Blue and White Guest Bedroom Refresh

Today, I’m excited to share the blue and white guest bedroom refresh at my parent’s primary home, Bliss Barracks. 

*Post Update: My Mom and I originally completed this guest bedroom makeover in late Fall.  Then my parents decided to paint the walls in Benjamin Moore White Dove while we were under safer at home orders this Spring. 

Rather than reinventing the wheel, I’ve updated the pictures in this post to reflect the fresh paint color, a slight change in the bed linens and the painted desk.  

They all seem like small changes but they made a big difference. 

Enjoy! 

Although most of the furniture in this space stayed the same, the fact that this room is finished is a huge deal. 

Mainly because my sweet Mom struggled with idea of transitioning the entire house from a traditional dark color palette of reds, browns and greens to a lighter one of blues and whites. 

I don’t say that to throw her under the bus, at all. 

I share it because sometimes we only hear about the easy parts of a room refresh.  More times than not, it seems like room makeovers happen in only three steps: the vision board, the before, and the reveal. 

The truth of the matter is that space makeovers happen in between all those steps, one decision at a time.

Whether you have a big manor house or a tiny house, I completely understand how all the “day in and day out” decisions can feel monumental. 

Especially, if you don’t have confidence in your decorating skills or you’re worried you might “mess up.”

Shopping the House 

The vintage white guest bedroom at Bliss Barracks before wasn’t bad at all, but my Mom was really ready for a change. 

My number #1 rule with any room refresh no matter who the client is, is to shop the house before buying anything new. 

That way, you can use your budget to buy key makeover pieces like rugs, linens, artwork and accessories. 

Since the furniture in the guest bedroom was in great shape, we kept the biggest pieces like the bed and the dresser in place.

Using Vintage & Antique Pieces 

To keep the blue and white guest room refresh from looking too cottagey in a very traditional home, we swapped out the white tray table and side table for antique pieces my parents had in other rooms of the house. 

This helped with our budget and also helped to create a “layered over time” look my Mom appreciates. 

This is how the antique side table looked with the old wall color…

and with the new paint…

While we were layering vintage and antique pieces, we swapped out the old artwork

for this new to us horse poster we found while shopping at Renninger’s over the summer featured here against the old wall color. 

While we were updating the wall color, we also decided to paint the desk in Amy Howards’s Cartouche Green to add a bit of color into the guest bedroom. 

Cartouche Green is a very soft and neutral green and plays really well with blues and whites. 

My Mom upholstered the desk chair with a plaid fabric remnant we found at an antique mall.

Embracing Non-Traditional Wall Decor 

We also brought in her beloved polo sticks from one of the adjoining bedrooms to use as wall art in the blue and white guest bedroom refresh. 

Shout out to my Dad who graciously went against his “no more projects with horse barn doors or cabinets with X’s” rule for mounting the polo sticks to wall ?

Decorating With Collections En Masse

To bring more interest to the existing dresser, I encouraged my Mom to start collecting pieces of blue and white chinoiserie, pottery and porcelain.  That way we could display the collection en masse. 

Here is the top of the dresser before…

and after but still with the old paint color. 

Here’s a look at the same view with the walls painted in BM White Dove. 

Grouping collections together is a relatively budget friendly way to add a pop of color to the top of any dresser and it’s a simple statement maker too!

Blue and White Guest Bedroom Linens

With the side tables and dresser in place, we turned our attention to the blue and white guest bedroom refresh linens, which are actually not blue and white at all. 

They’re a classic camel and white stripe. This is how the bed linens looked before the blue and white guest bedroom refresh….

and with the addition of fresh white sheets, blue coverlet and the striped duvet. 

After my parents painted the walls though, my Mom felt like the blue coverlet was a bit too much.  

So, we shopped the house and brought the waterfall bedspread from another guest bedroom into this one.

My Mom had the ruffled shams custom monogrammed by a local vendor and

The horse blanket on the end of the bed is vintage.

Blue and White Guest Bedroom Accent Details 

The last change in the blue and white guest bedroom refresh actually made the biggest difference.  The rug we used in this space before was pretty, but it was definitely dark. 

My Mom found this blue and white rug at a local charity shop for $30 and had it steamed cleaned.

We picked up all the guest room’s accessories on various treasure hunting trips this summer. 

Here’s a look at the way we originally styled the desk area when the walls were still sporting the old paint color…

And here is that same area with the new wall color and the desk painted…

All in all, we’re excited about the way the blue and white guest room refresh came together and about the new wall color too. 

It’s one of the most frequently used spaces throughout the year and will definitely be put to good use during the holiday season too!

Guest Bedroom Refresh Tips & Tricks to Keep in Mind

• Choose a color palette that is consistent with the rest of your home or one that complements it.
• Easily add texture with rugs, bed linens and accessories.
• Use greenery or flowers to help give life to guest rooms.
• Be creative when it comes to your budget. Especially, if you have a lot of rooms or spaces to complete at the same time.
• Mix high end and low end pieces to help you achieve a “collected over time” fee.
• Consider using vintage style posters when you’re looking for wall décor – they’re a great budget friendly solution to original or antique art.

We hope these tips for a blue and white guest bedroom refresh have helped! Let us know if you plan to give any of the spaces in your home an update this season. Until next time, I’ll see you on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Before You Go, Be Sure to Check Out These Bedroom Makeover Posts Too:

• One Room Challenge Bedroom Makeover Reveal 
• Loblolly Manor: Master Bedroom Update
• The Horse Farm Project: Guest Bedroom Makeover Reveal 
• Journeys End Master Bedroom Makeover Reveal 

Many blessings,

CoCo