We just found out our first overnight guests are arriving at the end of the month, and our guest room currently looks like this:
Not acceptable — especially since the guests are my in-laws.
Sherry’s mom and stepdad are traveling from New York to Richmond for some much-anticipated time with Clara, so we suddenly have a firm deadline to make the guest room usable. Two weeks isn’t long, and we don’t expect to finish every project, but we do have practical goals to make the space welcoming:
- Clear out all the junk (confirm the Habitat for Humanity ReStore pickup and move the remaining items into the playroom)
- Buy a mattress and box spring plus an inexpensive bed frame (temporary for now; we might build a custom frame later)
- Use existing bedding to dress the bed
- Add a shower curtain and other bathroom essentials (towels, a new toilet seat cover, etc.)
Completing these items will at least make the room functional. My nightmare scenario is asking Sherry’s elegant, old-world Italian parents to sleep on the office fold-out couch—picture Giacomo LaPadula and Diana DeCesare LaPadula crammed next to our laptops in a room without doors. No, thank you.
Because we do enjoy a challenge (and occasionally crack under pressure), here are some “extra credit” projects we’d love to do if time allows:
- Paint the room
- Hang curtains
- Add a nightstand and a table lamp
We don’t expect to complete all of these extras, but listing them helps prioritize and gives us something to aim for. Ideally the room will feel finished when they arrive, though realistically the space currently looks like a bifold door convention and Nona and PopPop will likely be focused on Clara more than the bedding. Either way, wish us luck as we race to get the guest bedroom ready!
P.S. We announced this week’s giveaway winners. If you participated, check the original post to see if you’re one of them.