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Looking back on this “home tour” post, I really can’t believe how much our home has changed over the course of a single year. No, we haven’t completed everything. (We’d still like to refinish our kitchen cabinets and replace the countertops, rip up the flood-damaged carpeting on the staircase and replace it with hardwood, and do something about the house’s peeling trim and deteriorating front stoop.) But baby steps… am I right?

Our very last project before Emma’s arrival was the construction of a guest room. Before, the space had served as an office. But because it’s in the back of our half-townhouse, it gets very little light, and as a result, I got pretty bummed working back there. (I now work at the kitchen table, which gets much more daylight.) When we found out we were pregnant, though, we decided that the old office space needed to be turned into a guest room for our parents. Mitch’s parents live about 2.5 hours from Chicago and mine live on the East Coast, and we wanted them to visit often, and feel comfortable while visiting their granddaughter!

This was easier said than done, but long story short, the project entailed the removal/closing up of French doors and the installation of other doors in different locations–so that both the guest room and nursery could have independent, private entrances. We hired a contractor to do this, and he installed crown molding while he was at it. (Because come on: when else would we ever get around to doing something like that?!)

Construction was finished roughly a week and a half before Emma came. My preggo self frantically tried to finish up the last of my freelance projects during those last few days, but Mitch spent them putting together furniture, hanging frames in the room, and painting. Because after construction, the room was in dire need of a refresh!

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Inspiration

The above pins. (Hey! Let’s be friends on Pinterest!)

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Paint

I wanted something fun and lively, since the rest of our house is painted in a very light gray. After much, much contemplation, we decided to paint an accent wall in the color green. Bold, don’t you think?! The specific green we went with was Dutch Boy Paints’ “Zucchini Green” (#227-6DB), available at Menards.

Why Dutch Boy Paints? Well, a few reasons: I’d worked with the company’s paint in the past and loved the experience; Dutch Boy Paints has been a leading, trusted paint brand for over 100 years; and Menards (which carries it) is all over the place in the Midwest.

Finding the color was fun and easy, as the Dutch Boy site now features a Color Visualizer, which allows you to virtually paint your room by uploading your own photograph or experimenting with the brand’s rooms. Dutch Boy Paints’ inspiration and color trends pages were also extremely helpful, as was the fact that in-store and mobile experiences are streamlined with QR codes that allow you to view colors, collections, how-to’s and videos.

Mitch reports that working with the paint was easy. While there are several different Dutch Boy products, we went with the brand’s Platinum paint, since it’s a paint and primer in one. We’d previously had navy stripes on the accent wall, and knew that covering such a dark color could be tricky. With the Platinum paint, though, it was a cinch! (In case you’re wondering why we decided to paint over the navy stripes, these are the quilts we already owned for the old guest room, before we turned it into Emma’s nursery. Navy striped quilts in a room with a navy striped wall? Too much of a good thing, haha!)

Needless to say, Mitch couldn’t get over the fact that there was absolutely no prep required. Or the fact that the Dutch Boy Twist & pour container didn’t require tools for opening and closing. The container was also easy to hold, easy to open, easy to pour, and easy to store.

Happy Mitch. :)

We’re thrilled with the results!

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Furnishings

  • Most of the stuff you see here has been pulled from other rooms in the house, like the daybed and trundle, which is SUCH a good deal, looks very much like this Pottery Barn daybed and trundle, and is also available on Amazon and via Target. We’d previously had this in Emma’s room, which is where we slept for the better part of last year during construction on the master bedroom. Yes, it was a bummer to sleep on twin-sized beds for so long… but we can definitely attest to how comfy they are! We also love that the trundle daybed takes up so little space, as the bedrooms in our house are very small.
  • The campaign night tables, though, are new! The quality is great, but I’m not sure how much I’d recommend getting them, haha. The first one literally took us five hours to put together. We came in at three hours for the second one, which, yes, was an improvement. But… yeah. While it was rough, I was desperate for campaign night stands, and these were the most affordable ones I could find that had three drawers. (Mitch refuses to allow furniture into our tiny half-townhouse if it doesn’t have ample storage. And I see his point.) Also, can you get over how they just barely fit? For a moment at the very end of assembly, we thought they weren’t going to. And for a moment there, I thought my husband was going to kill me. ;)

Looking for campaign nightstands? I would recommend this one, this onethis one, this one or this one.

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Decor

  • These palm throw pillows are from the living room. Just haven’t yet found ones I like for the guest room.
  • And this is the rug, which is new! Isn’t it SO PRETTY? I adore it, but the two sizes that make the most sense for the room are either a bit too large or a bit too small, so I’m going to move it to the dining room. (Noodle did some damage to the rug that’s currently there, and it needs to be replaced.) So we’re back to square one with the rug situation. Truthfully, I haven’t even started looking yet, but I’m excited!
  • The brass dachshund is from Maya. (Awww!) And the brass crab was a gift from Mitch. My parents have one in their Shore house, so lots of happy memories! (You can find them on eBay.)

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Art

  • Ocean City painting: My cousin and maid of honor, Annie, painted this for Mitch and me and gave it to us the Christmas before our wedding. (We actually ended up using it as our wedding invitation, too!) It is truly the most thoughtful (and breathtaking) gift I have ever received, and it will always be one of my most prized possessions. After the flood, while we were transporting our stuff upstairs, the frame broke. Recently, though, Framebridge offered to re-frame it for me. Oh my goodness. It’s absolutely perfect. I love the crisp, white matte… and the gold bamboo frame. (I’m also so impressed by the price tag. Only $99, compared to the $500 I was quoted by the various frame shops I went to in Chicago!) Want to try Framebridge? Use code “KELLYCITY15” to take 15 percent off your order!
  • Wedding website: Mitch had this framed for me (also through Framebridge!) a couple of years ago. It’s the homepage from our scrolling, clickable wedding website, which is unfortunately now defunct because I forgot to update WordPress on it for three years, haha. I drew it, and Mitch and his best friend coded it. It took months, but it was such a fun project. I love having it on the wall, even though my drawings are pitiful compared to Annie’s! Remember, use code “KELLYCITY15” to take 15 percent off your Framebridge order!

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What’s Next (Help!)

  • More art! I’d love to cover the green wall in gold frames, but I just need to acquire some more. I also have a gorgeous print from my friend Cassandra’s amazing shop, which I want to frame and hang.
  • I need to figure out what to do with the remaining three walls, too. Any suggestions? Maybe some shelves above the dresser? I’d love to have a desk somewhere back there, but I don’t want to crowd the room.
  • As I mentioned before, the rug is gorgeous, but its size just doesn’t work for the room. Have you seen any good rugs lately?!
  • I’d like to get some nice books and/or trinkets for the dresser and night tables, since all of the ones you see here were temporarily pulled from the living room for this photo shoot. ;)
  • I’m also looking for some colorful throw pillows for the bed. I didn’t have anything for this shoot, so I just used our palm throw pillows and some decor from the living room. I’m on the lookout! Maybe something with pom-poms? Maybe some pink? (Would that be too much?)

Any suggestions to make the room more inviting? I’d love to hear!

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This post was sponsored by Dutch Boy Paints, but all opinions are my own. As always, thank you so much for supporting the partnerships that keep Kelly in the City up and running!