What a pretty and inviting room! Love the warm wall color.

For artwork, narrow it down. What do you like? Think of different subjects and then proceed, otherwise it can be overwhelming. For instance, in my guest room I have vintage horse art, a woven piece from Jamaica in a shadow box, a Folk Art quail watercolor, a contemporary desert landscape drawing, two Arnold Bocklin works that have personal meaning, and an actual antique page out of an old book of horses I framed.

I found them on Etsy, artist websites, on trips, at a museum, and at our fav local antique mall.

Take your time and look for things that speak to you.

For lampshades, if you go to Lamps Plus, you can mock-up shades you like. Take your current ones off, get good pictures, close and further back, and try some out. Or, try out new lamps on your table (via their mock-up feature), if you’d like.

You’ll get told to not have a mirror, but I pre-emptively disagree — I appreciate them in guest rooms and yours is in a perfect spot. They’re great for checking hair, makeup, whatever. Do you want silver or something else?

I think a shape like this (from Uttermost) would look nice with your antique table. I‘d place one lower than the current one.

Would you consider painting a light color, which would offset the dark furniture and curtains, making the room less somber. Hopefully curtains can be lengthened (if hem not wide enough, add a border). I think lamp shades are fine. If anything, suggest new lamps with a more substantial, modern base.

The sizes/styles of the mirror and table are not complementary and I think the table would be more appreciated accessorized and in a small space with art above.

I’d provide guests with a practical surface/storage and a second hand dresser (painted) will also work better with the mirror.

Bedding is such a big component and suggest layering/coordinating with navy and add small traditional prints above bed (use silver frames to comp mirror)

I find the room boring/uninviting. The curtains are too short and the color (blue? gray?) doesn't relate to other items in the room. Pull the bed and nightstands off the wall 6" so the curtains hang straight. Remove the mirror and put some items for guests to use on the wash stand i.e. tissues, basic toiletries, water/glass. Art with color.

I think if you want to be traditional, the prints over the bed are not working. Something like maps might be nice, or framed William Morris prints. I would either remove the washbasin or perhaps set it up as a charging station.

I'm not always a fan of the bed between windows. I have never had one that way but it just seems like light, drafts, etc would come around the bed. Can the bed move to the right hand wall? It appears there is unfilled room at the end of the bed currently. Then perhaps the washstand could go between the windows as a charging station?

There is a bathroom. LOL - bedhead!

Thank you for all the great suggestions! I have some work to do to get this room updated and looking fresh.

I love color so I find the room too flat and boring. Brown art and dark brown furniture are not inviting to me. The curtains look as if they are the wrong size. The lamps are the wrong size. They should be larger.

Yes- I agree. Thank you!

Beautiful guest room - I would feel spoiled to stay in a space like that :). So this is just a small detail. To me, it’s the navy drapes that are the most “off” in the room and putting your budgeted dollars for updating the room into new drapes would do so much. The dark color of the drapes is competing with your beautiful furniture, they are too short, there needs to be more panels for fullness, and they need to be hung higher and wider. Inspo photos to follow.
If you can replace drapes, consider a much lighter color, or the wall color, or a light background with a pattern in the wall color. Hang the rods just under the crown molding and consider one continuous rod behind bed. Curtain length should just kiss the floor which may require some hemming. Behind the bed, extend drapes at least 16” next to windows (and use only one art piece) or consider additional panels to fill the whole wall with drapes.
If you can’t replace the drapes, consider hanging them higher and wider with an added border on the bottom to lengthen them. Then add splashes of the navy color elsewhere in the room and bedding to bring the color scheme together. Either way, pull bed forward 6 more inches as suggested above to let the drapery behind bed hang freely.

Inspiration:

Thank you for the photos for inspiration. Yes, I agree the room needs some custom drapes/ curtains and at the right height level.

Not necessarily custom if you don’t have the budget for it. You could order curtain panels and rods online. Just make sure you have a minimum of two panels on either side of each window for fullness, or panels that are double width (approx 100” wide). If hemming is needed to get the proper length and you don’t sew, you can use iron-on double-sided hemming tape (or you can even find press-on fabric tape). Keep us posted :)

We might suggest trying some different artwork, remove the mirror, trying different lamps, and trying lighter window treatments. Below we have a few bedroom designs we have done for our clients. Please take note of the lighting, artwork, and window treatments.

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