One Room Challenge - Guest Room / Office / Creative Space

Wow. It feels like it has been a million years since I last logged into my Blogger account. 

But in reality, it has only been eight. 

In 2018, I had just left a job I loved and moved out of Toronto—farther north than I had ever lived before. I was living with my parents, enrolled in Interior Decorating as a mature student, working online as an eDesigner, writing for a lifestyle site, obsessed with Instagram, and so excited to finally be stepping into a career in the design world.

The eight years that followed packed in more life than I ever could have predicted: becoming a homeowner, actually working in the design world, becoming an aunt (twice!), meeting my now-husband, becoming a landlord, living through a global pandemic, getting laid off, changing careers, turning a candle-making hobby into a side hustle, moving 7+ times, building a house, changing careers again, falling out of love with social media...and most recently (just last weekend) getting married.

A lot has changed since I last logged in. But I've been missing the blogging world. 

I miss scrolling the grainy photos and having an attention span that could handle reading an entire post. The DIYs that weren't polished or algorithm-friendly. I miss when being creative wasn't about building a brand or a side hustle. It was about making your space feel like you and inspiring other people to do the same. 

I'm looking forward to jumping back in and challenging myself to actually finish a project (anyone else have a hard time doing this lately?!) 

Luckily this season of the One Room Challenge came at the perfect time for me, when I've been itching for a creative challenge. 

Our guest room has always been a hodgepodge dumping ground for the things I like and need, but don't have anywhere else to put them. ie the Cricut I received a few years ago for Christmas. I love it, but have always packed it back up into its box after using it because I never had a dedicated space for it--until now! 

This spring I am going to try and tie together all of the things I need this room to be: Guest Room, Office, Creative Space. 

My fingers are crossed in hopes that my design ideas don't cause our first argument as husband and wife! 

This room is truly a disaster. 

But that just means the after photos will seem that much better, right? 

Step 1 - Moving the two garbage bags of clothes out of the room and into the back of my car (...will drive around with them for a while, but eventually will drop them off at our local VV) 

Find the full list of my fellow ORC participants and follow our progress here! 

One Room Challenge - Guest Room - Week 1 to 6

Pardon the fuzzy pics and complete lack of follow-through with that previous post where I explained [what I thought was going to be] my second ORC project. The initial plan was to do something new with my parents' bedroom, but we had some trouble pinning down exactly what we wanted. And rather than rush through the project (since mid-challenge we were still stuck on concept) we decided to give the guest room a quick face lift.

The guest room is on the main floor of my parents' home, next to the main washroom visitors and guests use. The door to this room is usually open and in clear view when going upstairs or standing in the kitchen. So, it was important that it look welcoming, cute and slightly nautical/cottage-y to match the vibe of the (soon-to-be-completed) rest of the house.

Scroll to the bottom to check out the before pics and some of the finishing details. Including the teeny tiny budget we managed to work with!

As always, a huge thank you goes out to Linda for organizing the One Room Challenge. Twice a year she brings together over 200 guest participants (like myself) and 20 featured bloggers to redecorate a room in six short weeks. You can view the guest participants by click here and view the featured bloggers here.

 Before + Progress Pics

Above: In the end, my inspiration pillow turned out to be not quite right. But it did influence me to buy some gorgeous drapes. 

Below: We tested out some Benjamin Moore paint swatches and settled on the lovely Wickham Gray. 

I'm happy to report that we spent around $350 finishing this room. We shopped around the house and in storage to furnish the space, only buying a new set of drapes and hardware at homeSense for around $50. The remaining budget went to trim, paint and supplies! Not bad.

