with new and I know that once you do get to this room it will look as amazing as your other “finished” rooms!!

  53. 10.7.13
    Minnie said:

    You have the best luck with thrift stores and CL. I can’t even get a suitcase for $20 from a thrift store, much less something amazing like that!

  54. 10.7.13
    Jane said:

    The room is really lovely! Does that litho by any chance say Thomas Finley on it?

  55. 10.7.13

    Now that’s one space not wasted! Good work on this.

  56. 10.7.13
    LP said:

    gah. so much dog cuteness in this post.
    Mekko has clearly claimed her space. own it, girl!

  57. 10.7.13
    Steph nelson said:

    Mekko is giving you the side eye in that last pic. I can see the thought bubble over her head!

    Rooms looks great for little $

  58. 10.7.13
    Lillian said:

    i think the colours of the lithograph and the rug really work well together. I LOVE those windows and the radiators. I have never, ever seen such beautiful radiators in Australia, I am dying of envy. Although slightly bothered by the implication that it’s not alright to make your friends sleep in what is normally the dog’s bed. hope none of my friends read your blog, they might start asking for a decent bedroom next time they stay!

  59. 10.7.13
    Tania said:

    I loooooove the artwork. I love art in circles. And I love the frame.

  60. 10.7.13

    I looove auctions. I saw a 17 acre farm sell at auction a week and a half ago (a couple of weeks before that we’d watched them sell the tractors and the cows). By the way, awesome radiator. Awesome blog. Awesomely awesome dog.

  61. 10.7.13
    Elaine in Laguna said:

    Super cute fainting room! Super cute dog, too. Love how you put all this together! Just so great! (I’m tolerating the litho!)

  62. 10.7.13

    Auctions are the best! Welcome to this new, magical addiction my friend.

  63. 10.7.13
    cate said:

    I do believe this little room is a dressing room/baby room for the bigger room it adjoins. Love the way you have decorated it, love the rug. Funny to read about hanging art on walls before they are ready. I was just coming to that conclusion tonight after four years of living with unfinished walls.

  64. 10.7.13
    Nancy said:

    I want to know how that bedding stays white! :P

    I’m also curious if there’s ever any creaking or noise with the slats instead of a box-spring.

  65. 10.8.13
    Jessica said:

    The first picture of Mekko in her 1950’s bed made me squeal out loud. I can barely handle how adorable she is. It hurts.

  66. 10.8.13
    Suzanne said:

    Nice set up in the guest room! :) No hook for guests to hang their stuff on, so the chair is a great catch-all. Love that litho! I spy (part of) a cute lamp in the 4th picture… need a closer look!

  67. 10.8.13
    Jack said:

    This is really impressive. It looks great.

  68. 10.8.13

    Hi Daniel,

    Check every day waiting for your latest post. You don’t disappoint your fans! You are making incredible progress. When are we going to see you on TV? you give hope to those of us who can’t afford expensive renovations.

    Am about to begin work on a renovators delight (in the Australian bush) and will be shamelessly copying your kitchen ideas. Also have a nightmare bathroom and need to copy one of those as well! No pressure though!

  69. 10.8.13
    cebec said:

    If it makes you feel better, I live by myself in a 250 square foot studio with no storage/garage, never ever entertain and yet have already hoarded FIVE chairs (and counting)…

    On a different note, I am pro-lithograph.

  70. 10.8.13

    SO happy to have found your beautiful blog, your adorable dog and this bright, adorable room. I’m with you about keeping it a room….we have rooms like that in our house and despite their awkwardness, their details are just too beautiful to hide or ignore. I love what you have done, and can’t wait to see what you do next. :)
    xo
    Melissa

  71. 10.8.13
    Christina said:

    Hello! I’ve been on the search for a decent looking fan. I purchased two pretty metal Hunter fans from Amazon and neither of them worked. I’m feeling a little fan-hurt and gun shy about purchasing another. Where did you get the sweet little fan in this room? Thanks so much!

    • 10.8.13
      Daniel said:

      That sucks about the Hunter fans—ugh!! Can you return them?? My boyfriend loves Hunter fans——we have a couple and they both seem really nice and we’ve had no problems with them, even after many years of use! Perhaps there’s a way to contact Hunter directly?

      The fan in the post is from Target…and I just checked, is a Hunter! And has TERRIBLE reviews. Since this has been in our guest room, I don’t know if I’ve ever actually used it, so I have no opinions on how well it works. I feel so unhelpful right now, haha. :(Here it is, anyway.

    • 10.8.13
      Pat E said:

      Christina–I’ve got the same little Target/Hunter fan (in orange) in my kitchen. It is fine on low speed, but get earplugs for high. (loud).

    • 10.9.13
      Christina said:

      Oh, no worries. It’s nothing against Hunter… I think it was more of an Amazon Warehouse deal gone horribly wrong. I ordered two metal Hunter fans, thinking that I scored the BEST DEAL EVER (something like $25 ish each? Regularly $50-something)… only to have them both be non-functional in different ways and horribly packed. Returned immediately!

