One Room Challenge Week 1: The Plan

Happy Thursday! I have a big announcement to make (drum roll please) …I am taking part in the Fall staging of the Once Room Challenge! If you are not familiar, don’t worry, I only learned about this design event a few months ago.

The One Room Challenge (ORC) is a six-week design challenge held twice a year, during April and October. It was created in 2011 by Linda Weinstein in an attempt to motivate herself and a small group of friends to complete a room in their home. Today, the ORC has grown into a significant online interior design event where 20 appointed designers work with brands such as Better Homes and Gardens, to design and complete a room in six weeks. One of the best things about ORC, is that guest participants, such as bloggers, influencers, DIY-ers like myself, are given the opportunity to join alongside designers and redesign a space as well. You can learn more about ORC here.

I decided to sign up this Fall because I had a few projects that I wanted to complete but was dragging my feet on and after looking at the completed rooms in the Spring ORC, I was inspired. Plus, deadlines help me get things done! I have never done a challenge like this before, so I am a little out of my comfort zone, but I am also excited to share my project with you over the next six weeks.

Before

Now that summer has come to close, and there will be no more fraternizing in the backyard, I have decided to turn my attention to the rooms I’ve been neglecting. For my first ORC, I decided to redesign my dining room, mainly because the dining is smaller and I wanted to start with something more manageable, but also because this room is such a cozy spot in the winter with all the sunlight it gets, I want to make it more comfortable.

If you are new here, here’s a little background on my home: a year ago I purchase a little fixer upper I now call home. I was a little worried at first that I bit off more than I could chew, but I’ve slowly been renovating each room, DIY-ing as much as I can. When I first purchased my home, the dining NEEDED a lot of TLC. Here’s proof:

Before, moving in I did some updating, mainly painting, updating window and floor trim and updating window treatment.  But now it’s time to be more intentional in my design. The room receives lots of light in the afternoon because of the high windows, so I want to maximize on the light the room gets and create a more inviting space. Here are pictures of the space today.

When I moved into the space, I moved with all the furniture I previously owned. As you can see from the pictures, my dining table is a little too big for the space, and didn’t quite go with the modern rustic design I had for the house.

Inspiration

I’ve been saving décor inspirations on Pinterest for some time now. I want to create bright an airy space, not just for eating but also for relaxing in the afternoon sun. I don’t have many dinners at my dining table since I live by myself, and in all honesty only use my dining table for its intended use when my parents visit. So I would like to create a space that doubles as a dining and sunroom.  Here are some photos that inspires me.

I am a big fan of window benches, especially for this space. My plan is to create the window seating as the focal point of the room, and I am hoping to find matching furniture and light fixtures to complement it.

 Here’s an overview of the major items and overall feel I want for the room.

The Plan

Okay, now that you get the feeling of what I’m looking for, here’s a rundown on the major design goals I would like to achieve:

• Update seating: create more comfortable seating that suits the small space
• Refresh tired tile floor
• Shiplap or wallpaper walls
• New window treatments
• Update light fixtures

I think that is an achievable list for the next six weeks. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I won’t run into any major issues.

This Week’s Goal

The goal for this week is to start working on the window bench. This one will be a little tricky since my baseboard radiator runs parallel to the window, but I am hoping to be able to work around it. Be sure to come back next week for updates. And also, check out what the featured designers and other guest participants are working on over at the ORC.