One Room Challenge Week 8 - The Hall of Mirrors Reveal

 I'm back! I was determined to finish up this ORC despite all of the unexpected delays that came my way - being hit on Memorial Day, a totaled car, wearing a walking cast, dealing with insurance, 3 sick Cooper visits to the vet in one week plus all the normal stuff we do like eat, go to work, grocery shop, water the garden... you know! I hate to admit it but all that "stuff" messed with my mojo and momentum!! I thought I was going to wrap up the details on Friday and Saturday of Reveal Week and post a completed project but that is not the case!! More bumps in the road and I refuse to stress or rush through the curtain project - If I messed up my gorgeous pagoda fabric by hurrying I might cry!! 

A few progress shots:

 This wasn't going to be a big big splashy ta-da anyway,  like so many of the ORC reveals (and I have my favorites) but the thing that is important to remember in all of this is that it isn't a competition and everyone who has participated has been motivated to improve a space in their home. That's a big W in my book. We never really thought much about how dingy and uninspiring this space was - we just walked through on our way to whatever room. Now we have each said, "Wow! This is so much nicer!" It's definitely prettier - and healthier too. We removed the old, old carpeting that retained so much more dust than I realized. 

I like how bright and fresh it is. I think it makes a great transitional space for all of the rooms that feed off of it and I love the fabric we used to hide the laundry closet. You can read about the awful janky bifold doors that used to be there here. The details of the flooring project are here and  here. 

So even unfinished we are glad that it is as improved as it is. I will finish, post here and on IG and hopefully you will give it a look!

Thank you to Linda and Better Homes and Gardens for hosting the best motivator for me in all of IG Land!! 

Check back soon :)

One Room Challenge Week 5 - The Hall of Mirrors

 

As stated above, it could have been much worse and we are healing but... now I'm dealing with the business end of being in an accident. I want to say that my agent/insurance company has been very helpful but the insurance agency that needs to take care of our needs on behalf of their driver has been awful so far. 

So, no fun ORC stuff going on this week. See you next week with a Week 6 update!!

I will be checking in to see what everyone else has accomplished here.

One Room Challenge Week 4 - The Hall of Mirrors

I hung another mirror.

(still reflecting a messy work zone!)

 I finished painting everything white (except the doors- more on that below!) I feel like I need applause! It doesn't seem like that much to paint but, whew!, it took a while to do it all, top to bottom!

I wanted to change thing up a little when it came to my light fixtures. (The builder "boob" lights were still up there. I know.) I decided I wanted to go a little modern, bold, punchy and not expensive at all. This is an upstairs hallway. I want it to look nice but I was not willing to spend a lot for lighting. Then, I decided on black to make a statement in the sea of white. 

I searched Amazon, Lowe's and HD for affordable options. I ordered one style from Amazon and it had to go back. A poster child example of "you get what you pay for!"  But I hung in there and ordered another one that popped up when I started searching again. I had some space restrictions on size because of where the second light was located in relation to the drop down attic door.

This is the one I decided on and it looks good in the space. It is not the most quality light out there but it works for my vision and what I wanted to spend. And I'm definitely glad I went with a black fixture. It has some oomph in that all white space.

There isn't any natural light in the hallway so all of my pictures will be lights on. Sorry :(

I also ordered a Loloi Rug to place at the top of the stairs to hopefully catch some of the dirt and dust tracked upstairs to the white floors. I like Loloi because they are affiliated with GoodWeave and are socially responsible in their company policies. I may find I need to go with a runner down the hall later on but for now I'm going with this. I like the muted colorway with my curtain fabric.

(It was on sale for about $30! Great price for size and their quality)

Next up is deciding on curtain rods and mounting hardware. I have some rings, a couple of rod choices  and some assorted wall mounts that I purchased for pennies at a REstore a few years ago. It was a box full of designer window treatment paraphernalia and I have used it in multiple ORC's by now! I'm going to see if I can pull together what I need from what I have on hand! Then I will sew my curtain for the laundry "closet" opening. 

