One Room Challenge Week 3 – Fall 2019: Refreshed Living/Dining/Entry

Hello friends,

{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. PS Follow me on Instagram to see more than I post here. ?}

Welcome to Week 3 of the One Room Challenge! And if you were looking for a Week 2 post, well there wasn’t one. There were a number of reasons why I didn’t post but the main one was I didn’t really have anything to report – I hadn’t solidified my plans yet. I have written 61 posts for the One Room Challenge over the past five years and never missed one in the ten ORC’s that I have completed. So that’s pretty good, right?

I moved into this smallish home three years ago and have renovated and decorated almost every single inch of this builder home. The living, dining and entry areas haven’t received much love so that’s what I’m updating for this round. It’s really one space and when you enter through the front door, you see all three spaces at once. Not my ideal situation, but I bought this house for other reasons (9′ ceilings, home office at the front of the house, quiet crescent, and a ten minute walk to my daughter’s high school.) You can see the Before photos and inspiration in my Week 1 post here.

So this is what I have been scheming. I alluded to dark walls in my first post and did an Instagram story poll where I asked if you would paint your walls black. 73% of followers said they would. I was debating back and forth between faint blush pink walls or one black accent wall. Because I would be painting all walls pink, I didn’t think that would work with the blue green island in my kitchen as the rooms are connected. My other option was to paint just the long wall black. One wall has a large window with (soon to be hung) drapes, one has two doors and the opposite “wall” is really just the opening into the kitchen. So, the black wall would work on just that one long wall.

Here is the plan:

1. The wall was painted Benjamin Moore Onyx 2133-10, one of my favourite blacks. It doesn’t read navy or brown – just a beautiful, strong black. I really love it so far even though none of the art has been hung yet. I just brought this one piece I painted up from the basement to see how a white frame would look on the black wall. I also just placed this bench here for the time being.

2. I have ordered a gorgeous new sofa from Whittington’s with a waterfall skirt. Call me traditional, but I love skirts on sofa’s. I fell in love with this sofa a couple of years ago when I saw it at one of my trade only showrooms. The great thing with custom is that they can make a sofa in any dimensions you specify. I wanted the sofa to run the width of the window so it will be a generous 102″. And you know I love Whittington’s as one of the first custom pieces I bought for myself twelve years ago was a Whittington chair (you can see it in the Before photos) which you will see in this makeover. It is so comfortable so it has to stay in the living room. We have this beautiful sectional from Whittington’s in our basement which has come in handy for many a teenage sleepover.

3. It will be upholstered in a beautiful Fibreguard fabric from JF Fabrics – one of my go to fabric suppliers.

4. I think that drapes will really finish off the space. Drapes weren’t my first thought as I have white wood shutters (my go to for suburban homes where privacy is a must) and custom draperies are not inexpensive – but as I tell clients, they are worth every penny. They add a layer of luxe to a space and when I looked at the photos of the windows, it was evident that draperies would really finish off the space. Again, I’m using a linen look JF Fabric but this one is 100% polyester so you don’t have to worry about wrinkles.

5. The drapes will be ripple fold – I love the simple, clean look. They will be sewn by Custom Home Decor who I have used for draperies for years. They are a trade only resource, so if you’re a designer/decorator, check them out. They also carry lines of furniture – both upholstered and case goods. These are the ripple fold drapes in my kitchen which slide easily on sliders within a track – much better than hooks and rings.

6. Because I have a puppy (well, she’s not really a puppy as she’s 2.5 years old but she has puppy tendencies), I really need rugs that are washable/scubbable. Ellie ruined a beautiful, wool area rug I had in the living area. So, as usual I turned to Annie Selke and their Dash & Albert rugs. The Hobnail Blue Indoor/Outdoor rug is so unique. I love the shades of blue and the raised “hobnail neps” which reminds me of a sweater I once had. And in the entry, I am using their Facet Chenille Grey Indoor/Outdoor rug. Love the ethnic vibe of this one.

Speaking of Ellie, here she is at the top of the stairs going to the basement which have Dash and Albert rugs turned into a stair runner.

Vanessa Francis Design

7. I love shades of blue and green, especially teal so I’m really happy about these velvet pillows from Tonic Living. I can’t tell you how much I love this company. I have had their drapes in my former home and I ALWAYS recommend them to every DIY client when I’m at a consultation.

8. Next week, I will talk about the DIY elements happening – painting my wood table white with a mineral paint, building the entry console and creating a new gallery wall. The gallery wall in the moodboard above was taken down to paint so I am revising it somewhat.

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!