Guest Room Transformation to Pantry

This post was originally called Guest Room to Craft-Tree. But without the context, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense. Instead, I’ll just keep it boring and simple:

The desire to transform my guest room into a pantry all started when Addison graduated from high school. Isn’t that how all room transformations start? Kids leave the nest and then to avoid dealing with the feelings of loss and abandonment, mom decides to tackle a huge home project instead.

As soon as Addison moved into the dorm I looked at my guest room and realized what a wasted space it was. It was used for actual guests (my parents) about twice a year and even then my dad would always end up on the couch. With an entire room and a twin bed freed up, I realized we had a new opportunity to rethink where my parents stay when they visit which in turn, freed up 120 square feet of space in my home.

I thought about the things that I’m always trying to find a place for; crafting supplies and pantry items from Costco. We needed a craft-pantry. A Craft-Tree.

I designed this room with a vision of floor to ceiling shelving and a rolling cart for wrapping gifts, working on crafts, etc. that could be pushed aside when not in use. I was also desperate to brighten up the room. The walls and ceiling (for the love of all that is holy, why did builders think painting ceilings the same color as the walls was a good design choice?) were painted a mustard yellow that seemed to have gotten darker over time. The light fixture was fun and unique but obviously from the early 2000s. There is only one small window and the light fixture offered more in the way of decore than actual light. The carpet was builders grade semi-shag carpet from 2007 that had stretched and buckled 10 years ago. The carpet elicited feelings of white hot rage whenever I looked at it. If I could have set the carpet on fire, I would have.

Once I had my paint color picked out (Sherwin Williams 6175) and my handy man scheduled it was a green light for go!

Guest Room Transformation

I tried to over think flooring and then I screwed my head on straight. This was for a pantry, not a ballroom. It needed to be easy to install and easy to keep clean. While standing in line at Costco so they could make sure the number on my receipt matched the number of items in my basket, I looked at all the additional services they offer. While a home water filtration system sounded intriguing, the display for flooring jumped out at me. I purchased my Shaw flooring through the Costco approved flooring vendor and received a Costco gift card for 10% of the amount I spent on actual flooring.

People underestimate illumination in a room and don’t realize the impact a beautiful lighting fixture and the right wattage can have. Because lighting is so important it can also be very expensive so lighting was my big splurge. My neighbor turned me on to Olde Brick Lighting. Once I saw their milk glass chandeliers I knew I was done for. Yes, the chandelier was expensive but it’s so beautiful and makes me pause and say a prayer of gratitude every time I turn it on. Sometimes when I’m driving home in the evening and I get to the bend in the road where I can see my house; I catch a glimpse of my milk glass chandelier in the window. It’s milky light beckons to me through the trees and welcomes me home.

The wall shelving came from my own head. I wanted exposed shelving with a combo industrial/classic look so I went with pine boards and iron plumbing from Home Depot and Lowes. I drew out the plans for my handyman and he made the magic happen.

Last year I purchased mural wallpaper from Photowall for my dining room. I love it so much and always get compliments from guests. So, I decided to go back to Photowall and found a whimsical pattern for my guest room transformation. My handyman put up a small shelf and I added knobs from the craft store.

This guest room transformation I envisioned not only included storage but a place for crafting. I considered purchasing a table for the middle of the room for crafting, wrapping gifts, podcasting, working on my laptop, etc. But I didn’t like the idea of a piece of furniture that would taking up space in the middle of the room. But I really wanted a work top. Instead of a table I opted for a barstool height counter along the shelving wall and a rolling cart. There are tons of kitchen rolling carts on Way Fair, Home Depot, and Lowes. I ended up with a rolling cart from Home Depot because of the color and the reviews. I’m really happy with how it functional it turned out to be.

Here is a breakdown of the design choices:

Flooring: Shaw vinyl flooring

Paint: Sherwin Williams 6175 Sagey

Lighting: Olde Brick Lighting

Wallpaper: Photowall

Rolling cart: Home Depot online

Shelving: custom build/design