A Layered Retreat - My ORC Room Now

Hello!  Boy have I been going through ORC withdrawal.  I was pumped when Linda suggested that we do a 'where are they now?' type of linking party for the One Room Challenge Now.  Can not wait to see how everyone's spaces have evolved since we have last seen them. As for my bedroom, I am happy to report that it has remained much the same since the big reveal in November with only a few tweaks here and there.

If you will recall, I chose our master bedroom for the makeover.  It had been woefully ignored in the design hierarchy of our home and I decided it was high time to have a refuge in which to retire at days end - one that appealed to both my girly girl magpie sensibilities and those minimalist contemporary leanings of my mister.  Oh who was I kidding?!  I do not do minimal.  Armed with a vision of an adventurer's British Colonial-style retreat that skillfully juxtaposes the traditional with the exotic, shiny with muted, and masculine with glam set against a theatrical backdrop of layered pattern and color along with collected things, my goal was to create a cocooning space. With absolutely zilcho redeeming architectural interest, I decided to go totally dark and glossy resulting in paintmaggedon that threatened to end in divorce. #jokingnotjoking.  For that sob story, go here and click through WK1 through WK5 links.  Because seriously, I did not have paint on my walls until 3 days before the reveal and it was getting sporty.

What is new in this shot is that you can actually see the true color of the walls which is a deep green.  It was raining cats and dogs the day I shot for the reveal so a lot of folks thought the walls were black.

wall color - Ralph Lauren Deep Pool VM120 mixed in Benjamin Moore Aura semi-gloss | trim - Benjamin Moore White Down OC131 mixed in Aura semi-gloss |vintage chandelier - Vintage 937 | jute rug - Rugs USA | persian area rug - Home Emporium | chintz curtains - IKEA | woven blinds - Home Depot | abstract art - Jenny Andrews-Anderson

New here is my vintage ceramic Italian cheetah.  I am quite smitten. After lamenting over a missed zebra last year, I swooped him up like he was the last loaf of bread at Publix during a polar vortex.

ceramic Italian cheetah - Pedigree Consigments | dresser (old) - mine from childhood | knobs (old) - Anthropology | vase turned lamp base - Pedigree Consignments | lamp parts - Grand Brass

headboard - Tuesday Morning | foo dog lamps - Jonathan Adler for JC Penny | lampshades - IKEA | Ranarp sconces - IKEA | etchings (old) - Brass Armadillo | sidetable - Target | diamond matelasse duvet & bedskirt (old) - Target | mirror (old) - Home Goods

Looky loo.  After fawning over the abstract portraits that Kerry Steele whipped up for her gallery wall during the last ORC, I am over the moon to now have one for myself. Seriously. Sort of in love with how the modern abstract lines play against that old ornate frame that I picked up years ago.  Hording has its privileges.  And for those that follow along on Insta - you will recognize my busted bust that I smashed while trying to shoot this reveal in November.  I could not bare to part with her so she has assumed a ravished Juliet vigil under her modern day Romeo.

vintage chair (old) - Brass Armadillo | pillow (old) - custom | ceramic elephant (old) - from my childhood home | floor lamp (old) - Ballard Designs

compote - vintage | tray & teal stack bracelets (old) - Furbish Studio | candle - Diptyque | all other jewelry - vintage

euro pillows - custom | dragon tassel lumbars - handblocked by me | needlepoint pillow (old) - custom | coral shams - Stein Mart and monogrammed by me | crewel throw (old) - custom

stool - Home Goods | DVF tray - TJ Maxx | candle - Heyland & Whittle

The mister thought I was bonkers throughout the whole process but in the end, all the disparate pieces came together and totally work for us. In spite of all the layers, he loves it as much as I, and convincing him of the dark color, let alone the chintz curtains, was no small feat!  In fact, he thinks the rest of the house now looks like a dump.  Wha wha wha…

Head over to Calling it Home to see what's new with everyone on the One Room Challenge Now.

All photos and styling by Emily Vanderputten

kisses,  mrs. V

Friday Fun Nuggets and Some Chez V Love

Happy Friday!  So I have a few fun nuggets to share with you today. First, I promised you kind folks the great story about locating the elusive Ranarp sconces for my ORC bedroom.  If you will recall from this post, both Elizabeth from Little Black Door and myself were feverishly hunting for them as they were sold out EVERYWHERE. Well pretty please with sugar on top kindly head on over to Little Black Door for Fess Up Friday to hear our story about locating the coveted Ranarps through the kindness of strangers!

Next up, my ORC bedroom is being featured on a little house tour over at Julia Ryan, the brilliance formerly known as Pawley's Island Posh. Um, major!   Please go check it. 

