One Room Challenge Week 1 – Spring 2017

(via Rejuvenation)

Hi there,

{For those new here, I am an Interior Decorator living just outside of Toronto, Canada.}

Yes, I do have the One Room Challenge (ORC) bug. It’s quite contagious actually. Once you participate in one, it’s really hard to sit one out. Add the fact that I have a relatively new (to me) home that needs some prettying up and improved functionality and it’s easy to jump right in.  This is the sixth time that I am participating – four times as a “linker” and twice as a featured design blogger. If you have no idea what I am talking about, in a nutshell, the ORC is an online five week event where participants transform a room and document it in six blog posts. I will link to my previous reveals at the end of this post so you can see the extent of what can happen in only a few short weeks.

There were a few reasons I bought this house – nine foot ceilings, quiet crescent, 10 minute walk to my daughter’s school and a tiny room on the first floor for a home office. You don’t normally see spaces dedicated to home offices for a house of this size (1750 sq’) especially in the suburbs where I live. So, when I saw this home with the office, I knew that it was perfect for us. And this is the space that I have decided to transform for this ORC.

Here is a photo of the space from the real estate listing: I saw beyond what looks like furniture they brought in to stage the room. I immediately envisioned a wall of cabinetry with a desk on the right wall.  There are two windows in the office so plenty of light.

And this is a photo I captured from the real estate video where you can see the office in relation to the rest of the house. (A lot of changes have taken place since we moved in – new hardwood flooring throughout, popcorn ceilings removed, stairs lightened, light fixtures changed and shades of white paint. But those are all for other blog posts. 🙂 )

And this is how I have been using the space for the past seven months. My dining table from my former home is my desk and a bentwood dining chair serves us an uncomfortable office chair. I have no file storage except for a plastic bin and the floor where my files are piled. The brass shelving unit I had custom made and I will keep it as it houses trays which has client project info and samples.

I have already beefed up the trim (using product from Metrie), changed the blinds to wood shutters and the laminate to hardwood.  The popcorn ceiling has been removed yet the bleak grey walls have yet to be painted.

Here are some inspiration photos:

All images via Pinterest

I have never understood work spaces of designers with zero storage and just a desk and a laptop. Where do they put all their stuff?? Fabric samples, tile samples, client files, product info etc. etc.  It has always remained a mystery to me. I need storage and a wall to wall built in will not only provide that but will also increase the home’s value. Can’t wait to share the design plans with you next week!

In the meantime, check out what the 20 featured designers and my fellow linkers are up to. Thank you Linda for organizing this and thank you for following along. Let the transformations begin!

PS Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I share a lot more in my posts and stories.

PS Here are the previous five spaces I have transformed for the ORC:

Prettying Up a Builder Kitchen (former home)  – Fall 2014

Teen Daughter’s Bathroom (former home) – Spring 2015

My Parisian Bedroom (former home) – Fall 2015

Teen Daughter’s Bedroom (former home) – Spring 2016

My Charming Kitchen – Fall 2016

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