One Room Challenge Fall 2017 - Final Reveal

The big day is here!  Final reveal day of The One Room Challenge™.  So glad that I dusted off this antiquated blog to dive headlong into another ORC – it was just the motivation I needed to give my daughter’s room some attention. The Whirling Dervish finally got her big girl room. To catch up on the whole transformation, click through the links the below:

WK1 | WK 2 | WK 3 | WK 4 | WK 5 | WK 6 | WK 7

The plan was to create  a bedroom to match her old-soul big personality – a room that is both beautiful and functional. She is a budding collector and artist so we were after a colorful but sophisticated space that has staying power to transition her Smells Like Teen Spirit years.  I think I achieved that.

She absolutely loves it and I hope you do too!  For once I will spare you the witty banter and get right to the pictures...

I should mention that the closet overhaul is absent from the reveal because we are not done with it.  Some of the custom elements could not be installed in time and the whole point of the room was to make it both beautiful and functional so we did not want to compromise the custom build - which comprises most of the storage in the room - just to get something in place for reveal day.  The good news is that I will have more fun stuff to share later - a part two, if you will.

All sources are listed below. I will update this post later with active links for items that are available.  Many of the antique or vintage items I already had in my collections. For custom items, I will link fabric and shop sources, where applicable. Please note, none of the listed items were provided so I highly recommend as I purchased them all.  I am especially pleased with the level of service and workmanship from Lisa at Cruel Mountain Designs.  She turned my custom pleated lampshade order around quickly when my original ikat fabric was shipped in the wrong color.  Can't wait to order more pleated shades from her!  Additionally, the Raoul Textiles pillow ordered from KLineDeco arrived very quickly. Lastly, a shout out to my dear friend Trudi who whipped up the lumbar pillow and Rhododendron accent pillow in literally less than one hour on short notice.  Life saver!

Thank you so much for following along the past 7 weeks.  I had forgotten how much fun I have blogging.  Perhaps this will spur me on to finally launch my official website.  Many thanks to Linda at Calling it Home for organizing another smashing round – what incredible transformations from not only the 20 featured designers but also from my fellow guest participants.  Serious talent all around.  Great job everyone!

Media Partners - House Beautiful; Home Love Network

One Room Challenge Fall 2017 - WK 6

Welcome back for week six of The One Room Challenge™.  To get caught up, you can click through the links below:

WK1 | WK 2 | WK 3 | WK 4 | WK 5 | WK 6 | WK 7

Holy crap.  I’m behind.  How is this even possible?  Even with the extra week.  I am still behind.  I suppose it is because I underestimated the amount of time it would take me to cut fabric. Wait, what?

Well remember that whole ‘I don’t usually measure’ crap from Week 2?  It seems when you are sewing stuff, measurements are kinda, sorta, super important.  Side eye.  So I’ve had a bit of performance anxiety about cutting the fabric for roman shades because I only have so much of it with no room for error.  After exhaustively researching many methods for constructing relaxed romans, my take away is this:  get a damn professional to do it. 

Only, it’s too late for that, so I am pressing on and on and on after calculating more lengths and widths and seams and centers and rings than in my entire HS geometry year.  After much wringing of hands and a million measurements later, I finally cut the first roman today and it took me ALL DAY. The most time-consuming part was getting the dang pattern centered and positioned where I wanted it based on the finished hang length.  And now to match that exactly for the second shade…

At least the lining is cut and sewn for the weight rod pocket for both shades.  After I get the second roman cut tomorrow, I will attach the lining to the face fabric and hand sew the rings for the operating mechanism – which will probably be about as much fun as the time I decided to make a bunch of pom poms by hand.  Not.

After all this labor-intensive fussing, I am going to wear these dang shades around like Scarlet O’ Hara, albeit more Carol Burnett than Vivien Leigh.  When anyone asks I will simply reply: ‘I saw it in the window and I couldn’t resist.’

In other progress news, we hung the Ballard Designs Atoll mirror. Funny aside, when I posted a picture of the mirror last week on my IG, Ballard asked if they could share the photo and I said 'of course' and figured they would share it on one of their IG accounts.

While making a template of the mirror to determine where we needed to drill holes, I got on the website to find out the exact dimensions and saw the picture of the room on Ballard's website - which was totally weird because at first I didn't put two and two together and wondered how in the world they had  a lampshade that looked just like my custom one.  Blonde, much? 

I finally decided on a reading chair.  It arrived over the weekend and is in place but you will have to wait until next week to see it because I forgot to snap a picture of it today.  While I had always envisioned a wing back, the smaller size of the chair I ordered works so much better.  The mister, after reading a few nights worth of bedtime stories in it, has pronounced it to be pretty perfect but that a small footstool or ottoman would be nice.  If you give a mouse a cookie…  

Now that the rug is in place, I am loving it more and more.  The colors are perfect in the room and the pattern will work to mask minor mishaps.  The pattern and color play nicely with the other kids in the sandbox…

Wish us luck in these last few days that everything pulls together without a hitch.  Notice I didn’t mention the desk chair or the closet doors.  Still not going to mention them, except to say I don’t like our chances.  So there’s that.

But I don’t want to end on a Rhett Butler note so go check out the superstar progress of the 20 designers and my fellow linking participants. 

Big shout outs to the hostess with the mostest, Linda and our media partner House Beautiful.  Additionally, we just received word that Home Love Network is partnering to feature one lucky ORC Guest Participant and their room in an upcoming episode! So pretty please with sugar on top come back next week for the big reveal!  At the very least,  I may be parading around in drapery.  So there's that.