One Room Challenge - Master Bedroom, Week 1

Hi Friends! Apparently it has been six whole months since completing my first One Room Challenge (crazy!) and it is time to jump back on the crazy train and do it all over again [insert nervous laugh here]. I will be joining a group of 200+ bloggers and 20 featured designers who will be linking up each week to share our progress, struggles, triumphs and everything else that goes along with an ORC makeover. You can follow along with the hashtag #oneroomchallenge on Instagram or by checking into Linda's blog, Calling It Home every Wednesday and Thursday (she's the mastermind behind the ORC). So, here goes another six week makeover challenge! This time around I will be making over my mom and dad's master bedroom. It's lacking a lot of things...but my goal is to make it match this stress-free-lakeside-lounging-lifestyle my parents seem to have adopted. I'm hoping to give them a space that feels intentional and personalized, rather then the mishmash of hand-me-downs and makeshift storage solutions they've been working with. And to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what this space will look like when we're done, but I'm hoping it will be something along the lines of these inspiration pics...a little trim, a few nautical bits and some vintage accents. Should be easy, right? Heh...

1 / 2 / 3

Custom Creations from Loom Decor

I am more than aware of the fact that I have a serious pillow addiction. Lately I’ve been able to reign in the crazy and say ‘no’ to several beautiful pillows that have crossed my path, but when Laurel and Wolf asked if I was interested in learning more about Loom Décor and creating a free custom pillow, I jumped off my wagon and said YES.

Vaguely familiar with the brand (I can’t not click on an online ad with pretty pillows), I was given a tour of the site and services with one of their Pro Stylists, Erica. She walked me through the ins and outs of the shop, highlighting all of the services they offered, and the countless opportunities to create something customized—not to mention that each piece is handmade at their workshop in Nashville, Tennessee.

I’m pretty curious about their window treatment offerings and definitely want to give this service a whirl, especially since one of the site’s features includes a chat box with an online stylist ready to provide assistance (because you definitely don’t want to make a mistake when ordering custom window treatments…) But what I am most obsessed with are the bed skirts! For anyone who has recently shopped for these, you’ll know the struggle to find something that feels modern (read: NO ruffles) and in ANY colour other than white or cream. Sense my frustration? Honestly though, how cute is this?

Being the generous daughter that I am, I had my mom and dad’s room in mind when creating my custom pillow. We went with the Simple Lumbar style with feather insert, and pulled from their lengthy selection of blue fabrics. Immediately I was drawn to the breezy ombre palette and largescale print of Birds of a Feather in Pool (coincidently, that was my mom’s first choice too) and mom chose Mazing Grace in Aqua for the back of the pillow. When the pillow arrived, we were pleasantly surprised at how accurate the colours were – not always the case when ordering online. We had one small issue, where the zipper was placed on the wrong side of the pillow, but it took a few days for us to realize the mistake, and Loom was quick to replace for us.

Browsing their site, you definitely get caught up in all of the gorgeous fabrics and styles they have to offer, and I’ve rounded up a few fabulous prints that caught my eye…

Simple Throw Pillows: classic velvet - nectar / udaya - berry / classic linen - ivory w/ classic linen - terra cotta edge /  chantilly stripe - midnight / zoo-la-la - ruby / optrix - ash / xu garden - indigo / spot on - azure / babar - twilight / shore - classic / stream up - mist / band stand - oyster / classic linen - safari w/ classic linen - ivory edge /  classic linen - iron, casual linen - dune, crisp linen - dawn 

One Room Challenge: Week 6 Reveal

Six weeks have come and gone, marking the end of this season (and my first time participating in) the One Room Challenge! And it was just as fun and stressful as I had imagined it to be. A huge thank-you goes out to our host, Linda of Calling it Home, for organizing such a unique event. Over 200 Guest Participants (myself included) and 20 Featured Designers have been linking up each week (or in my case, most weeks) to share our progress and cheer each other on. Our challenge was to take one room in our home or a client's home and re-decorate it in six short weeks--easier said than done, but not impossible!

Let's recap...

Here's a before pic of the room I chose to redecorate. Super boring, slopped ceilings, and zero character.



In Week One I had introduced my space and pulled together a mood board that showed some of the furniture and accessories I was planning to use, while also giving a general sense of how the space would feel. I drifted slightly after spotting a pair of linen and sage floral drapes, but for the most part managed to stay on-course with my vintage-farmhouse-cottage-bedroom.

