Ashley James shows how to transform an unloved spare room into a practical, blush-toned haven for guests
Looking to freshen up a gloomy guest room? Ashley has all the inspiration you could need
With hosting season fast approaching, you may be looking at your guest bedroom with dread. Don't fear; Ashley James has just delivered some serious style inspiration to turn any spare room into a blissful retreat.
Spare rooms have a habit of becoming hidden storage areas, or home to abandoned gym equipment. But once the festive period arrives, we want our guest rooms to feel more like a luxury hotel instead of a shed.
After sharing her bold blue living room makeover, activist and TV presenter Ashley James has delivered decorating inspiration again – this time with her pink room transformation. It boasts both personality and stylish functionality.
Sharing the pink room transformation on Instagram @Ashleylouisejames, she says: "Welcome to my pink room; come on up. The inspiration behind this room is Margate House; I bloody loved it there."
Pink is renowned as a happy paint colour, so we can seriously get behind Ashley's choice to colour-drench the entire room in the hue. "I’m so happy to have a pink room in my home again," Ashley beams.
"This is our guest room, for when family and friends come to stay, or when we all need a really good night’s sleep," she explains, of the attic room. "It’s been a bit of a storage heap since we moved in a couple of years ago, so we’re slowly turning it into a warm, welcoming space, especially for our parents."
"This bed belonged to my parents, who owned a B&B, and when my sister and I used to go stay, this was our favourite bed in the house. When they sold the house, this bed made it down here, and the whole room is worked around this bed," she explains.
If you've ever wondered how to combine an heirloom with contemporary style, this is a great technique. Work your room around the unique piece, and it'll never look out of place.
Very relatable; Ashley's renovation is not quite finished. But she has some great home organisation ideas for the space that will help utilise the spare room for extra clothing storage.
"This part of the room is actually very incomplete, so I'm going to do a big shoe wardrobe there. This is my favourite lamp in the house; it's from Pooky," she shows. Adding personality to your home can be as simple as a bold lamp or fun art print.
"So these will go, and I'm gonna get a big built-in chest of drawers here and then a big glass panel thing here just to give it a bit of a vibe to the room. Going to get curtains on the door," explains Ashley.
"We've got an attic room, so we've got these cupboards into the eaves, so I have just put these lovely little wooden buttons on. And whilst we're down here, we've got new carpet, which will be the carpet that I have all through the house," she adds.
"On the other side is just a rail with Tommy's clothes, but it's going to be a wardrobe. I think I'm going to block this space off and panel it, have a thing where you can pop it off so that you can put suitcases or Christmas decorations in there," Ashley says.
Although custom cabinetry can get expensive, it's a real lifesaver for storage solutions. And if you've got the spare space in a guest room, it can help ensure none of it is going to waste, and it's used in a neat, stylish way, too.
