There’s a lot of chairs in here

It’s week 7 of the one room challenge™ and that can only mean one thing...

...

THERE’S ONE WEEK LEFT!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!

wHAT’S THE oNE rOOM cHALLENGE AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU IF YOU DON’T FINISH, YOU ASK?

aBOUT THIS PATH i HAVE CHOSEN

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.

... THAT IS TO SAY, LITERALLY NOTHING BAD WILL HAPPEN TO ME IF i DON’T FINISH IT IN THE ALLOTTED TIMEFRAME. i WOULD LIKE TO GIVE IT A COLLEGE TRY, AS i AM THE TYPE OF PERSON WHO VERY MUCH ENJOYS A STRUCTURED EXPERIENCE (SCHOOL, RANDOM ONLINE CHALLENGES, ETC.), HOWEVER, i AM TRYING TO STAY REALISTIC GIVEN ALL OF LIFE’S FUN SURPRISES, INCLUDING THINGS i HAVE SIGNED UP TO DO KNOWINGLY, BUT STILL SURPRISE ME WITH THE AMOUNT OF TIME i CHOOSE TO DEVOTE TO THEM.

eATING LIKE HUMANS, PLAYING LIKE HALFLINGS

lOOK, i DON’T THINK i SHARED THIS AT THE BEGINNING, BUT real talk? WE’VE BEEN EATING IN THE LIVING ROOM, ON THE COUCH, FOR, LIKE, years.

wE HAd a table in the kitchen, but it’s super cold in there and is probably the one room in the house in the most dire need of a facelift (no offense kitchen, you know I love you, and I wouldn’t say anything about you that I haven’t already said to you directly).

Then we moved the table into the dining room (once we moved our office to its own space). before setting things up “for real” we planned to refinish the dining room floor, BUT THE PROJECT KEPT GETTING PUSHED FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER, AND OVER TIME OTHER THINGS TOOK OVER THE DINING ROOM, LIKE A BUNCH OF STUFF WE WERE STAGING FOR JUNK RECYCLING, AND UM, OUR CATS.

FOR A SPELL THE CATS WERE LITERALLY EATING OFF THE TABLE THEMSELVES. WE HAVE TO ELEVATE THEIR DINING EXPERIENCE (GOOD ONE) BECAUSE OUR DOG IS CONVINCED THEIR FOOD TASTES BETTER.

nOT THAT i DON’T LOVE MY CATS OR ACTUALLY MIND THAT THEY WERE EATING WHERE i WANTED TO BE EATING, BUT i THINK UPGRADING FROM OUR NARROW iKEA TABLE WILL NOT JUST GIVE US A PLACE TO EAT PRECARIOUS THINGS WITH LOTS OF SAUCE, BUT IT WILL ALSO GIVE US ROOM FOR PLAYING TABLETOP rpgS AND BOARD GAMES WITH FRIENDS. FRANKLY, i’M MORE EXCITED TO dm MY dnd GAME SET IN gREECE THAN i AM TO EAT SOUP AT THE TABLE. (iS THAT EVEN A CONTEST?)

TURNS OUT, THIS CHALLENGE WAS THE PROVERBIAL NUDGE i NEEDED TO START PLANNING AND MAKING THINGS HAPPEN, FOR REAL.

wHERE i’M AT

i DON’T HAVE A SEXY UPDATE FOR YOU THIS WEEK ABOUT HOW TO PAINT OR REFINISH FLOORS. aLL THAT HARD STUFF IS DONE.

i DID TOUCH UP THE WHITE TRIM AND GREEN WALLS THIS WEEKEND (WE DINGED BOTH VERY THOROUGHLY WHILE SANDING; IT’S INEVITABLE).

AND...

i STARTED PUTTING THINGS IN THEIR PLACE!! LIKE, UNROLLING THE RUG, MOVING THE SIDEBOARD FROM THE KITCHEN, PLACING THE CHAIRS. CONSIDERING ALL THE STUFF i FINALLY UNWRAPPED OR UNBOXED THIS STUFF TODAY, i WAS PRACTICALLY PRACTICING FOR cHRISTMAS!

tHIS EXERCISE RESULTED IN A FEW FEELINGS:

OMG IT LOOKS JUST LIKE THE PICTURE

i HAVE NEVER DONE THE WHOLE DESIGN PROCESS FOR MYSELF - INSTEAD, MY OWN ROOMS COME STRAIGHT FROM MY HEAD TO REALITY WITHOUT ANY MOOD BOARDING OR PRODUCT HUNTING IN BETWEEN. tHE BENEFIT OF NOT HAVING A TIMEFRAME IN WHICH YOU NEED TO PUT TOGETHER A ROOM IS THAT IT CAN COME TOGETHER JUST AS THOUGHTFULLY OVER TIME, INSTEAD.