What's left to do:

1. Finish painting. Replace switch plate covers, etc. Any touch ups. 

2. Doors- I painted all of the upstairs doors black several years ago and now they are going back to white. This  is the story of my life: I tend to go from one extreme to the next when painting. Black to white and back to black. Then white again. It's never covering one soft color with another!! I should learn. Also, it doesn't help matters that there are 6 doors in this hallway!! OY!

3. Purchase correct light bulbs. One bulb in the box of 8 blew immediately. I bought a 2 bulb replacement pack and ended up with a "bluer" bulb. Rats.

4. Decide on curtain rod combo and hang. 

5. Sew curtain for laundry "closet" opening. 

6. Hang remaining mirrors.

7. Cut carpet at door openings and install carpet strips (until additional rooms are floored.)

8. Here's the biggie - figure out how to photograph an awkwardly shaped space that is full of mirrors.

Be sure to check out everyone else's progress here.

I have some "favorites" I'm following and I'm excited to see the updates each week.  What about you? Are you doing the ORC or just cheering everyone else on this round?? This is ORC #11 for me so I may just be cheering from the sidelines next time. I guess you can tell by the fact this is ORC 11 for me that I find Linda's challenge to be agreat motivator!

One Room Challenge Week 3 - The Hall of Mirrors

Put a Pagoda On It or #putapagodaonit

Do you remember a few years back when the whole "put a bird on it" thing was an ongoing joke in the home decor/DIY/Pinterest world thanks to Portlandia?

Well, I think my underlying ORC theme might just be "Put a Pagoda On It" :)

Case in point:

The pillows on my vintage wicker couch from the Fall 2020 ORC -

#putapagodaonit

The pillows from my Spring 2017 Guest Bedroom ORC - 

The desire to #putapagodaonit was so strong that 

when I couldn't find pink pagoda fabric I painted my own!

And the pillows from the Spring 2016 ORC (our Library) - 

              The entryway has had a few changes since it was an ORC  but still...  #putapagodaonit

Anyway, last week I shared that I found the fabric for the curtain that hides our laundry area. I could definitely refresh that area and make it better looking but the bottom line is that I'm never going to want it open to the hall. I want to be able to hide it from sight - even when it's just us. 

Plus I love the addition of the softness of a textile in this space. There is a lot of white, which I love, but it's still "hard" in appearance and the mirrors, which I love for the light they will bring to a windowless space, are "hard" as well.

This hallway is going to be very neutral so some texture is necessary. 

Anyway, I love this fabric and since my textile mantra seems to be "put a Pagoda on it" this one fits the bill.

It looks much darker in these pictures but it's actually a very soft greige - it isn't beige and it isn't gray. The background is off-white instead of bright white so that will be a warm note against the bright white walls.

#putapagodaonit

I still have to make curtain rod and curtain hardware decisions but that's for another day. Finding the fabric was the fun and exciting part.

Be sure to check out the progress on all the other ORC projects here.

My 9th-ish ORC and WASH Your Hands!

Racing for the finish line here at the last-ish moment!! 

This is my 9th-ish ORC and the smallest by far - just 65" square! 

You'd think I could have finished sooner :)

 

Our downstairs Powder Room. 

We were without a working sink in our only first level bathroom for the bulk of the Pandemic. 

Perhaps not the best choice but that's how we roll!

The before wasn't awful but now that this ORC is complete I realize it really did need a bit of a refresh and update. We were sheltering in place so I used what I had on hand and made only a couple of online orders and my husband, who was out and about being "essential," did two curbside pick-ups for me. 

This One Room Challenge presented the challenge of being locked down and getting creative with what we had on hand. Are there things that could have been "more" or better? Yes. But is our Powder Room better than when we started and are we happy with it? 

Yes. So, that is enough. 

And a valuable lesson too. 

It's nice to have a fresh look because we are spending still spending our time at home.

So, here we let's see what we accomplished...

