If it isn’t bad enough that guests are coming soon, consider the room they will be staying in during their horrible sojourn. That catchall storage place since the attic and basement filled up is a mess and hasn’t seen a guest since the last solar eclipse. Probably the best advice is to consider the guest room “a form of self-expression, which can be “worn” as writer, Peter Jensen, says, “as a great comfortable coat that may have a hole at the elbow.” This will allow you to forgive yourself for the way it looks, even if your guests won’t. (If they feel that way, there is one solution. Don’t invite them again.)
Consider the following ideas:
1. Freshen up the bed in the guest room.
Hang a musty comforter outside to air. (If it is raining, reconsider.)
2. Repair shades and blinds.
If the vinyl or paper window shades are a little torn, they can be repaired with, of all things, clear nail polish. A yellowing window shade can be made over by sponge painting it to match the walls or you can stencil it, using real leaves as patterns. Weave a grosgrain ribbon through plain blinds, which match or coordinate the colors of the room. This will give them confidence. They will come alive again, feeling pretty and meaningful.
3. Stubborn Curtains.
Tie back defiant curtains with wired taffeta ribbon and keep them tied until they promise to behave.
4. Dresser drawers.
Line dresser drawers with scented paper. Then stand back, smell and be proud.
5. The inside of closets need love too.
Paint the insides of a closet in a room-coordinating color. Do not get carried away and paint your guests, no matter how much better they may look afterwards. You may surprise yourself and find that in the end, the closet will look better open than shut.
6. Make a padded headboard.
Have the lumberyard cut a rectangle or arch of plywood and then staple some cotton batting and fabric around it. Try a matching sheet for desired effect, but avoid disobedient children. Attach it to the wall with L-shaped corner braces and voila!
There’s still time. The guests won’t be here until next week. Remember the words of Mark Twain. “Never put off until tomorrow that which you can put off until the day after tomorrow.”
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