A trip to visit the grandparents at home might conjure up images of flowery wallpaper and outdated armchairs—but one Maryland family has upended that stereotype with a boutique-worthy makeover.
The couple, who live in Silver Spring, MD, enlisted the help of Dana Schwartz of the Washington, DC-based Dana Schwartz Design, to redesign the four empty bedrooms previously occupied by their now-adult children.
Each unit has been transformed into a unique guest suite—and there’s a beverage bar in the hallway.
The wake-up call that led to a makeover
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for change for this couple.
They bought their home 20 years ago while raising their own family. The home hasn’t been refreshed since then.
“My clients came to me because they wanted to convert their four children’s former bedrooms into guest suites for visiting family and the many guests that they entertain throughout the year,” says Schwartz.
During the pandemic, one of the children and their family needed to stay for a few months, which highlighted the need for a makeover.
“Each room before was designed very much for children under 20 years old—bunk beds, twin beds, desks, etc.—not conducive to adults staying in the spaces, which was the most important thing to my clients,” says Schwartz.
“Pretty much everything had to go.”
Bringing the best of hotel living home
Schwartz’s well-traveled clients immediately liked her idea of turning the rooms into something you’d find in a small, stylish bed-and-breakfast.
“The four bedrooms were acting as guest suites for visitors, so I came up with the idea of designing each room to have its own unique personality—like at a boutique hotel—to create an experience for their guests,” says Schwartz.
“The theme of each bedroom focused around the wallpaper, which were the first items we selected.”
From there, everything came together. Now, their home is not just guest-ready, it’s getaway-ready.
“I’ve heard from my clients that their grandkids visit often and call dibs on certain rooms now based on the themes, which is very exciting for me to hear as a designer,” says Schwartz.
With that in mind, here’s how Schwartz transformed this home—room by room—from tired to trendy!
Bedroom one: From safari to subtle
The redesign goal for this safari-inspired room was to make this a space where male guests would feel more at home. Based on the selection of a unique Phillip Jeffries wallpaper with a paint-drip look, this room was redone in a tone-on-tone dark blue.
“Once we selected the wallpaper, the main focus of the design in this space was my client’s grandmother’s vintage headboard,” says Schwartz.
“It wasn’t in great shape and was a very old brassy color, so we had it refinished into a high-gloss blue that matched with the Phillip Jeffries wallpaper.”
The final detail to complete the monochromatic, masculine vibe was to frame the windows with a heavy velvet curtain.
Bedroom two: From camo to calm
While spacious, the second bedroom had a chaotic feel with ropes on the ceiling, racetracks, a trundle bunk bed, and camouflage on the walls.
The clients wanted this space, including an en suite bathroom, to take on a new, feminine style.
“We selected a silvery magnolia wallpaper for this room, which really created a chic, tranquil space,” says Schwartz.
That Phillip Jeffries wallpaper became a showstopper when paired with Benjamin Moore’s Elephant Gray paint as the accent color for the trim and built-in closet.
The light blue headboard was selected to pull in the blue from the bathroom vanity so that the spaces flowed with each other. The bathroom makeover was equally dramatic and changed the ambiance of the room from chaotic to calm.
“We used an amazing blue porcelain in the bathroom, which balances the custom full-wall headboard in the bedroom,” says Schwartz.
Bedroom three: From fuzzy to funky
The third and fourth bedrooms have a shared bathroom, so it made sense to make at least one of the rooms grandkid-friendly.
The redesign emphasized fun and functionality.
“It was really important to my clients to be able to sleep as many people as possible, so fitting four twin beds into the space made the most sense,” says Schwartz.
However, even though this room was to become the “kids’ fun retreat,” Schwartz didn’t want it to feel too young.
“Obviously, the kids will grow up, and we didn’t want the space to feel juvenile like the bedrooms we were converting did,” says Schwartz.
With all that in mind, they started this room’s refresh with a colorful ombre Arte wallpaper. Then they pulled yellow and teal out as accents in the bunk bed upholstery and ceiling paint.
Bedroom four: From floral to fashionable
The fourth bedroom gave off a “Little House on the Prairie” vibe in its previous incarnation.
The room refresh was bold.
“My clients are not afraid of color, so we had fun with the Phillip Jeffries palm wallpaper and then balancing jewel tones in this space like the teal sectional,” says Schwartz.
This space now acts as a TV and social area that connects with the bunk room, but it also doubles as another bedroom when needed.
“It was important to my clients to have a flexible lounge space for their guests, but for it to also act as an extra bedroom if they needed the space for a nanny or additional guests,” says Schwartz.
Those desires led to the acquisition of a custom purple Murphy bed from Resource Furniture, which makes this room ready for anything!
Bonus: The beverage bar
To round out their makeover, Schwartz says, her clients wanted to add a luxury they personally enjoy while traveling—a beverage bar.
The idea was to spare their guests the trouble of going down to the kitchen in the middle of the night.
“We created custom cabinetry that includes a refrigerator drawer and a freezer drawer for the base, and the sink includes a hot/cold/bubbly water faucet to allow for multiple drink options for their guests,” says Schwartz.
“The majority of time, guest rooms are used for a night or two. But when there are longer-term visitors, having the same comforts you have in your own home simply feels like a hug of comfort.”
Kimberly Dawn Neumann is a journalist based in New York City and the author of hundreds of articles on home-related topics for major publications, including Forbes, Real Simple, and Realtor.com. For more information, visit www.KDNeumann.com or IG @dancerscribe.
Realtor.com
MAY 9, 2025
