Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Doing the side table shuffle

This is our guest room, which we call "Cissy's room" since that little beast always parks her butt on top of all of those pillows.

(note: yes, I know, the puke yellow walls...it's actually a pretty color in person, I SWEAR! Whenever I see the pictures I've posted online, it makes me cringe and want to repaint it all. Then I walk into the room and it looks really good. Maybe if I took pics during the day with natural light it would look better, but I never blog during the day. ;) So you'll just have to look at the wretched color since I took the picture just now..ha!)



When we first bought the house, I had a cute black iron day bed in there, and so that black iron side table matched it. Then a few years ago we bought a new bedroom set for our room, and we moved this wood bed into the guest room. (Isn't it gorgeous?! It's an antique from the 1800s. I love how the headboard is very tall. My parents bought this bed when *they* were first married in 1970. It was painted a horrible yellow color and my dad stripped it one summer and stained it. They used it for years, and then I got to use it when I was in high school. When I moved into my first apartment, my mom let me have it. Technically, I guess it's still "their" bed, but not really. You know how that goes.)

(note: ignore electrical wires and crap on the table, thanks..ha)



For a while now, I've been wanting to get something else to use as the side table. But hubs always thinks that's unnecessary when the thing we have is functional as is. The iron table is cute. I still like it. But it was just too small for that massive bed.

Then tonight an idea hit me. I have this antique tea cart that I'd been using as a TV stand in our bedroom (until I rehabbed this antique nightstand) to use instead. Since that rehab, the tea cart was relegated to the garage, where it's been collecting dust. I pulled it into the kitchen and cleaned it up. When I put it next to the bed, it seemed to fit the space perfectly.



This allowed me to put a couple of quilts on the shelf below, which will come in handy if guests get cold during the night (the pink quilt was made by my grandmother and the blue one was made by my mother and her quilting group. Both were given to us as wedding gifts, and they are very special).

The top of the tea cart was pretty gnarly and scratched up. Then I remembered I'd bought this rattan tray for $1 at a garage sale earlier this spring. It's been sitting in a pile on the floor of my craft room taking up space. I tried it out, and it was the exact size to fit the top of the tea cart and cover up all of the blemishes.

So, what do you think? Is the round iron table better, or the antique tea cart? Or is there too much wood in here now, because I have this armoire in the corner:




(ok, so this older photo makes the paint color look *slightly* less garish...slightly..it's closer to the "real" color....similar to that famous peanut something-or-other and tobacco road, but a smidge darker)


I know you bloggers always have good opinions!

26 comments:

Megan {The Brick Bungalow} said...

I really like the tea cart and tray. It goes with the antique feel of the bed. Way to use what you had!!

Anonymous said...

tea cart for sure!! love it!! by the way, love the yellow walls!

Jenni said...

I love it! I think the tea cart is PERFECT in your guest room! I also think that is fantastic that the tray fit just right to put on top of the tea cart! Between the armoire, tea cart and that gorgeous antique bed, the room has so much character! I don't think it's too much wood at all! :)

Amy @ Keep'n The SunnySide said...

I definitely like the new (old) table with tray. Blends better. Good think'n pulling that out of the garage, and no cost.. hub's will be happy about that right? ;0)

Sunny said...

I love the tea cart and tray. Looks mag!

Lucky in Love said...

I love the tea cart...it looks perfect there!

Jenni said...

ack! i am jealous! love, love LOVE it!

Pleasant Living said...

Hey, I have that iron table from IKEA. I like it, but I don't love it. I much prefer the antique tea cart. Great idea!

Ally's Corner said...

I like the antique tea cart so much better.It goes so well with the bed.

Ally

Pat said...

I also like the tea cart better. I love the bed too.
Hugs,
Pat

Manuela@A Cultivated Nest said...

Love the tea cart! I really like that you put quilts on the shelf. What a great place to store and display them!

Manuela

said...

I think the tea cart is much better. The woods seem to match fairly well and the scale is right on. I like it. :)

I need some help as well. Care to stop by? http://designonpost.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/help-me/

Gwen said...

I love the tea cart because it fills the space so much more!

Kendra @ Domestic Princess in Training said...

Hey!

Looking forward to meeting you tonight. Should be a FUN time!

Kendra

Elyse said...

Just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed meeting you tonight and can't wait to see what else you have up your sleeve. I love the tea cart, btw!
~Elyse

Nicole said...

Had a great time hanging out with you last night! Take care!
Nicole

Frugal Jen said...

What a great room! It was wonderful meeting you at the blog party. We've got to meet up and do some bargain shopping!

Dina said...

I love the wall color! Thanks for driving such a long way to hang out last night! It was so great to meet you!

Kb_Mal said...

The tea cart is great (especially with the tray on top). Don't change it for the world!

Shell in your Pocket said...

I have a tea cart and I love it!
sandy toe

Anonymous said...

I have the same black side table! I think I've moved it around my house about 20 times and it works everywhere! I really enjoyed meeting you at the blog party. We need to get together and meet for lunch and to hit GoodWill.

Britt said...

That looks beautiful! My parents have a very similar bed (also really old) and I've always liked it. Looks great!

Kendra @ Domestic Princess in Training said...

Hey! It was great meeting you the other day. I was looking for you before I left to say bye but I think you were already gone. I would LOVE to get together for some thrifting or walking around downtown McKinney! We should meet at Spoon sometime.

Kendra

I'm going to follow your blog so we can keep up with each other :o)

Kate Kubler said...

tHanks for stopping by my blog! I too am the wife of a musician! And always a Groupie! Haha. Be sure to follow me, I'll be posting alot of new projects this week! Happy Blogging!

Bill said...

It appears that the tea cart is the winner of your poll ... add my vote to the others!

My bedroom walls are a similar color to yours and do the same color shift at night. I thought I was going to re-paint, but decided to try the room with furniture, pictures, and accessories. I've decided I like it now (although I do like it better in daylight hours!).

Carolyn said...

Wow! That looks perfect! I recently found your blog and I love it.