Week Two was a bust, nothing was accomplished.

Week Three I went shopping and luckily only managed to return a few items. For the most part, this space was compiled with furniture we already owned. Newly purchased items included the table lamps, drapes, faux-fur rug and bed linens.

Week Four I did some DIY'ing and refinished my Bubi's nightstands in a custom shade of Peony & Plum Dust Paint. I later also refinished an old MCM-style dresser with Peony & Plum's Dust Paint in Warm Black, both pieces were sealed with bee's wax.

Week Five was pretty slack, as again nothing got done. But Week Six my carpenter (aka, my dad) was able to put the trim up!! It was a trickier task than either of us had imagined, as the cottage is pretty old and therefore had some wonky plaster walls. But after two solid days of measuring, cutting, nailing, DAP'ing and painting, we were DONE and ready for the furniture and accessories.

One happy mistake was that because we are still in the process of moving into the new cottage, I wasn't able to move my bed in time. It wouldn't fit in my dad's truck, so it had to be put off until our official moving day. The headboard pictured actually came with the house, and as much as I want to hate it, I kinda like it! It may stick around...

The one major project that had to be put off until a later date were my sliding barn doors. I wanted to install two: one for the closet and one leading into the room. The plan is to add dormers to each of the upstairs bedrooms, and this could potentially affect the wall the doors would be on :( so rather then spend money on something that may have to be taken apart, the barn doors are being put on hold.

Overall, I had such a great time pulling together this space. I am currently out of town, so will have to wait until the weekend before I can enjoy those ironed sheets! A huge thank-you to my dad, Rick, who really isn't a carpenter, but totally could be. He's actually more into stone, as you can tell from his fab blog, Rick Minnings Cultured Stone :)

Looking forward to browsing all of the other beautiful spaces in the One Room Challenge , see you next round!

 

Pardon the blurry pics, they were snapped on my iPhone

One Room Challenge: Week Four DIY'ing

Seems like it was only yesterday that I posted about Week 3....

Week Four was definitely productive, which is a good thing, considering there are only 2 more weeks to finish this little bedroom! Have you been following along with the One Room Challenge? Hosted by Linda of Calling it Home, she has challenged 20 Featured Designers along with 200+ Guest Participants to completely revamp a room in their home (or in some cases, a client's home). The hitch? We've only got six short and sweet weeks to finish the project.

If you'd like to catch up on the progress of my bedroom you can do so here:

Week One: The Mood Board 
Week Two: Don't ask....
Week Three: Accessories 

This week is all about the DIYs. First up is a project that is pretty near and dear to my heart. If you follow me on Instagram, you will have already gotten a glimpse of these beautiful night stands. They had belonged to my Bubi, who passed away just after Christmas. Her apartment was always packed with beautiful pieces of furniture, dishware, accessories, clothes, etc. And I always loved going through her cupboards and admiring her things. She was a storyteller and loved to give me the history of everything she had and now, more than ever, I am thankful she did.

She had always had these night stands in her bedroom, and I assumed that they were always yellow. However, after going through old family pics I had spotted them in a shot from the late 80's and realized they were originally cream, but had yellowed with age (and likely a glaze of nicotine).

Initially I wasn't sure where I wanted to keep these night stands, but now that I will be moving into a much smaller bedroom, these are the perfect size for my ORC room.

This past semester our class was introduced to local designer, Cathy Plum-Kleiser and her line of Peony and Plum Dust Paint. Similar to chalk paint, Cathy's line of furniture paint requires virtually no prep work. YEAH, that's right. No sanding or priming! Just a quick wash with TSP, let your piece dry, and then you're off! Once you've applied your first coat, you can apply a second coat in the same colour or a contrasting colour(s). I am painting my room in Benjamin Moore's colour of the year, Simply White, so I wanted to keep the tables in a similar shade. Cathy recommended going a shade darker then Simply White and colour matched a jar of paint in Benjamin Moore's Moonlight White for me. I applied two coats of the same colour, and sanded some of the edges so the original paint could be seen, then did a little extra sanding on some edges that went right to the wood.

