McMillan Bed & Breakfast: Now Open for Business

As you know from a previous post, our garage was never really a garage. When we bought our house, the garage was the first room I remodeled . . . on paper. It was going to be my laundry-sewing-scrapbooking-utility-storage-mudroom extraordinaire. Other rooms and projects took precedent, but finally last fall I really began to move towards my dream in earnest. Damon wasn't convinced that we were ready for this home improvement project, but I knew that with some paint, an area rug, and rearranged furniture, I could make a big difference without pulling out a power tool or any dry wall mud. (That can come a little later.)

I painted the walls a cheery yellow and the dull brown cabinets a crisp white. Old plywood cupboards were freecycled and new free-standing ones put up for all the food storage. More and more items have gradually been moved to the shed for storage or sent off to the local thrift store.

The dream room has evolved over time, since originally we intended to build a new garage and make it attach through the existing garage, creating a large mudroom. When we put in a front yard instead of a new garage, we began to look at our "utility room" as a potential guest room. When Damon's parents decided to visit us at the beginning of June I had already been working hard on the room, but suddenly had an imminent deadline that really motivated me.

I've scoured all our photos of the house looking for a "before" shot of the garage, but only found this one. It doesn't really show a view of the part of the garage that has become our "guest room," but it shows you the lovely paneled walls.Here is a photo I took on Friday, June 5--two days before Damon's parents were scheduled to arrive--just after moving all the furniture and other items in preparation for laying carpet. I purchased a large remnant and some padding at the warehouse of a local carpet store on Friday morning and then worked the rest of the day at getting the room ready for our guests.

Have you ever laid carpet before? It is hard work!!

. . . but so satisfying! I'm really proud of my work, and it feels great underfoot.

Here's a view of the "room" when guests are not expected. The table is ideal for crafting and sewing.

The McMillan White Salmon B&B is now ready to accommodate overnight guests in their own private room. Please visit as soon as you can!

Future improvements: drywall to cover the studs in the new wall; a Murphy bed instead of an air mattress (we already have the frame!); a privacy curtain to further divide the "guest room" from the laundry/storage area of the garage.