Out of Africa -- Guest Room Makeover

A credenza with items collected from around Carol's home.

Carol recently inherited her mother-in-laws furniture and accessories and was overwhelmed with how to put it all together with the things she already owned. She wanted to keep the old treasures while also creating an updated look. Carol is clever and has an eye for decorating, she just wanted a second eye and helping hand.

Carol's guest bedroom before.

First project: the guest bedroom.

I brought Elizabeth, my assistant decorator-in-creativity to help. Working with Carol, we started with an inspiration piece, actually several. We hunted around the home and found treasures of animals and ethnic pieces that quite naturally set the theme for our room: "Out of Africa".

Carol's Guest room after.

Only thing missing was a headboard.

Carol liked the idea of an antique door turned horizontally to form the headboard, so we headed off to the ReStore to find an old door. Only trouble was we didn't see any we liked. They were either not the right size or color. I suggested we think of something else. Carol saw the shutters...and our minds started turning. Shutters reminded us of a plantation in Africa...OK, so the shutters work, ditch the door idea!

Carol's guest room headboard made of old shutters and baseboard molding found in salvage yard.



Mr.Murphy, one of the helpful volunteers at the ReStore.

Mr. Murphy, who volunteers at ReStore, was so helpful to gather and hold our pieces together so we could view it from a few steps back. We played with white shutters, but they would not piece together to the size we needed. We eyed some black painted baseboard molding pieces and played around until we created a pattern and size we liked.

I love how the black molding works with the white shutters. The black and white headboard works nicely to bookend with the zebra rug Carol placed at the bottom of the bed.

Our headboard cost under $20 for materials. Each average size shutter at ReStore is under $5! I think it looks like much more!

Close-up shot of Carol's headboard.


Stay tuned for more makeovers in Carol's place!

ABC's Extreme Makeover, Home Edition -- watch this Sunday

l to r, Sara Zigman and Joni Spears, designers who collaborated for the Haven of Grace project. Their children's room is pictured above. Furnishings provided by Zigman, Three Little Ziglets, who also provided furnishings for ABC's Extreme Home Makeover, Home Edition

I have two really good reasons to watch ABC's Extreme Makeover, Home Edition this Sunday.

First, Ashley Furniture Homestore, where I work part-time as a customer specialist,in Kirkwood MO donated the furnishings for most all the rooms in the home.

Second, friend Sara Zigman, whom I first met on the Haven of Grace project, will be one of the featured designers, showcasing her children's room furnishings.

Sara Zigman with her darling handpainted chair.

Learn more about Sara's participation, read her press release:

LOCAL DESIGNER ANSWERS CALL FOR “EXTREME MAKEOVER” FAMILY

ST. LOUIS, MO (September 10, 2008) – St. Louis designer Sara Zigman of Three Little Ziglets answered the call from ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” to help create a dream room for the Martirez family’s 7-year-old daughter. Zigman was contacted late Sunday night by the show’s lead designer, and asked to donate items from Three Little Ziglets’ C’est Chic collection. 30 hours later, Zigman delivered with 15 pieces of custom, hand-painted furniture and a complete set of made-to-order bedding and window treatments.

Once Zigman and five of her artisans worked through the night to complete the request, her work was not done. Zigman was pressed into service on-site at the new Martirez home, painting unique motifs on the walls and helping to stage the adorable room. Three Little Ziglets’ total donation of goods and services total over $10,000.

Named for Zigman’s triplet daughters, Three Little Ziglets’ unique brand of children’s furnishings features hand painted furniture, made to order bedding and movable wall murals. Each collection is designed to grow with children from infancy through the elementary years. Zigman is the winner of recent design awards from Pregnancy Magazine, StyleBakery.com and Metier Magazine. Stylish moms can easily outfit an entire room with one-stop-shopping at the online boutique www.threelittleziglets.com.