ONE ROOM CHALLENGE: WEEK ONE April 3, 2014 | It’s that time again!!! The time when us crazies give ourselves 6 weeks (and in my case, a tight budget) to completely transform a room of our choice, and blog about it weekly along the way. I had such a fun time last go round transforming our Media Room, that there was no question that I would sign up again. Although quite a bit has changed since then…I’m now working PT, am chasing after a toddler, and get a whole lot less “nap time” than I did 4 short months ago, but our living room needs some serious love and this is the perfect way to kick myself in the rear to get it done! Let’s look at the pretty first, what do you say? I want brighter walls, pops of bold color and pattern, anchored pieces in solids and a light animal print rug to brighten the floor. I can’t shake my love for a bold black and white pattern, paired with fuchsias and emeralds, and maybe a chintz or two! Our living room is open to the kitchen and breakfast nook, so I will have to tie all of the spaces together with color and pattern. Here’s my inspiration: And the layout/current furniture situation: What stays: New charcoal grey sectional Table/club chairs (being re-finished/re-upholstered) Media Cabinet it built in What changes: Re-paint walls (white-ish…haven’t settled on a color…eeek) New pillows New X benches Re-upholster wingback recliner Drapes for LR windows (cornice board?) Drapes for nook bay windows (DIY faux romans?) New Rug Storage solutions for toys Re-style media cabinet Ceiling fan GOES, address replacement fixture Lamps, floor only? Art Okay and now for the before: The builder beige walls kill me. They reflect yellow-ish, gold-ish light in the afternoon sun and I despise it. I’m not a fan of yellow light. We all no no one looks good in it. This monstrosity was my big issue in this room. I’m convinced that I was young and venerable and me hubs got my a little tipsy on margs before we went shopping for this. I hate it so much. Don’t get me wrong, it was comfortable as all hell and pretty much turned into a bed….but really, microfiber with leather trim. What on earth was I thinking?! Happy she’s found a new home and was replaced with a much more scaled back sofa/chaise in a dark charcoal grey velvet. Here’s the breakfast nook in all of it’s messy glory. It does get the most amazing light though and I love it and don’t want to lose one bit of it. Okay, friends…there you have it my plans to update the highest trafficked space in our entire home. It needs to be bright, fun, livable and have some clever storage solutions. Let’s do this! Now you’re going to want to head over to Calling it Home and check out the amazing peeps listed below, as well as the rest of the link party here. You will be blown away by the talent out there! Abby M. Interiors Because it’s Awesome Bijou & Boheme Calling It Home Chez V Chinoiserie Chic Copy Cat Chic The Decorista Design Crisis Design Indulgence Design Manifest The English Room The Glam Pad Little Black Door Mimosa Lane My Notting Hill The Pink Pagoda Simple Details My Sweet Savannah Verandah House Thanks again Linda for hosting this! So follow along, won’t ya? Should be a fun and interesting 6 weeks with lots of DIYs, DIY fails, and coffee! Cheers!
House of Pemberley says April 3, 2014 at 11:23 AM Love the inspiration board. It's going to be great!
Kerry Steele- Design du Monde says April 3, 2014 at 12:01 PM Great ideas and I love the pink and green accents.
Linda {Calling it Home} says April 3, 2014 at 12:26 PM Hahahaha, it's Linda, not Pam :). You do have amazing sunlight. I think we all made those crazy sofa choices. Thanks for joining.
charmingincharlotte@gmail.com says April 3, 2014 at 12:36 PM OMG Linda I know that….I'm so sorry for being such a dingbat! This post was written entirely too late last night, and truly I forget my own name most days, so I hope you're not offended! And thanks for making me feel better about the sofa….I'm still going with the too many margaritas story 😉 This is going to be fun, can't wait to see your mudroom! xo
Beth of designPOST Interiors says April 3, 2014 at 12:34 PM Damn margaritas will get you in a bad place 🙂 Your plans look so good- can't wait!!
