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A Completed Wall + Office Organization

So I’ve been chipping away at the to-do list, and am excited to show you my completed guest room wall!

large DIY map for cheap

As a reminder, this is what the room looked like earlier this year…

guest bedroom/office

Quite a change!

Let’s just start from the top and work our way down.

Large antique map of Texas

You may recognize the giant Texas, it has been in our living room for about four years. I’ve gotten tired of seeing it over the couch and decided to move it over here. I second-guessed this decision constantly before actually moving it, because it is crazy huge and this is a small bedroom. I’m breaking all the rules of scale by putting it here, but it works. It more than works actually, I’m pretty in love with the way it turned out. (My husband and I made the map ourselves for about $30, you can read all the details here.)

White frames with southwestern art

Next to the Texas I have three white frames from Better Homes and Gardens at Walmart, which I think do a great job at keeping the whole setup from looking overly rustic. In the bottom frame is a longhorn print found on Etsy, the middle print is an abstract gold chevron design, and the top is a lizard picture I made about ten minutes before taking these pictures.

Next up we have to talk about the shelf, because it’s my new favorite thing.

rustic wood and metal bookshelf

It’s simple welded metal with live edge pecan for shelves, also bought from Etsy. It has all kinds of character…look at the worm trails on the edges. Awesome.

furniture with character

(Adam just informed me that they are made by something called a Wood-Boring Beetle, but I think “worm trail” is a fitting description, so I’m sticking with it).

fake succulents

I wanted succulents in this room, but I have the hardest time keeping them alive for more than a month or so. I keep hearing that succulents are supposed to be “impossible to kill!”, but mine either dry out and die from not enough water or get all soggy and die from too much water. I swear, my two-year-old is less finicky than succulents.*

*not a true statement

Anyway, these are fake and require zero attention, just like my four-year-old.*

*also not true

Next to the immortal plants is a salt lamp that my husband made for me when we were in high school. He even went way out of his way to find a tiny blue light bulb to put in it, to go with my horrendous blue star bedroom. So sweet right?

salt lamp

The bottom two shelves are the “office” part of this space. We gave away the large white desk that was in here previously, it was too big for the space and no one ever used it. Actually, I can’t say that no one ever used it…I used it to cram things in that I had no other place for. When we emptied it out the contents covered every surface in my kitchen. It was bad. I threw away most of it and just kept the things we actually use, which all fit nicely on this shelf. It feels great, plus I like that isn’t a place to hide things…I don’t trust myself with any type of small space with a door. Bad things happen behind closed storage doors.

open office storage

So, the middle shelf holds a basket full of letter-writing materials, including stamps, envelopes, address book, and cards. The little round box holds tape, a stapler, extra printer ink…stuff like that. On top of it is an antler my boys found while we were out land hunting the other weekend.

middle shelf organization

Next to that are some clear containers that hold other small stuff, like rubber bands, paper clips, thumb drives, and SD cards. They are actually BHG bathroom storage containers, but there work great here.

Bathroom organizers as office storage

The bottom shelf holds a giant margarita glass (or wine glass, pick your poison) full of pens, the printer, and a basket full of extra paper stuff…printer paper, lined paper, notebooks, etc.

bottom shelf organization

Lastly we have this plant that I used to try to balance out the fact that the Texas map way overhangs the shelf. This plant is real, it’s called a Mother-in-Law’s Tongue and it is really, honestly, cross-my-heart impossible to kill. The galvanized bucket I’ve had my eye on since seeing it at the BHG headquarters a few months ago, it looks great and you could use it for all kinds of stuff (and it’s only $12!). I filled mine with rocks from the backyard and plopped the plant and its original pot right in there. Done and done.

galvanized bin planter

Now allow me to squish myself into the closet and try a get a shot of the whole room so far…

Southwestern roomoffice (progress)

I love the direction it’s heading and can’t wait for the next steps! I think it’s safe to say that (at 18 weeks pregnant) I’ve officially gotten my energy back. It feels good to be on a roll again!

Southwestern Guest Room Project Links –

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14 Comments

  1. Very nice! I love the shelves, they are gorgeous. It’s great that you’re feeling so much better. :)

  2. This looks so pretty, I love the shelf that you bought! I also bought that bucket and am using it for a rubber plant, genius and I always get compliments on it. Your guest bedroom looks great!

  3. That shelf is my new favorite thing too! So cool. And I love that the TX map is bigger than the shelf and it’s not all symmetrical and perfect. Symmetry and perfection have their place, but this wall wouldn’t be nearly as awesome or fit nearly as well in the room without all the imperfect rustic character. Can’t wait to see how the rest of the room comes together!

  4. I love the grey themes to this room, we’ve nearly finished our bedroom with the same colour schemes. Would love to know your thoughts on my first ever home renovation.

  5. Haha I love that last pic–let me squish myself in the closet. What blogger hasn’t done that right?? I love your decor, it is so much like my style. I even used the galvanized bucket as a planter too. xoxo-Heidi

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