It all started with the desire to use a gold/ochre color in this space and a partial bolt of fabric I had previously thrifted and then didn't use where I thought I might. It matched my favorite gold/ochre Sherwin Williams color - Anjou Pear. So we were off to a good start.

Is this the fabric I would have chosen if I had been in my favorite fabric store? 

Probably not but it is the color I wanted to use, has a bit of a chinoiserie feel 

and I had thrifted a large roll of it for $4.00. 

In the end, I love it in the room.

The biggest change, our only major expense, was a new vanity. Our old 80's cabinet was built into the corner and was large and clunky and the countertop and sink had been past their prime for ages. I had painted, faux marbled, done everything I could to make it appear far nicer than it was. 

We arranged a curbside pick up for a very reasonably priced, very plain base cabinet. Is this my dream bathroom vanity? Again, no, but in uncertain times being frugal seemed the best move and this one is perfectly acceptable and a vast, vast improvement over the previous one. 

And it was in stock and easily picked up from Home Depot. 

(The brass container I use as a trash can is old and has some wear but  is beautifully etched with a chinoiserie design)

We had a few demo/reconstruction issues and one was that the old base did not have flooring under it so we patched the hardwoods and I used paint on hand to create the floor treatment I had been wanting to do in there forever!

Black and white check floor. It is my favorite floor design of all time and is so versatile and classic. It can look chic, high end, Parisian, or farmhouse depending on what you pair it with. 

It is a lot of taping and dry time in between to achieve the crisp lines wanted but I think it's worth it and we love it.

Mollie was going to help pull tape when I finally(!) finished the floor

 but Cooper beat her to it!

Everything else (except the hand towels) came from shopping the house 

and using as is or doing a little DIY with paint and such. 

I bought the hand towels on a masked, socially distanced trip to pick up a needed prescription called in to the wrong place which happened to be Target! So while waiting for the prescription confusion to be sorted out I bought the extra hand towels. 

The vintage bamboo towel rack was thrifted before the Pandemic.

Never, ever underestimate the ugly lamp. 

I had been holding on to this monkey lamp for a while. 

I'm a firm believer that glossy white spray paint improves everything.

A couple of coats of my favorite extra high gloss white spray paint and a brand new fabric covered shade and the ugly lamp is a thing of the past!

The vintage bamboo shelf and artwork were in the Powder Room previously. The diffuser is by Better Homes and Gardens and came from Wal Mart. It makes the room smell like a spa and will be so nice when we have guests again!

Things on the bamboo shelf were gathered up from around the house and given a home in the Powder Room. I tucked in a little artwork from a trip to Turks and Caicos (remember travel??), 

a sweetgrass basket from Charleston and thrifted blue and white pieces. 

I'm not a fan of toilet paper holders that are mounted on the wall ( nobody replaces the roll anyway) so I decided to toss our TP in a big blue and white bowl on the bamboo shelf.

The vintage wicker suitcase conveniently hold more rolls.

The bamboo mirror was in the Powder Room previously as well. It was thrifted years ago and when we went to hang it up it was so tall that we couldn't have a light fixture above it. We installed an energy efficient, highly effective recessed light in the ceiling above the vanity. I generally turn on the lamp when we have guests and I like not having a light fixture that collects dust and is hard to reach to clean. 

I haven't missed having a light fixture in here at all.

The white garden stool was also in this bathroom previously. I did find the fabulous planter head on FB Marketplace a few weeks ago and I made a masked, outdoors pick up because I wanted her for this bathroom soooo much and we were ready for a little outing. It was perfectly safe and the sweet gentleman reminded me to use hand sanitizer when I got back in my car!

The large picture over the toilet is a print of a fern cyanotype from the Biodiversity Library. 

The images are free and I ordered the enlargement online from Walgreens. It was less than $15.00 for that amazing print. I didn't have a 24 x 36 inch gold frame at home but I had a black one and some gold spray paint on hand!