      I’ll check this one out– thanks so much! (Love the house, your blog, etc etc)

  72. 10.8.13
    Paul said:

    Where is the blanket in the second “before” photo from? I really like it.

  73. 10.8.13

    From Buffalo (now in BK) and LOVE AmVets. Happy to see this find.

  74. 10.8.13
    Hillary said:

    I’m so happy you made it a guest room, at least for now. I think most guest rooms take up such a huge amount of space for the use they get, and why not have a lovely light-filled room with just enough room for sleeping and dumping a backpack on the chair? Plus in our house I think we’d use it as a “sick room” for quarantining a contagious spouse, or to put a sick kid nearer to our room so we could tend to them more easily at night. Super useful and kind of whimsical, a perfect combination as far as I’m concerned.

    I don’t hate the lithograph. It reminds me of stuff my parents had in the late 70’s/early 80’s, so maybe that’s why I like it.

  75. 10.8.13
    Sinead said:

    Hey Daniel,

    Question about logistics – are you now living fulltime in the house? how often do you get back to the manhattan nest now? do you work remotely?

    SI’m just trying to understand how this all works.

    Love your blog, your house, your flat, your dogs and your story.

    • 10.10.13
      Daniel said:

      No, we unfortunately can’t live full-time at the house right now, so we’re back and forth between the house and the apartment (we both do work remotely when we’re in Kingston, but often we really have to be on the ground in the city, too, and Kingston is a bit too far away to make for a practical commute). I talked about that a little bit here, but I know it’s been confusing since I haven’t posted about the apartment in FOREVER. I’m actually working on a series of posts about the apartment now——where it’s been, where it stands, where it’s going. I don’t know how long we’re going to do this for, but realistically we might stay part-time in Brooklyn for a while. Our apartment is in a great neighborhood with a good rent, and we’ve obviously put tons of work into it, so as long as we need to retain a place in the city, we’ll likely stay here.

    • 10.11.13
      Sinead said:

      Thanks Daniel.

      I’m knitting these Christmas balls at the moment and you remind me of Arne and Carlos …

  76. 10.8.13

    Daniel,

    I love your gorgeous, buttery-rich, floors! Are they oak?

    Best,

    Jessica

    • 10.10.13
      Daniel said:

      I don’t know! I think so?

  77. 10.9.13
    Suzy said:

    Daniel, love that you chose to hang art! My husband and I moved once a year for the first 5 years we were married (don’t ask!). I never wanted to hang art till rooms were ‘finished’. He wanted to hang at least SOME art before lights out the first night in. I resisted and he obliged the first 1 or 2 moves, then I agreed to do it his way. You know what? Nothing says “HOME” like familiar art on the walls…even if you take it down or change it out later. I’m now convinced it’s one of the easiest – and most easily changeable – ways to feel instantly at home in a new space.

  78. 10.9.13
    Gaidig said:

    The new guestroom is looking great.
    Food for thought: I wonder if that room would have been a “morning room”, where you would have eaten your breakfast and read your morning paper before fully getting ready for the day. Additionally, a nursery could have adjoined a playroom, rather than the parents’ room.

  79. 10.9.13
    colleen said:

    Daniel, I’ve followed your blog for months and can truly say you are my favourite!
    The whole house is a testament to ingenuity and thrift, with a massive dose of creative flair, what a genius you are!
    With regards to your little room, as ‘a lady who sews’ I can wholeheartedly suggest that it would have been a sewing room.
    Gas light, as fitted when the house was built, would have been considerably better than candles. But for the lady in a well-to-do house, who would not have gone out to work, sewing would have been a very likely pastime. And for that, you definitely need good light. Hence the two windows!
    Like every other hobby it is so much easier if you have a separate room where you don’t have to keep tidying stuff away.
    I’m sure it would have been a little hive of creativity and fun, just in fact like your whole house will be!

  80. 10.9.13
    Patience said:

    I love it that you bought the bed at the Buffalo Am Vets. That sign about the cashiers has been there since at least 1997 (and probably long before that). I used to shop there all the time, but we had to move away to find jobs and stuff. :(

    Your guest room is beautiful!

  81. 10.9.13
    Shona said:

    I can’t even remember how I found your blog, but I’ve spent the last two weeks inhaling it, and now…there’s nothing left?!? I have to read this in real-time now? How have your readers survived the suspense for so many years?

    (You are awesome, btw).

    • 10.10.13
      Daniel said:

      Ha, thanks Shona! Hopefully you will survive it!

  82. 10.9.13
    Thel said:

    I was just wondering where those dogs had got to . . . they’ve been sleeping, the slackers!

    I love the decor, I love the fancy new-style photo montage, I love your writing!

    Thanks Daniel! I’m inspired!

