The Garland Guest House is Ready!

Well after 3 months of hard work I’m delighted to say that our new vacation rental house is DONE! It’s been a work of passion to bless our guests and my love for a beautiful space. If you follow me on Instagram you’ve seen a lot of the project already, but there are quite a few things I’ve kept under my hat as a special treat for the guests!

For three months I’ve lived mostly in Garland, TX. That’s about a 6 hour drive from my home. Thankfully I wasn’t completely lonely because my daughter and her family live there and one of my sons lives there and I got to see them both a LOT. That made the whole project easier…to see them and the grands almost every day.

To make this idea work we enclosed the garage to make it into a small “apartment” (really more like a hotel room) for us to use. That area won’t be available to the guests. Really they should hardly know we’re there. They will have the whole main section of the house to themselves and complete privacy. When I’m there I’ll be tucked away in my little private space, ready to help the guests or visit with my kids who live nearby. It’s the perfect setup for us.

If you haven’t ever considered staying in Garland before, let me tell you I have really enjoyed these 3 months of getting to know the area. It’s only about half an hour from everything you need in the Dallas area (of course traffic makes a difference in commute times) and any food or shopping you need is 5-10 minutes from the house. As a country girl I thoroughly enjoyed being able to pop to Sam’s Club or Chipotle and be back home in under half an hour.

There are many parks and a couple of golf courses and movie theaters and a convention center all right there. Downtown Garland has music festivals and art events happening often.

And our little house is going to help you feel relaxed and pampered while you’re there. One of my most common comments from our guests in our other vacation rental is “I’m so inspired to go home and do some of these things in my house!” That is the best compliment I could get….I want my guests to leave feeling inspired!

Here’s a little about the living room at the Garland house. In the very beginning I went to the flea market and found these 3 vintage tall metal ceiling tiles. I thought they would make a great accent over the couch if I could figure out how to hang them. They were going to be my inspiration for the rest of the room. A couple of months later I was feeling stuck with that idea, staring at those tiles that were just propped in the corner every day and wondering how I could manage that project (I was all by myself without a helper about 90% of the time). A friend offered to come help me for a day and I decided that was the time to figure out those metal tiles. She helped me build a huge frame and attach the tiles and hang it securely to the wall. And I absolutely love how it turned out! They’re a one of a kind piece that I think really makes the room!

Behind the metal tiles I hung brick wallpaper (my friend also helped me with this!). The room was plain and kind of cold so I needed to add warmth and personality. I knew a brick wall would do the trick! I chose a pattern that was gray and white so it wouldn’t overwhelm the room. You have to find the balance between making a statement and being too much.

I also knew I needed to warm up the kitchen, since it is one large room. And that metal vent hood was begging to be wrapped in “barn wood”. We just used cheap 1x3s from the hardware store and stained them with several colors to make them look aged. Then we added them to the vent. What a difference!

We removed the door in the kitchen that leads to the garage and built a hidden bookcase door. It is a beautiful way to divide the two spaces. My son and I, after a LOT of research, spent 2 days building that bookcase door and I love the way it turned out!

All in all this house project has been fulfilling and I know it’s only the beginning. Now the guests will come and we get to be a tiny part of someone’s life. That is so amazing to me how God intertwines our lives with so many people in unexpected ways.

There are many more special features in this house that are going to be a blessing to our guests. I hope you can find a spot on our calendar and come visit!