I don't have anything on the wall behind the door. I just couldn't make up my mind. I had a gallery wall of travel photos there previously. I wanted something visually simpler this time. I thought about another cyanotype of a fern. I love ferns and grow huge ones on the porch each Summer. But that just wasn't it. And then 2 days ago I figured it out! So technically, the room isn't finished. I'm waiting on an online order. I'll be sure to share on my IG when it arrives and is in the Powder Room!

Thank you for stopping by!!

Be sure to see all of the other finished spaces here.

Thank you to Linda for hosting the One Room Challenge. It is always great fun to participate in and so exciting to have a fresh, improved space at the end but this ORC was an especially welcome diversion during this pandemic induced lockdown.

We are thankful to have a safe, comfortable home in these difficult times 

and are aware that others do not. 

I did not enter into this ORC lightly.

My 9th-ish ORC and WASH Your Hands!

 Week 2, I guess. 

Time runs together in some ways during all of this shelter in place, social distance, slow reopening of life period in time. 

We are really doing okay and keeping busy. 

I hope you and yours are well and you are spending this time in whatever way makes you the most at peace. 

So, what's up in the ORC project?

The bathroom cabinet was a very sturdy, built into the corner of the powder room, nondescript late 80's thing. The formica countertop had a 5 inch or so back splash that was glued to the sheetrock wall and, wow, was it glued. The wall damage was more than expected so this week has been about mud and sanding dust. 

My 9th-ish ORC and WASH Your Hands!

To make a long (One Room Challenge) story short this is my 9th-ish ORC.

Working back from last Fall...

Fall 2019 - My Kitchen (2nd attempt) PS. I did finish my kitchen I've just never photographed and blogged it! Maybe soon!

Spring 2019 - My Kitchen (Another Incomplete, yet I keep trying!)

Fall 2018 - My Porch 

Spring 2018 - I took an Incomplete :(

Fall 2017 - My Entryway

Spring 2017 - My Guest Bedroom

Fall 2016 - My Master Bathroom

Spring 2016 - My Library  which has been my most viewed and commented on ORC 

and it got a little refresh here.

Fall 2015 - Mollie's Bathroom   

Spring 2015 - My Guest Bedroom  which was my very first ORC and a learning curve for sure!

That's why I gave it a second go in the Spring 2017 ORC.

Since I have a bit of a hit or miss record with this thing it seems only fitting that I attempt another One Room Challenge during a Pandemic!

Right?

And since the most important thing we can do in the midst of Covid19 is to wash our hands it is either very fitting and timely or completely nuts to refresh our downstairs Powder Room where we wash our hands a gazillion times a day.

We are still sheltering in place so items that I use must either be what I have on hand or available for curbside pick up or delivery from online ordering. 

(This has been a difficult situation for so many in so many ways and I am aware that participating in a non-essential decorating challenge could seem insensitive. However, we all cope differently and "busy" and/or being creative is my coping mechanism. You can read about our particular Pandemic situation here and here.)

I'm all for using #morecreativitythancash and shopping the house too!

 Our bathroom vanity top is just not in the best shape and has needed replacing for ages. I've painted and decorated around it but it is past it's prime. I priced a new top and basin but it was far more economical to get a cabinet/basin combo from a big box store and it gives me the opportunity to get something less bulky and fit it in the space a little better. 

I shopped online and purchased the simplest, most clean lined vanity I could find. 

It's pretty basic and budget friendly but I knew I was painting it, changing the hardware and pairing it with a fabulous faux bamboo mirror already in the powder room. 

That was the utilitarian part of this project. Check.

The rest is the fun stuff.

I have had in my mind for a long time that when I redid this powder room I was going to use a mustard-y yellow color as my inspiration starting point. 

My plan all along was to paint the vanity and mirror a soft mustard. 

But I needed a fabric for the window treatment that would work with this color idea. 

My favorite part of redoing a room is wandering the fabric store aisles 

and falling for a fabric! 

Again, no open fabric stores so I had to go about this differently. 

So I started online. 

I looked and looked and googled 

and then I remembered a bolt of fabric I bought at a thrift store last year. 

