One Room Challenge: Final reveal!
Well, the arbitrary deadline I’ve set for myself is here... the end of the Fall 2021 one room challenge™!
what’s that?
well I’ve only talking about it for seven weeks now, but ok, I’ll explain again.
As i was searching for more ways to connect with other interior decorators and diy enthusiasts online, i found this thing called the one room challenge.
the fall 2021 one room challenge kicked off september 30. it’s a twice-a-year chance for designers of all experience levels get together to cheer one another on in our quests to finish one room in eight weeks. it’s not a competition - just a way to build community among diyers and professional designers alike. the challenge is all about peeling back the curtain and showing the process.
Oh there was a process?
Mmmhmm - you can even read through all the blogs about our dining room fall ORC adventure to get the full story.
It’s been really interesting to do a proper “design process” for my own home. I normally let all my ideas spill out over time, without much documentation or rhyme or reason. Just things that inspire me along the way. For clients, of course, that won’t do. I’ve got to have a vision, a clarity, and a succinct way of delivering recommendations to create a full vibe of a room at once.
the final touches: let there be light
I am lucky enough to have a partner who is willing to do the most insane parts of the job.
Braxton has experience rehabbing old homes but boy it’s been awhile. He was brave enough to install our new ceiling light, which may I say, is going to give us the perfect lighting for board games and dnd in the dining room.
... And eating I guess.
zoomin’ out: How’s it lookin’ out there?
So, to be honest, this isn’t the * Final * final stage of my vision for this room.
The old cliche of house projects taking longer than you’d think is always true. After all, it’s cliche for a reason, right?
I have a couple DIY additions I need to create, including a custom bench to go along the windowed wall, and I need to figure out what to do with the wall against the kitchen (eventually, it might come totally down… we’ll see). I also want to dress up the walls with some real candleabras to complement the intense LED lighting we have with a softer glow. (great idea from Braxton.) I think in the end it’s going to look super cool.
In my experience, seeing a room come together IRL is a process. No matter how well you’ve planned on paper, if your house is truly a reflection of you, it’s going to grow and evolve over time.
It’s easy to flow with this when it’s my house I’m decorating, of course.
When it’s a client’s home, I still like to leave a little room to grow, but I also want to give them plenty of ideas on how to sow those seeds - and start them off with a very solid foundation.
But this is my dining room we’re talking about
So with that... here are our week 8 “final reveal” pictures... expect more to come as I continue to iterate and customize over the next couple months!
