One Room Challenge Week 1 – Fall 2019: Living/Dining/Entry Update

Hey there,

{Welcome. If you are new here I’m an Interior Decorator living in Milton, ON and I love to create beautiful, livable spaces for my clients and myself. I believe that everyone should have a home that makes them happy. Follow me on Instagram to see more updates.}

It’s been awhile.  Hope you have been well. I’m participating in the One Room Challenge for the 11th time! I really hesitated until this weekend about jumping in even though I knew I was going to revamp the main living area of my home before Christmas. I didn’t think I would get my ducks in a row in time to meet the reveal deadline in early November, so I didn’t commit until now. But this is the impetus I need to finally make some decisions!

I have renovated three kitchens, two bathrooms, a home office and an entire basement for ORC’s over the last five years and managed to complete them on time. So, I’m hoping that this little makeover will come together over what is now just four weeks. Yikes! The only reason I seem uncertain is because furniture delivery has long lead times – sometimes up to 12 weeks and even though I did think about the ORC 12 weeks ago, I was so busy with other projects and life in general that I didn’t order a few key pieces. {May have to beg, borrow or steal. Or use what I have until the perfect pieces arrive. ☺️}

I’m often asked why do I participate in the ORC. Is there a prize at stake? Why would you commit to completing a space in five short weeks? (There are six blog posts but only five weeks from the first post to the last.) No, there is no winner. The main motivator for me to participate is to have a completed, beautiful, styled space in my home at the end. Sometimes we order the main pieces of furniture for a room but neglect to add in those items that really make a space come together and feel like you – the art, accessories etc. If you skip to the bottom of the post, you can see my previous ORC projects and what is possible in a few short weeks. Most designers will agree that it is so difficult to make decisions on our own home and I can certainly attest to that. This deadline will ensure I make swift decisions but still give everything careful thought and consideration.

Other reasons to participate are to partner with brands that I love and get their name or a specific product out there (if they are a lesser known brand) – it’s really a win win for both parties. I always enlist a professional photographer for the reveal photos and brands are then able to share them on their channels. I have checked and have noticed that my photos do very well on their Insta feed for example. Last but not least, there are always other designers/bloggers/followers cheering you on either from the sidelines or participating as well. I just love the support but also seeing what other talented creatives are up to.

Anyway, ready to see the spaces that I have never really shared on social media? My living and dining room (one small space) haven’t received much attention in the three years I have lived here. I did install new dark hardwood, paint all the walls various shades of white and install a gallery wall around the TV when I moved in. I went from a much larger home with a family room and living room to a smaller home with one small living area. The living room sofa has seen better days and the mishmash of chairs don’t relate to each other.

I did have an area rug but my pup @ellietheaussiedoodle decided to pee on it multiple times (the vet at one point thought she had incontinence.) When I took it in to get cleaned, I was told it would be $700 and even then they couldn’t promise me that the stains would come out so I decided to part ways with it. From now on, only indoor/outdoor, scrubbable rugs for me.

Certain pieces are staying as is the art wall, although it may look a little different.

I have had the dining table for almost 15 years and I never really liked the wood tone. I do, however love the shape and the pedestal base. The pendant was always a placeholder and it never hung straight. It was a bargain at under $50.  I had the brass shelving unit (below) custom made for my former home office but it is too large for my current home office. I have never  really liked it in the entry partly because I haven’t styled it properly. (Ellie manages to get into every photo – I never asked her to sit there but I think she thinks I’ll give her a treat for posing. ?)

Here are a few inspiration photos to give you an idea of the design direction I’m going in. I think one thing is pretty evident from the images. ?

via Vogue Australia

via Architectural Digest

via Architectural Digest

Take a look at what the featured designers  are up to here and the guest participants here. And follow these hashtags on social media to see 100’s of other transformations: #oneroomchallenge and #bhgorc

Thank you in advance for following along!

Check out my former One Room Challenge Reveals below.

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

My Functional and Pretty Office – Spring 2017

A Multi Purpose Basement – Fall 2017

My Teenage Daughter’s Bathroom – Spring 2018

My Sister’s Kitchen – Fall 2018

My Laundry Room – Spring 2019

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Happy designing and decorating,