Introducing…

The ONE ROOM CHALLENGE ~ FALL 2017

It’s that time of year again.  Nothing like a 6-week commitment to a ROOM to get ‘er done!  Thats what I love about the ORC. You have to report weekly on your project. Some serious accountability here, not to mention a little healthy competition among designer friends.

UPSTAIRS GUEST BEDROOM — a la MODERN BOHEMIAN BLUES

I’ve chosen to spruce up the upstairs GUEST BEDROOM which I would love to complete before Thanksgiving. We are hosting this year and have my dear friends coming from San Francisco. It is also our intention to rent it out periodically via AIRBNB starting 2018.

MY DESIGN CONCEPT:  MODERN BOHEMIAN BLUES

I am hoping to add a healthy dose of earthy blues and some white to the room.   It feels pretty traditional so I want to add some modern elements with my bedding, curtains, art and lighting.  Here are a few lovely inspiration shots to give you an idea of my direction.

This delicious room is by Ana Rosa. I love the blue walls and the rich mix of textiles. It”s calm and fresh.

This is a POTTERY BARN Room and again, I love the layers of blues, with some softer natural wood tones, whites and natural furs and fibers.

I can’t seem to enlarge this last picture, but it is from WEST ELM and again, I like the classic mix of blues and white, and the comfort of the striped ticking. It is not a formal, but a casual look that I am after.

If you want to follow along on Pinterest and see more inspiration shots and continual progress, here’s the LINK to my ORC FALL 2017 Board.

A little HISTORY on the room….

Our house is a 1906 House that at some point was converted into a duplex.  My Mother lived in the upper flat when we first bought it and my husband and I lived in the lower flat.  After several years with the twins who are now 10, our space became too small.  My Mother chose to move to a retirement home when she turned 80. So, her old living room became the GUEST ROOM.  The only thing we did when she lived there was refinish the ceiling, which was really rough, paint the walls and hang up the chandelier.

So, here’s what we’ve got to work with.   What you see when you walk in:

This beautiful trio of windows is my favorite thing about this room. We need some curtains!

And then, there’s the bed.  I found this Bernhardt bed on the app NEXTDOOR and got it for FREE. It is a rock solid hardwood sleigh bed, which seems to be on the out stylistically, but we are going to stick with it for now.  We are going to completely CHANGE Grandma’s old quilt and get some luscious, new BEDDING.

The accent table just doesn’t fit and we are going to need some SCONCES.

The bookcase while functional looks quite MESSY so we will try to address that as well.

The TRIM and the DOORS were never painted so we are going to freshen them up.

There are a few rough spots like this unfinished little door that lead to the utility room. Old houses have weird things like this.

 

That window trim is screaming for some paint.

I like this period French Wooden Chandelier, but somehow it needs to be refreshed. New shades, I think.

 

Then here is the awkward door out of the room into the stairwell that is the exit to the front of the house.  For almost 13 years we have ignored this stairwell and we are going to attempt to breath new life into it. The walls and stairs are a mess. I hope we can get through this aspect of the project even though I am reluctant to include it.  We just haven’t figured out how we will address the really messy walls. They are funky.  There seems to be really poorly applied wallpaper under the coat of paint and lots of seams, etc.   It needs some TLC, thats for sure.

And that light looks kind of scary.

Some fresh paint, trim work, lighting and art will improve this situation.

And there’s the door to the front porch, which has no relationship to our main door.

We have ignored it from day on so we’ll see what we can do.

Here is a close up of the trim work below. As you can see this is a well worn door.  The hardware is quite lovely though:)

So, here’ s my PLAN:

WEEK 1

Go to the Rebuilding Ctr to research doors for the Hallway

Paint exterior door?

Get new door? Curtain for door?

Prep and Paint hallway

Paint Walls & Ceiling

WEEK 2

Deal with the Stairs

New stairs runner?

Stencil/Stripes/Art on Walls?

Hang handrails

Paint Hallway doors and trim

WEEK 3

Paint Trim and Doors in Guest Bedroom

Install sconces and new chandelier shades

Finish trim on utilities closet

WEEK 4

Paint dresser indigo and repair crystal knobs

Rehang drapery hardware

Install New curtains

WEEK 5

Install Bedding/Pillows/Throw

Find a new Accent rug

Hang  Pictures/Art on TV Wall

Plants, finishing touches

WEEK 6

Final spruce and photograph!

So, I am quite anxious to get started as there is a lot to do!

Thanks for following along.  Check out all the incredibly talented ORC DESIGNERS this year as well as all of the many, many designers/bloggers like myself that have Taken the Challenge this year.

 

Best,

Suzanne