I had thought I might use it for some pillows on the porch but it wasn't quite right after all. 

So I dug it out and it has a great colorway!

And the mustard-y background matches my favorite mustard-y, goldish Sherwin Williams color, Anjou Pear!! ( I used it in one of Mollie's college apartments!)

Yesss!! Hoarding Thrifting for the win!

A quick call to Sherwin Williams to order a gallon of paint for curbside pick up. 

I have the white paint for the walls because I'm basically never without white paint! 

I'm going to scrounge around but I'm pretty sure I have the paint for a fun painted floor project. 

The rest will just fall into place as I look around the house and decide about art and accessories.

I didn't really have any inspo pictures going in to this - just the color in my head but I found this on Pinterest and it pretty much sums up what I've been thinking (plus some blue and white chinoiserie, of course!)

lorenzocastillo.org

Thank you for following along, be safe and stay well and...

WASH your hands!

Looking for some distraction?
Be sure to follow along with all of the ORC posts here.

ORC Fall 2019 - The Kitchen (yep, again)

Thursday #5 Check-In time!!

One Room Challenge time really flies. Like warp speed!!

I am still painting, painting, painting but the big news is.....

that the black tile island top has been replaced by very gorgeous white carerra marble tile.
This was my longshot project on my "wish list" for this challenge waaaay back on Week 1.

I don't think I've ever shown such chaotic pictures on my blog before!! 

I must be tired or lazy or something!

Keeping it real - I am not able to maintain calm and control of any part of my house when a project is underway. It all goes to pieces!

In the middle of that chaotic kitchen mess I decided to paint a big ol' orange pumpkin 

for Trunk or Treat at church. 

I believe that expression is a reflection of mine!! 

We are definitely going to need a Week 7 around here to have a finished product for the reveal!! 

Be sure to follow all of the One Room Challenge progress here.
I've definitely enjoyed finding some favorite projects/inspiration and watching the progress!

ORC Fall 2019 - The Kitchen (yep, again)

Check In Time!! Thursday Number 4!

A lot of painting has happened. Like, a lot. 

It doesn't make for a fascinating post but it has made a huge difference. 

I found out that my "white kitchen" was actually a dingy, dirty, yellow-y off white kitchen. 

Like, embarrassingly dingy.

But lots of white paint to the rescue.

(Look at how dingy the previous white had become #mortified)

 I am using Sherwin Williams Super Paint in basic, bright white.

 So far paint is basically all I have purchased for this ORC:

One gallon of a soft blue for the eating area ceiling that I diluted with some white I had on hand to get the shade I was after, 2 gallons of white and a gallon of Naval, Sherwin Williams Color of the Year 2020!

(Mollie scraped all 48 window panes for me. Bless her!!)

We also got the microwave relocated to the book cases. We had to add a wider shelf but it works perfectly. I've wanted to do this for years to free up more counter space.There are definitely ways to place your microwave in a kitchen that is a bit more stylish but I'm working with what I have and what I can realistically expect to get done.
 Add in paint and some thrifted items and there you have it!

 (I am realllly sharing the unstyled, disaster area space that is my kitchen right now!)

One of the things on my to-do list was to change the black tile on the island. I considered it to be a longshot. I priced white marble slabs installed, not installed (just not something we can physically do ourselves right now), formica faux marble countertops and more. I just wasn't willing to spend what any of the above was going to require right now. BUT then I found 12 x 12 gorgeoussss white marble tiles the other day for under $5.00 a square foot!! So while a big seamless slab would be amazing this is going to be the next best thing, look so much better and cost under $75.00!! 

I cannot wait for the tile to be glued down and the island cabinetry painted Sherwin Williams Naval. 
Here's the back door "in progress" with just one coat of Naval. Already gorgeous!

And since every picture in this post is pretty scary...

...here's my cute terra cotta pumpkin collection all ready for the big night!

I found them all in thrift stores this year. They've been a big hit on IG!

Follow along with all of the other great projects on the One Room Challenge blog.