A soothing beige & green guest bedroom makeover

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We’ve finally completed the remaining bits of our first-floor renovation, and today I’m excited to be able to show you the newly finished guest bedroom. The doorway and one wall in here were moved to create access to the bathroom from the landing, so we had to repaint it and replace the flooring – and, now we can have friends and family to stay again, I wanted to take the opportunity to make it feel as special and as welcoming as possible.

This has always been quite a tricky room to decorate and furnish as it’s fairly small – and the shifting wall means it’s actually shrunk even more. It also has a section of boxing which hides steelwork supporting the remnants of an old chimney, limiting how we can lay it out. I’d previously painted it white to try and make it feel a bit more spacious (you can see photos here) and, while I liked the bright and airy feel this created, it was definitely lacking warmth. So, I decided to replace the monochrome scheme with soothing beige walls and breezy white linen, offset by touches of olive green that enhance the restful atmosphere and provide a connection with the garden outside. I also worked in some smart black accents, which add a bit of depth and structure to the neutral palette and echo what I’ve done elsewhere in the house.

Walls and floors

The guest bedroom is south-facing and gets very strong light, so finding exactly the right shade of beige for the walls was key. I tested out various different options and watched how they changed over the course of a few days, before settling on ‘Flawless’ from the Crown Paints x Elle Decoration collection. It’s neither too warm nor too cool, meaning it doesn’t look yellow when the golden afternoon sun streams in or blue in the harsher morning light, and as it’s quite pale it adds cosiness without making the room seem any smaller.

The flooring is the same oak hardwood that we used in the main bedroom: ‘Palazzo Polar Oak’ from Quick-Step. The subtle white stain and contemporary matt lacquer are perfect for my pared-back Scandinavian-inspired style, and the beautiful grain gives it a bit of warmth. We fitted it ourselves, which you can read about here, and it instantly transformed the space.

Furniture

There isn’t space for much furniture in here, so the pieces which do fit have to work extra hard. I was keen to find bedside tables which were small enough to suit the room’s compact dimensions but also provided a bit of storage, and Urbansize’s oak crossover-leg design proved ideal. The bed is the same IKEA base that we had before, and it’s high enough to allow guests to slide their suitcases out of the way underneath. I had planned to re-upholster the grey headboard that we used to have in the main bedroom and add it to the bed, but when I tried it out the boxing made it look awkward and unbalanced, so in the end I decided against it.

The only other piece in the room is my beloved ‘Trinidad’ chair, which has moved upstairs to replace the grey HAY ‘J110’ chair that used to sit in this corner. Designed by Nanna Ditzel for Fredericia, it’s a contemporary classic that I was given following a press trip a few years ago. The dark-stained wood and black legs work brilliantly with the new shade on the walls, and I love the way the fretwork backrest adds a subtle bit of detail to the space.

Lighting

Without a headboard to create a focal point, I felt the room really needed a statement pendant light. I’ve always been drawn to the Japanese-inspired paper domes and sleek black wooden bands of Jaime Hayon’s ‘Formakami’ series, and I had a feeling the mid-sized ‘JH4’ option would fit perfectly. Quite a lot of people advised against it when I shared my thoughts on Instagram, understandably concerned that the open design would mean glare from the visible bulb. But I trusted my instincts and ordered it anyway, and I’m so glad I did. It looks just how I’d envisaged, creating interest without overwhelming the room, and the paper gives a beautifully soft, diffused glow. What’s more, the way it’s positioned means the bulb isn’t really visible, even when you’re sitting in bed.

For the bedside lamps, I chose the Lumina ‘Daphine Cloe’ model – a slightly less chunky version of the classic ‘Daphine Terra’ table lamp, designed in 1975 by Tommaso Cimini. I love the contrast between its pared-back, utilitarian aesthetic and the voluminous shape of the pendant above, and the freely rotating double-jointed arm means you can direct the light wherever you need it.

Accessories 

I wanted to use accessories to add some subtle texture and pattern to the space – always key to making neutral decor feel cosy and inviting. A couple of linen cushions, a relaxed linen-cotton throw, a few tactile ceramics and a black and white rug work perfectly, and I’m in the middle of weaving another cushion cover to add into the mix. The rug is actually the one that used to sit in our living room, but I spilt red wine over it a few months back and the stain refused to budge. I was determined to find a use for it rather than throwing it out, and luckily any traces of wine are totally hidden by the bed!

I’ve also installed a peg rail to give guests somewhere to hang clothes, and added a few bits and bobs that they might find useful (a Ferm Living mirror, linen bags containing a hairdryer and slippers). The final finishing touches are a couple of watercolour landscapes from Melissa Selmin, who’s one of my favourite artists. They misty forest scenes are perfect for a bedroom as they’re incredibly restful to gaze at; they also provide another connection to nature and sit well with the muted green accents.

So, there you have it: a soothing beige guest bedroom with touches of green. I’m really pleased with it and I hope friends and family enjoy using it – Loki the cat certainly does, as you can see from some of the photos above! And it only leaves me with one other room from our renovated first floor to show you – more on that in another post… 

All photography by Abi Dare