Kris @ Driven by Décor says April 3, 2014 at 12:39 PM Your inspiration board is amazing – love the black, white, and green color combo. And I'm feeling your pain on the builder's wall color – we had that color throughout most of our house and it's the worst. Looking forward to following along!
House Envy says April 3, 2014 at 1:19 PM looks like a great plan and lots of good inspiration! Can't wait to see the finished product!
Eris @ The Pink House Reno says April 3, 2014 at 1:54 PM We are two peas in a pod. I never get enough of animal print, floral, or black and white! And I never realized we had similar mantles/media cabinets. If you were staying in this house a while, I'd say paint it black 🙂 Looks awesome!
Improvement List says April 3, 2014 at 2:29 PM Love those pillows in the inspiration pic! Can't wait to follow your room again this time. I am sure it will turn out great!
Jen Gilday says April 3, 2014 at 2:41 PM Great mood board! Can't wait to see the progress! I'm re-doing our powder room…. Jen (Jen Gilday Interiors)athomeinthenorthwestblog.com
Rebecca { MyDarlingHouse} says April 3, 2014 at 2:41 PM Loving your mood board! Emerald, gold and leopard are some of my favs!
kate@willowinteriors says April 3, 2014 at 3:41 PM OMG, I love your color choices! This is going to look fabulous! Good luck!
Stacey {steward of design} says April 3, 2014 at 3:44 PM Great inspirational ideas. Will be following along.
Andrea says April 3, 2014 at 4:04 PM I absolutely love, love, LOVE your inspiration board! Palm leaves, black and white, leopard print, AND a flamingo?! It is too good!!! I am so excited to follow along!! XOXO,The Glam Pad
Darci Towns says April 3, 2014 at 4:19 PM The plans look great! Especially loving the drape choice 🙂 Looking forward to following along!
Casa Vilora Interiors says April 3, 2014 at 4:21 PM Your plan for the space is gorgeous! And you have great bones to work with. I will be following your progress for sure
Carrie @ Cosy Carolina Interiors says April 3, 2014 at 6:43 PM Your house has great bones! And I adore your design plan!! Totally my kind of space! 🙂
Elisa of Fancy Free Me says April 3, 2014 at 7:06 PM Loving your board! The trimmed romans will look great in your windows.
Ange says April 3, 2014 at 8:39 PM Visiting from the ORC link up. Love love love your inspiration board and can't wait to see what you do with it! I also love black and white with strong pops of color!
aquahaus says April 3, 2014 at 10:25 PM Your before is already pretty awesome, but the after should be spectacular!
Krista @ Goodwill Glam says April 3, 2014 at 11:02 PM Kelly green, floral and leopard?! Can't go wrong! I love this mix! I'm so excited to see this come together! XO,Kristahttp://www.goodwillglam.com
Tiffany says April 4, 2014 at 1:02 AM I love your inspiration board. It really drew me in. I'm really excited to see your room come together and I'm going to start following you:)
Lesley Metcalfe says April 4, 2014 at 4:06 AM Oh wow – I love everything about your plan and your design board is amazing. I'm dying to see this finished!
SHERRY HART says April 4, 2014 at 1:27 PM The colors on that board are killing me! I know you have your hands full but I know you can pull it off!!!
Krystine @ www.KrystineEdwards.com says April 4, 2014 at 9:01 PM The colors are awesome! I LOVE black & white with a pop of color, I'm doing the same for my one room challenge- cannot wait to see your work!
Kimberly Lemmon says April 5, 2014 at 12:16 AM Fab mood board. Love that floral print on the pillow!!
Madeline {Poppy Style} says April 7, 2014 at 4:07 PM love the ideas and colors! can't wait to see it all come together!
Elizabeth @ The Little Black Door says April 7, 2014 at 6:37 PM I so love your plan. This is going to look amazing, I can't wait!