Moving right along, the lovely Linda, blogger extraordinaire of Calling It Home and mastermind behind the One Room Challenge tagged me yesterday on one of those THINGS YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME kind of posts.  So I need to get on that pronto.  Maybe two posts in one day?!  Oh who am I kidding – all this love is going right to my big fat head.  Answers coming soon!

So, yes, I'm feeling pretty legit right about now with all this Chez V love because I have massive respect and admiration for these uber talented lady friends.  To be featured on their blogs is huge for little ol' Chez V. Forgive me the humble brag!  This ORC has been a lot like The Giving Tree, just keeps giving and giving.

And finally, to pass the love on, I was so happy to hear that Scot Meacham Wood is getting an editorial of his swoon-worthy home in the December issue of House Beautiful.  Seriously.  This man can layer a room like no other!  And that wall color!  Gah!  What a design talent!  So well deserved Scot!  Can not wait for mine to arrive in the mailbox!

So again, Happy Friday folks!  Go spread the love today!

kisses,  mrs. V

ORC Reveal Part Deux

Well gee whiz, thank you all so much for the incredible feedback on my ORC room.  What a whirlwind!  To be completely honest, there were many moments when I doubted whether I could pull it all together in time.  Staring down the barrel of WK5 with no paint yet on the walls put a serious hitch in my optimistic giddyup.    But in the end, the room exceeded even my expectations.  I am so so in love with the way everything came together - which is a great thing since I happen to be the client in this case.

 

As a matter of fact, I am having ORC withdrawal.  I have forgotten how much I thrive when working on a deadline.  I might be a procrastinator extraordinaire in many areas but throw a challenge and a deadline at me and I will attempt to run through brick walls to find a solution.  The experience and lessons learned during my corporate days in lean manufacturing as a problem-solving expert come in handy every now and again.

But back to the room.  I promised to share sources and stories about the pieces with you, and so I shall soon enough.  But first, some more vignette shots that did not make it in on reveal day as well as some sunny ones I took today because last Wednesday was raining cats and dogs when I shot the reveal pics.  So the room was not captured in its best light, so to speak.

  

Tomorrow we will take a look back at the BEFORES and my original design plan compared with the finished result as well as covering the sources in the room.  Thank you again for the overwhelming support!  Love ya, mean it!

kisses,  mrs. V

The Big Reveal - WK6 ORC Challenge

The big day is here kiddos and the big question is, ‘did she or didn’t she get that damn room painted?!’  I know, I know, enough about the damn paint already.  First things first, a huge shout out to my mother from another mother, Linda from Calling it Home for orchestrating the ever popular ORC and for extending the link up opportunity.  What a great and terrifying ride it has been.  Sort of nervous for the big reveal but I super love the results and now have a enveloping sanctuary to retire to at day’s end.  I feel like it is very close to the original design plan I put together.  To start from the beginning, click the links below:  

WK1

WK2

WK3

WK4

WK5

 

I chose our master bedroom for the makeover as it has been woefully ignored since the day I moved in to Chez V 8 yrs ago.  I operated with a major budget and all the work was done by the V’s – meaning the mister, myself, and my in-laws.  Most of the items are vintage, having been collected over time and borrowed from other areas of my house and others are from discount places like IKEA, Home Goods, Home Emporium, RugsUSA, and Tuesday Morning.  Almost all the artwork I have had for some time with the exception of the incredible Jenny Andrews Anderson piece of MFAMB which I purchased late one night a few weeks ago and seriously, it is everything - it is my 4th piece of hers and I just love her work so.  I purchased the African etchings that are hanging above the bed 7 yrs ago, knowing that the right opportunity would present itself and they turned out to be perfect for the Old World chinoiserie safari vibe I had in mind.

 

I created a dragon block print for lumbar pillows, handpainted gold detailing, and made tassels to give them a little extra oomph.  I am also happy to report that my lighting sitch turned out spectacularly. The coveted Ranarps were located thanks to Elizabeth of Little Black Door, I succeeded in turning the vase I found at a consignment shop into a lamp, and the foo dog bedside lamps provide a humorous counterpoint to the oh so amazing scene stealing chandelier, which I located at an antique mall months ago and with which I am having a full on love affair.  But enough with the details, more pictures…

I will be following up with a more detailed post covering lessons learned, paintmaggedon, sources and any how-to's in which you might be interested.  Just give me a shout in the comments.

Many thanks to you for checking in with me each week.  Your support has been pivotal in keeping me on track.  I would be totally remiss if I did not thank my husband and my in-laws, without whom none of this would have come together.  To my mommacita, for instilling your hoarding tendencies as I was able to pull this room together with mostly collected and childhood items as well as a few of yours. ;)  And last, but certainly not least, to my 5 yr old who patiently put up with my craziness this week and gladly ate PB & Js 4 nights in a row.  Muchas gracias mi familia!

Let’s go check out everyone else’s reveal!

All photos taken by me

kisses,  mrs. V