  83. 10.9.13
    Natalie Marshall said:

    Every time I see a new post on your blog, my heart skips a beat!!! I love everything you do, especially your kitchen and new guest room… allthough I think you should fess up and admit it’s NOT a guest room, but actually Mekko and Linus’s room! Lucky babies…

  84. 10.9.13
    kaamil said:

    I love the room, it looks really good considering it didn’t cost much!
    btw is that bag in the last picture from Wood & Faulk? I have one of their bags, they’re great!

    • 10.9.13
      Daniel said:

      Yes! Matt’s work is the best. :)

  85. 10.10.13

    The room looks super cute. I love vintage beds. There’s a really big brass bed here in the guest bedroom and I was using it during the floor renovations. Anyway, it was a very humid spring and suddenly the brass turned the white pillow cases green and stripy. Now I need to figure out how to treat the brass. That’s what I get for buying vintage things. I love the look of the jenny bed though. In the other spare bedroom I have two hospital cots from the 1940s. Great beds but the jenny beds would be so much cuter. :) Keep up the good work; it’s super fun to pop in and catch up on your reno. :)

  86. 10.10.13
    Gillianne said:

    Speaking of photogenic Mekko, did you guys know that this is Pitbull Awareness Month? (http://www.nationalpitbullawarenessday.org/October-is-National-Pit-Bull-Awareness-Month.html)
    Here’s a warm-fuzzy tale of a pit bull pup who saved the family’s child: http://www.care2.com/causes/a-hero-named-tatortot-rescued-pit-bull-saves-boy-days-after-adoption.html

  87. 10.10.13
    Carolyn said:

    This room is beyond delightful. It hits all my design sweet spots (wood + white + primary pops + just the right amount of 80s Southwest flavor) and a pup to boot. Nice work collecting and curating!

  88. 10.10.13
    t said:

    That room is made for Mekko!

    One of the first antiques I bought when I was about 12 or 13 was a Jenny Lind Christmas tree bed; it is a 3/4 bed and it came with a ‘box spring’ that has copper spring coils on a wood fame.

    As a Buffalo ex-pat, love the Buffalo shout-outs.

  89. 10.11.13
    Lisa said:

    I love that semi tacky/not tacky litho :-) and the whole look of the room. you did a great job, as always !

  90. 10.19.13
    Cee said:

    I love watching this house transform ! My in laws live in upstate NY in a house of similar vintage as yours. They have a small room at the front as well and apparently these small rooms were birth rooms. Just as modern consumers now demand stainless steel appliances our forefathers demanded a room to have a baby in.

  91. 10.24.13

    Looks great. I love Jenny Lind beds. I’ve also used low profile box springs pretty successfully on antique frames – for clients or my lazy self who doesn’t want to cut wood or even have the power tools to do it :)

  92. 10.27.13
    ann said:

    hi daniel!

    long time reader, first time poster. i am desperate to know where to find these sleepy’s clearance warehouses. apparently it’s the internet’s best kept secret. i was able to do enough digging and found a listing for a location in copiague near amityville (hello amityville horror house roadtrip!), but was wondering if you knew of any others. anyway, we live in brooklyn and are in need of a new mattress. i become slightly panicky and overwhelmed by the idea of shopping for a new one and a deep discount warehouse seems like the perfect place for me.

    please help! oh, and you do have beautiful teeth! :-)

    • 10.30.13
      Daniel said:

      Oh man, I only know about the one we went to in Kingston! There’s a Sleepy’s on Livingston and Bond in downtown Brooklyn…they might be able to tell you if there’s a clearance center around? My first mattress came from a regular Sleepy’s, and I think was about $400. Granted, I’m not picky and asked for the cheapest one in the store, but it’s totally nice. Also, ALWAYS ask for a discount or their best price. Mattress shopping is super weird.

      I’d say driving to Amityville is not going to be worth it! You’ll probably spend more on gas than you’ll save on the mattress, and you might come back with a demonic possession…:)

  93. 11.4.13
    Josie said:

    So I just commented on your most recent post but I have to tell you again how excited I am to have found your blog! I have gotten kind of frustrated with how old houses are more “trendy” now on the blogosphere, but very few people know how to treat them properly – but you do! You seem to have so much knowledge and love for them and that makes you my favorite person ever pretty much.

    I LOVE how this room turned out, it’s so adorable! I’m hunting for a cute bed frame for our guest room, and I’ve been stuck on the idea of an old iron frame, but now I may keep my eyes open for something like this too, it’s really adorable!

    Oh and I totally feel you with just going ahead and hanging stuff even though the walls aren’t done. Our dining room is going to be just bare plaster until the spring, but I am making it work for now:)

  94. 11.6.13
    Jess G. said:

    You know what… keep those chairs!

    Every time I’ve moved in the past few years (which has been a lot, between working in theatre and grad school) my friends make fun of me for owning so many quirky/vintage/antique chairs. Apparently, it’s way more than a “normal” person would ever need to own and they think I’m silly.

    But then they come over for a dinner party and miraculously I have the best apartment in the neighborhood because everyone has a place to sit. You’ve got a whole house. You should just go with it! They’ll thank you one day… even if they pick on you now! (: