One Room Challenge Fall 2016 – Week 5 – It’s Always A Mad Dash…

03 Nov One Room Challenge Fall 2016 – Week 5 – It’s Always A Mad Dash…

Well, my friends, we have the bones of a pretty room.

In case you are new here, or you would like a refresher on the whole process of my One Room Challenge this season, click the following links:

One Room Challenge Week 1 – Why We Chose the Master Bedroom

One Room Challenge Week 2 – The Plan

One Room Challenge Week 3 – Ceiling Crash & Wallpaper Calamities

One Room Challenge Week 4 – Wallpaper Removal & Closet Transformation

Last week, I told you about removing the old wallpaper and making the closet opening larger, which was really a dramatic transformation.

From this:

To this:

Next we had to get the trim and doors painted.  This part is easy and went off without a hitch.

The paint made a BIG difference in the feel of the space.  Remember how my husband was really insistent on dark trim?  I have to hand it to him, it does look great!  As a reminder, we used Farrow & Ball’s Black Blue – not too black, with a hint of deep deep blue, it’s perfect!

Next step was the ceiling wallpaper.  I chose Ellie Cashman’s Dark Floral 200% Saturated, and I was really excited to get the rolls and see the large pattern up close.  The detail and depth of this pattern is so fabulous, she is one talented woman!  Ellie is based in the Netherlands, and I placed my order on Tuesday, and the rolls were ON MY PORCH IN TEXAS ON FRIDAY!!  How’s that for fast shipping??!!  I could hardly believe it!

One strip went up, and I was so happy with it!  Also, I moved the opaline knob to the bathroom door, and it looks so pretty, right?

The ceiling wallpaper took a couple of days to finish, and then it was time for the grasscloth to go up on the walls.  I had to patch a few areas where I was a bit aggressive when I took the old wallpaper off, and it was so neat to see papers of the past.  Clearly, this room is meant to have some black accents and some flowers!

I put up about eleventy billion samples of grasscloth wallpaper on the walls, and I think we found the one that met all of our requirements.  We wanted: a slight sheen, a neutral not-too-ivory-not-too-white background, slight texture (not too much “grass”), with a tone that was not too beige or yellow.  I love the texture a grasscloth brings, and I want the room to reflect the personality I am envisioning for it.  I want this bedroom to feel glamorous and elegant, yet still approachable, with a touch of romance, and an overlying sense of coziness.  (wordy I know – I wrote that description based on how it looks in my brain)  All that to say, we opted for a more silky looking grasscloth, versus the more heavy “grass” look I usually choose.

When I originally saw the doors framed in, I still had faith the doors would look great, but at this stage, it is still a bit scary because this does not look terrific, right?  A couple of coats of paint and some wallpaper later, I could really see the room taking shape.

Before:

After:

Fairly dramatic, yes??!!  Befores and afters are the best!

So let me pull back the curtain a bit on the One Room Challenge, okay?  So Week 5 is really the last week of this deal.  After this post is up, I have a maximum of four days.  (I would say three, four is reeeeeeally pushing it)  You have to post the reveal one week from now (next Wednesday or Thursday), which really means you have to take pictures Monday or Tuesday in order to have them edited and ready.  Although many participants have already finished, photographed, edited, and pre-written their post for next week, I would say there are many folks (like me) who still have yet to complete their space.  (not to mention photograph it, eek!)  Once you finish the bones, you get into the real nitty-gritty of accessorizing and placement, and figuring out what to do about things you thought would work and don’t.  And things like mirror size (see below).

Aaaaaand funny side note…you put up one piece of art (see the arch in the picture above) because it simply makes you feel better to have SOMETHING on the walls.  HA!

There are so many details that make a space.  Seemingly insignificant elements you do not notice on first glance, much like pieces of a puzzle, come together to form a (hopefully) amazing-looking whole.

Example of one of those minute details: the fact that I need to switch these plug plates to blend with the trim.  And people that own old homes will understand this, but we are upgrading to three-prong outlets in this room, wheeeeeeeee!

I am currently mulling over pillows, flowers, bedding, rugs, art, accessories, and lighting.  Again, I feel more calm at this point than I did last season of the ORC, but I definitely feel the strong tension of getting it all done in a short amount of time.

Thank you for following along!  I’m excited to see the space complete in the next few days, and I’m even more thrilled I can reveal it to you next week!

You should also check out the other One Room Challenge participants by clicking here!  Special thanks to Linda from Calling It Home for putting together this season’s ORC, and to House Beautiful for being the Media Sponsor.

Until the next story.

xo, G