HOLY MOLY, WE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY

... AND DIDN’T EVEN GET EVERYTHING ON THE DREAM LIST!!! oNE OF THE THINGS THAT ALWAYS BLOWS MY MIND AS AN INTERIOR DECORATOR IS THE AMOUNT OF MONEY LITERALLY EVERYTHING COSTS.

i AM CAREFUL NOT TO WASTE MY OR MY CLIENTS’ MONEY ON POORLY MADE THINGS, WELL-MADE THINGS THAT ARE JUST OVERPRICED, OR PIECES THAT ARE MADE WITH NO THOUGHT TO THEIR IMPACT (ON THE WORLD AND THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE TO MAKE THEM). i AM TRANSPARENT ABOUT MY TRADE DISCOUNT AND PASS THAT ON TO CLIENTS.

bUT STILl! FURNISHING A WHOLE ROOM AT ONCE, ESPECIALLY ONE WITH A HUGE WOODEN TABLE IN THE MIDDLE, IS NO JOKE. wE ENDED UP WORKING SOME HOMEMADE THINGS (MIRROR, BENCH) INTO THE DESIGN AND REUSING ITEMS FROM OTHER ROOMS (A SIDEBOARD, SOME PLANTS, PROBABLY SOME CURTAINS? IDK STILL). iT’S GREAT TO BE ABLE TO BUY WHATEVER YOU WANT, BUT YOU KNOW? i KIND OF PREFER diy-ING AND REPURPOSING AROUND A FEW IMPORTANT PURCHASES INSTEAD. tAMPERS THOSE CONSUMERIST URGES AND HELPS FOSTER A LITTLE MORE CREATIVITY.

iN ANY CASE, WHETHER YOU CAN GET EVERYTHING ON YOUR DREAM LIST OR YOU NEED TO diy IT ALL, aLWAYS MAKE SURE YOUR DESIGNER UNDERSTANDS YOUR BUDGET, YOUR CAPACITY FOR/INTEREST IN diy, AND RESPECTS YOU FOR IT. yOU ARE MAKING AN INCREDIBLE INVESTMENT OF TIME AND MONEY IN YOUR HOME, AND IT SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH.

I HOPE THIS TABLE FITS

oN fRIDAY, OUR LONG-AWAITED TABLE IS COMING. i AM VERY EXCITED FOR THIS HUNK OF RECLAIMED PINE. iT SHOULD BE WIDE ENOUGH TO COMFORTABLY PLAY GAMES, BUT NOT TOO BIG TO FIT INTO OUR HOUSE (!!!!). i THINK IT WILL PUT ALL MY DREAMS TO SHAME WHEN i SEE IT irl. bUT HONESTLY, i’M super NERVOUS IT MIGHT NOT FIT. yES, i MEASURED, YES, i DID ALL OF THE LAYOUTS TO SCALE. bUT STILL. gOT THE JITTERS TIL IT’S DONE.

wHY STOP AT PHOTOS WHEN YOU CAN STOP MOTION

me in the vice grip of my creative dreams

jUST FOR FUN i’LL BE CREATING A STOP MOTION VIDEO OF THE SETUP PROCESS. tHIS IS ALSO ONE OF THE REASONS ALL i DID THIS WEEKEND WAS SET THINGS UP... BECAUSE i’VE NEVER DONE STOP MOTION BEFORE AND i HAD yUJI (CAT) AND rILO (DOG) RUNNING AMOK AS i SET UP ALL OF THESE NEW AND INTERESTING SMELLS THAT THEY WEREN’T ALLOWED TO TOUCH YET.

uM, EXCUSE ME DARLING PET, BUT i AM TRYING TO MAKE ART HERE??

(THEY WILL INEVITABLY MAKE SOME CAMEOS.)

fOR NOW PLEASE ENJOY THIS GALLERY OF PICTCHAS AS EVIDENCE THAT THINGS ARE COMING TOGETHER.