Howdy friends! If you've been following me on Instagram, you probably caught on to the fact that I spent last week in beautiful southern California! It was a fantastic vacation that Anthony and I got to share with 6 of our closest friends. Now that we're back in PA, we are ready to kick our home improvement projects into high gear! Today, I'm sharing some before photos and my design inspiration for our guest room. 

Now I bet you're asking, why is the guest room one of the first projects we are tackling? Wouldn't most people want to start with the master bedroom? Well, yes but since we are planning to upgrade to a king size bed in the near future, I decided we would just set up our current full size bed in the guest bedroom and sleep there for the first few months. This way, we won't have to take it all apart again to move it later! Once we do move into the master,  I'm looking forward to having a nice finished room to offer our out-of-town guests. Plus, we already have all the big pieces we need for this space, so it should be a fairly quick makeover to complete!

It's a decent sized room, with plenty of windows (which I love!) and the same basic beige carpet that runs through the rest of our house (which I'm not crazy about). I have big dreams to replace it with hardwoods someday, but for now it's staying. Here's a few more "before" photos:

My vision for this space really took shape after I found this midcentury oil painting while thrift shopping. The large scale is perfect for the space and the colors are gorgeous! It's oil on canvas-- not a print, so at under $20, I couldn't pass it up!

TIP: If you are looking for some statement art, check thrift stores first! You can often find large-scale, unique pieces for way less than what you would pay for just the frame at a craft store. 

My idea is to create a vintage, nautical-inspired room without making it feel too "theme-y" or too "thrift store-y". I want the room to feel decorated, but also minimal so guests will feel like they have room for their own things when they come to visit. I put together this little inspiration collage to illustrate the look I'm going for!

Sources: Chair | Dresser | Plant | Curtains 

Colors: Rainstorm | Blue Peacock | Raging Sea | Repose Gray

I've chosen some of my favorite colors for this room's design: navy, dark teal and jade green. 

Click here to see my top picks for dark teal home decor & accessories! 

I'll be painting the walls a very soft, pale gray to give the room a boutique hotel feel. The nightstands I found on craigslist earlier this year will finally be getting a makeover with some navy paint! For bedding, I'm picturing crisp white linens with pops of pattern, texture and jade green. I'm so excited to see this room come together! 

Everything in this room design will complement the ship painting. I find it's way easier to start envisioning a room once you have a "jumping-off" point to serve as inspiration!

How do you find inspiration for your decorating projects? Do you start with art or do you find your inspiration elsewhere?