Category Archives: Design

Fall 2021 One Room Challenge: Week One

Ta-dah… the mood board reveal! I haven’t made a mood board in the better part of a decade. It was fun to flex a muscle that hasn’t been used in some time! I’m very excited to be a One Room Challenge™ Guest Participant this fall (Fall 2021). I have an entire house that’s being renovated so I could see this challenge becoming a semi-annual part of my life!

Project Sources

Chairs / Edloe Finch

Table / Wayfair

Citrus Trees / Brighter Blooms

Planters / Amazon

Paint / Sherwin Williams’ Alabaster, Accessible Beige, and Tricorn Black

Chandelier / Wayfair

Mantel / Facebook Marketplace

Fireplace Inset Tile / Home Depot

Art Options / TBD… but here’s a link to the contenders via Pinterest

We moved into our home in early May and have been deconstructing this room over the last five months. Here’s the progression in photos:

  • The room when we moved into our house.
  • The creepy orange fan and light had to go.
  • Testing to see what is under the paint.
  • We loved what we saw and continued removing!
  • Next, I pried off the barnwood pieces.
  • …but the mantel didn’t want to budge.
  • Eventually, we won the battle of the mantel.
  • I called in the electrician for moving a few things.
  • Repairs on the drywall with gripper primer
  • And … here is where we officially stand on day #1 of the Fall 2021 One Room Challenge!

Check out the featured designers on the ORC blog and check back tomorrow as guest participants, like me (!), add our One Room Challenge projects to the blog and Instagram (@oneroomchallenge or the hashtag #oneroomchallenge).

This week I’m still working on repairing the fireplace wall itself. It’s going to be a lot of foundational work the first few weeks. But I get to pick up my tile tomorrow (yay!) which will most likely be shared in Stories because I’m terrible at keeping reveals like that to myself! Next week I’ll break down my budget and project timeline in the second One Room Challenge blog post. The actual work is the visible side of this challenge, but the devil is in the details, a.k.a. the project planning and prep work!

If you’re joining in on the One Room Challenge fun over the next 8 weeks, reach out and say hello here or via Instagram. Good luck to all the featured designers and guest participants this fall!

#MicroDesigns: Window Treatments

Our house has seven types of window treatments. There’s no consistent theme by floor or by room. I’m trying to make decisions for the longer term design of our home and because I’m not a gajillionaire (yet!). I’m taking an approach of what I know works from our previous homes and frankly, taking treatments down in some spaces to understand if it is even necessary in a room.

Do yourself a favor and bookmark this post from Young House Love on hanging curtains.

Design likes: consistency room-to-room on each floor. I love curtains in bedrooms and more transparent, light feels around the main floor and basement. Design dislikes: blinds. I love my children but they are professional destroyers of blinds. Design NOs: plastic blinds. Really, blinds of any kind. And cleaning blinds is not an activity I enjoy. So, with the above considerations in mind, below is the plan for our home, by floor:

UPSTAIRS

Half-Price Drapes Faux Linen Room Darkening Curtain

These look like linen without the fuss and beautifully block light. My two favorite colors are Birch (a warmer white) and Oyster (a cooler white). Swatches are available.
Price: $35/panel

Birch Faux Linen Blackout Room Darkening Curtain Half Price drapes

UPSTAIRS

Umbra Cappa Curtain Rods

A classic with a modern take, these curtain rods are available in 4 finishes and in sizes ranging from 36″ to 120″. I’ve used these in all three of my homes.
Price: $20/rod

Umbra Cappa Curtain Rod

MAIN FLOOR, BASEMENT

IKEA RINGBLOMMA Roman blind

I get the appeal of spending $$$ on fabrics, but with young children and pets, I’m not ready to spend $150 or more on custom Roman shades. This is a family-friendly fabric and price.
Price: $25 for 34″x63″ and $30 for the 48″x63 ”

IKEA Ringblomma Roman Blinds

EXTRAS

Ring Curtain Clips

I love the extra something that ring curtain clips add to curtains. In our last house, we had 9′ ceilings so they were necessary to help extend 96″ curtains. In our upstairs, the 96″ are perfect, but I may play with adding clips. These come in black, bronze, and silver.
Price: $10/36

36 Pack Rings Curtain Clips Strong Metal Decorative Drapery Window Curtain Ring with Clip Rustproof Vintage Compatible with up to 1 inch Drapery Rod Black

The Budget Breakdown

  • Upstairs: 6 windows
    • 10 pairs of curtains = $350
    • 6 curtain rods = $120
  • Main floor: 7 windows
    • 4, 34″x63″ windows (front of the house) = $100; using white shades
    • 3, 48″x63″ windows (in our breakfast room) = $90; using the green stripe shades
    • All other windows are going to be without treatments!
  • Downstairs:
    • 3, 48″x63″ windows = $90; using the white shades
    • 2 other larger windows that are TBD*
  • Grand total: *$750

Welcome to Our New Home

We made it! We survived the housing market of 2021. Let the moving truck be filled, the worries complete, and a move into a new home begin! (If only it were that easy, right?)

Welcome to a first look at our new-to-us 1980s home! Our family of four is relocating from Fort Myers, Florida to St. Louis, Missouri. Only a few miles west of Florida, if you will. We’re moving because my husband’s promotion is taking us on a journey that’s closer to our roots as Missouri-born and raised humans.

You’re not here for all the verbiage, though; and if you are, email me. We can chat. Below are photos of our new house from the realtor listing.

As I finish a room – new camera lens pending! – I want to recreate the realtor photos with the new version of each space. More on that to come as we have a LOT of work ahead of us on that front!