My Guestroom Makeover

I finally finished the makeover of our new guest room on the ground floor. I completely redesigned it – a thorough makeover – which turned our house into a construction site for about a month. Here, you can have a look at the room before the renovation.

My challenge was not to change the entire decor of the room, but to refresh its look through color, in order to give it a warmer look and feel.

I was bothered by two things in particular: the white walls and black wax curtains. I was also missing decorative elements – such as bedside tables – that were needed in order to make the room’s color concept more coherent.

The finished guest room after the makeover.

The Color Palette

This room is on the ground floor and receives no direct daylight. Only a tiny bit of natural light finds its way through a window, with brick-red painted struts, that borders the hallway towards the front door.

For the color scheme, I took my inspiration from the Le Monde Sauvage wallpaper (model, “Make Up,” made of rice paper), which was to be the focal point of this room. The wallpaper frames the headboard of the bed, which rests on the opposite side of the room, looking from the window. The idea was to give a slightly dramatic feel to this room that lacked character or any real design assets. When it comes to interior design, one should never be discouraged, because there is always a solution to every design challenge!

Why work with a color palette?

BECAUSE COLOR CHANGES EVERYTHING. I could have simply repainted the entire room in a bold color, but that wasn’t what I wanted. However, I did include some dramatic color in the form of curtains in a bold, theatrical red!

I scan my wallpaper’s color, using ColorReader EZ.

The scanned color is displayed on my ColorReader app.

Using the “Coordinate Colors” feature, I’m provided with different color schemes that coordinate perfectly with the color I just scanned. This is where you can see the bold red of my curtains.

ColorReader EZ as a helpful color tool

Using the ColorReader EZ which can scan and match colors from any flat surface, I was able to determine the exact color of this wallpaper and find coordinating colors. I simply placed the ColorReader EZ flat against the wallpaper, tapped a button and let the ColorReader app on my smartphone do the rest. You’ll get the top 3 paint color matches from your favorite paint brands, then tap one of those to find coordinating color palettes choices (Complementary, Monochromatic, Analogous and Triad).

MY MISSION: ENHANCE THE VISUAL IMPACT OF THIS ROOM WITH COLOR, BUT WITHOUT GIVING IT A DARKER LOOK

Before, my guest room was painted white, but this banal hue made it look kind of sad. The light oak parquet floor was nice, but also looked a bit lost. The ethnic-chic wallpaper in warm shades of brown and gray was all that was holding the room together, color-wise. I reworked the mood of the room with color, opting for a warmer white, as suggested by ColorReader EZ.

Why does it make sense to start with a decorative element to create an entire color palette?

Quite often, my readers ask me which color is best for which room. I could always give several tips on this right away, but the easiest way is to start with a colored object that appeals to you. This could be a color in a pattern on a pillow, a poster, or a wallpaper. When you select a color you love, you’ve created the starting point for a color palette. You can imagine how ColorReader EZ can help you with this task by simply scanning your favorite hue to find its perfect paint color match.

Cool white in the hallway vs. warm white in the guest room.

The photo above depicts the striking difference in the room’s look after using the warmer white. The pure white in the hallway – the guestroom’s original color – has a cool, bluish-gray tone. The blush-tinted white, now on the bedroom walls and ceiling, looks much warmer and more welcoming. This is exactly the look I wanted to achieve.

Paint the radiator or leave it as is?

Paint the radiator or leave it as is?

I debated whether I should paint the radiator in a color similar to the wallpaper or red to pick up the color of the hallway window. I opted for simplicity and kept it the white color of the walls so as not to draw attention to it.

How do I coherently tie in my furniture to keep a chic, ethnic style room?

This room already had a number of items that I wanted to use again in my makeover; the white leather chair, an old, rather dark, family chest of drawers, and the Lafuma collection with its distinct ethnic patterns in black and white, that Jean-Paul Gaultier had designed for Lelièvre Paris.

I added two small, light oak nightstands that matched the parquet floor, and thought long and hard about what fabric the curtains should be. Finally, I decided on a linen and cotton fabric from Thevenon, whose patterns and colors were quite bold. I stand by this decision – I love strong color accents. The room is rounded off by neutral walls, “nature” posters and dried, Bohemian-style plants.

A change of color, not style.

I hope you enjoyed the makeover of my guest room. There is still so much to do at our home – no room is perfect and here is no end in sight to my renovation and makeover projects. Still, I’m happy we are on the right track and at least this one room is done for now!

For more interior design and decorating ideas, check out my blog at https://www.turbulences-deco.fr. Stop by and take a look!

About the Author – Clémence Perceval-Motte

Clémence Perceval-Motte has been running the French-language blog Turbulences Déco for more than 10 years. In her blog, Clémence shares her love of interior design, crafts, travel, sustainability, and fine craftsmanship, along with some helpful tips for DIY design projects.

She discovered her passion for interior design while working in a home decor store. Clémence loves contemporary art, and attended art school herself for six years, but is now more interested in the creations of other designers and artisans.

She loves to collect objects in need of repair, scraps of fabric, balls of wool, and whatever else she can get her hands on. With her talent for craftsmanship and eye for detail, she frequently ends up creating beautiful decorative pieces from these items.