It is here! The moment I have been building up for the past five weeks. Yes, if you do the math, I shared our plans just five speedy weeks ago, and today we are kicking our feet up and enjoying our new living space! Oh the difference five weeks makes!
Heck, such a dramatic difference just in the last week!
I can honestly say that this challenge pushed me in endless new ways. I appreciate you hanging in there through my indecision, my meltdowns, my highs and lows... This has been by far the biggest transformation we have tackled in the shortest amount of time!
Are there things we didn't check off the list? Sure, about fifty of them. And not everything turned out as planned either. But I couldn't be more excited or thrilled about how far we have come.
In fact, this room is filled with project after project and hour after hour of our hearts. That is what we love most, so much DIY to make this space our own.
What did we tackle ourselves you ask? Everything from installing new floors and trim to building a giant fireplace surround to painting the chairs (multiple times) to constructing and tufting an ottoman. Oh, and we also DIY'd the mirror, reupholstered a chair, installed all of the hardware and new lighting and painted the shoe cabinet. Hot dang! Labor of love is an understatement!
As I mentioned, the outcome and direction of the room shifted over the course of the weeks, yet the ultimate goal remained the same. We strived to create a space that is family friendly yet stylish, bold and colorful with a side of traditional, playful yet mature, unique and a bit unexpected, all while being filled with pieces that speak to us. Nothing in the space is too precious for family living, yet there are moments that feel like we have grown up a bit.
I think what I love most about this process is that it allowed me to show how a space evolves over time (even if that time is only a few weeks). The middle really made no sense, even to me, but after everything started layering in, it really came together beautifully. Textiles and accessories really made all of the difference, everything from the stunning black-banded pleated curtains (thank you Tonic Living!) to the pillow and chair patterns to the neutral rug and sofa.
Although someday we hope to add a formal entryway to the front of our home, for now we are stuck with the smallest landing in this history of landings. And we are front door people (the garage is used for projects, not parking), so we didn't want to mess with the long lasting system that works hard for us. Right inside the door lives a slim shoe storage cabinet, which we painted a beautiful gray, as well as a credenza which functions as storage cubbies for the boys.
I really enjoy taking photos so I selected a slew of my favorites and had them printed and framed on the stairway wall. I love that they bring a splash of color to the entry area and tell some of our favorite stories.
The painted shoe cabinet is holding up beautifully and is a prime spot to drop keys and a wallet while also providing a place to hold blank stationery and pens.
The room is long and narrow, so we used a large area rug to divide the space into two functions. It really allows us to create an "entryway" where there was none, and to also define a cozy living area.
I had beautiful peonies the first day I shot photos... they died overnight. #sadfacedflowerkiller Day two I was saved by a bunch of beautiful blooms clipped from shrubs in the front of our home. Both days our living area smelled divine!
The entire project started off with a floral fabric as my inspiration, and to my dismay, I was unable to get my paws on it in time because it was back-ordered. The new plan was to use an alternate fabric that had all of the same colors (our home's signature palette), so that when the floral option arrives someday, I can swap things with the seasons. I landed on Schumacher's Jade Chiang Mai (which I found on eBay), and it really provides a beautiful, colorful moment in the space.
It has a matching friend across the room on my Craigslist chair.
Speaking of chairs....
I am a sucker for pretty white painted furniture and I appreciate that it typically cleans up nicely, even with kids. And even though I initially held our chair fabric up to both a black piece of wood and a white piece of wood, and we voted on the black combo, my gut went with what it knew and selected white. I thought black would look too "fancy", while white is more casual. But the chair and I got in a fight and I admitted I was wrong so we hugged and made up just after it received two fresh coats of black paint. The black turned out to be a gorgeous contrast, yet still remains unique and playful. Being a bold pattern lover, this chair makes my grinning cheeks sore. We selected so many neutral elements throughout, that I needed one bold moment and that was it!
There is no doubt that the biggest change to the space was the addition of the fireplace and built-ins.
This major moment was just finished up on Saturday! But boy-oh-boy are we going to love every last bit of having a nice warm fire and a TV we can see from anywhere in the kitchen, living and dining areas.
The room needed layers and our personal touches, and the shelves offer a place for special pieces to land.
Everything from books to crayons to portraits, each shelf tells a story and provides both open and concealed storage for living room essentials.
And the tile had me at hello! It literally grabbed me as I was walking the aisles at Home Depot. Although we had already purchased something else, and when I spotted the herringbone marble, I knew it would be mine. Thank goodness stores take returns.
Although there were things that didn't go right, that we made mistakes and course corrected, that we worked up to the absolute last minute and stayed up way past our bedtime too many nights to count, that I may have hit up seventeen different HomeGoods stores and gotten a flat tire in the process... We are gosh darn proud of how much we accomplished in such a short period of time!
The room is cozy and friendly and functions just as we hoped it would. And although we have only lived with it for a few days now, we love that it offers flexibility and that we all have a place to plop down with a good book or to catch up on our favorite sitcom while chatting with the folks in the nearby kitchen. I can't wait to continue to make this space feel like "home" for many years to come.
Other than shoes in the cabinet by the door, we haven't officially "moved in" to any of the other storage spaces yet. You can imagine I am super excited to do that over the next few weeks, although, my youngest already claimed the baskets by the fireplace for his toys and books. But first, I need a small break and just plan to enjoy the space for the next few days before taking on any more projects.
As I mentioned, we DIY'd our hearts out in this space. So. Many. Projects. I am working on the fireplace built-in tutorial and also hope to share how we made the ottoman and created the beautiful acacia wood mirror. In the meantime, here are the sources for many of the items and colors found throughout the space:
Tulip Print | Tulip Print Frame | Blue Marble Planter and Vase | Do Vase | Wood Boxes | Match Holder | Remote Caddy | Blue Bud Vases | Radio | Sand Dune Print | Bookends | Wood Bowl | Fireplace Tile | Abstract Art Canvas | Floor Lamp | Acrylic Side Table | Cloche | Bobbin Chair | Bobbin Chair Fabric | Chair Paint Color - Glidden's Onyx Black | Lumbar Pillow Fabric | Custom Pleated Curtain Panels | Curtain Hardware | Stacking Baskets | Cane Chair (Craigslist), Cane Chair Fabric, Ottoman Fabric (DIY), Ottoman Tray | Tulip Vase | Sofa | Coral Pillows | Black Greek Key Pillows | Floral/Dragon Pillows | Nesting Tables | Rug | Planter | Mirror (DIY) | Shoe Cabinet (painted) | Stamp | Pen Cup | Frame | Credenza | Lamps | Wood Tray | Acrylic Agate Box | Surf Wall Art | Gallery Wall Frames | Entry Hooks | Entry Rug | Umbrella Stand | Entry Pendant | Wall Color - Benjamin Moore's Quiet Moments
Being such a large space to transform, I could ramble on about every last moment for hours. I apologize if my mush brain forgot to touch on anything, but I will be back with more details over the next few weeks. I am just grateful that for now we can say we completed the challenge with goofy smiles and huge high fives. And low fives. And on the side fives. And too slow fives. Are you ready to hop on down the line and oooh and ahhh over the rest of the One Room Challenge spaces? I hope you have a dentist visit scheduled because today is sure to be one sweet source of room eye candy!
Trademarked by Calling it Home
Chair fabric, custom sewn curtain panels and window hardware provided by Tonic Living / Floor lamp provided by Wayfair. Art provided by Minted. Styling Accessories provided by Waiting on Martha. IHeart Organizing is extremely grateful to have the help of special sponsors to finish this room in just a few short weeks!
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