When I first started painting I got a little worried that I was changing the tables and taking away some of their charm. It wasn't until I started roughing them up with the sandpaper that they began to have a little more character, and looked more like those beaten-up night stands I was used to. 

I even had a little "moment" after pulling out one of the drawers and finding a half-eaten roll of Mentos mints, something my Bubi always had in her purse. My mom and I took it as a sign that she was okay with what I had done to her beloved tables :)  

And voila! A little preview of what's to come. Will be finishing them both with beeswax, and using their original hardware. 

For more Peony & Plum inspiration, check out their collection of furniture at Castle & Park's online shop. 

one room challenge: week 3 accessories

YIKES. Week 3 already??

If you've been following along on my six week adventure to redecorate my new bedroom, you may have noticed that I haven't done much! My excuse: Finishing up the last week of my Interior Decorating diploma at Georgian College. I also had the opportunity to volunteer at Georgian's first-ever Research, Innovation and Scholarship Day, where our program took home a well-deserved prize for "Most Creative". Here we are manning the booth and showing off the DIY lamps we had created for our lighting class. Pretty creative, right?

This week I am also preparing for Georgian College's School of Design and Visual Arts Scholarship Show, where the top students from each department display their favourite projects from the past year for prospective students to view. There is also a judging component to the show, where over $30,000 will be awarded to students from the Art and Design Fundamentals, Fine Arts, Jewellery and Metals, Digital Photography and Imaging, Interior Design, Interior Decorating and Web Animation and Design programs. I participated in the show last year as well, and this year's board will likely look pretty similar to what I had shown:

As wonderful as it feels to be done, it is also a little daunting to now be focusing all of my attention to the One Room Challenge, as there is SO much to do. This week I managed to spend a small fortune at one of my favourite stores: Homesense. And of course I strayed a little from my original plan...but after a little space planning, I decided to nix this gorgeous rug I had initially had my eye on, in favour of some drapes that will be a much softer addition (and a little kinder to my budget). There's a beautiful sage-green that runs throughout the pattern and I plan to play it up with the bedding accent pillows. As disappointing as it is to let go of the rug, I was fearful that such a strong colour on the floor will make the already small space feel even smaller. I may regret this decision, but for now I'm loving the drapes and very excited to see them in the space! The pic below was taken at night with my phone, so it really doesn't do the fabric justice. But you'll get the gist of where I'm going with this :)

I also picked up a few little cheapies at my guilty pleasure, WalMart: Furniture paint from Peony & Plum in Warm Black as well as a pot of white, custom matched to Benjamin Moore's Moonlight White (more on this next week) and my dad and I are prepping for the trim work this afternoon (better late then never, right?). No doubt the last few weeks will be a whirlwind, but luckily I work best under a little extra pressure!

If you're new to the blog, you may be wondering what the heck I'm talking about....well, a few weeks ago I signed up for the One Room Challenge, a blogging event hosted by the lovely Linda of Calling It Home. She's challenged 20 featured designers and a over 200 Guest Participants to link up and share the adventures (and misadventures) of decorating a room in six (very short) weeks.

one room challenge: week 1 mood board

I've been standing on the sidelines of the One Room Challenge for many many rounds, however, this year I'm joining in on the fun as a Guest Participant! If you aren't already familiar, the ORC is a blogging event hosted by Linda of Calling It Home. She brings together 20 Designers (an impressive list of bloggers I am in awe of) as well as a linkup opportunity for other bloggers to participate, share progress and cheer on one another. Everyone has six weeks to hustle and transform their space.

For this challenge, I will be making over my new bedroom (pictured above) into a cozy little cottage-farmhouse-inspired getaway. When I made the decision to return to school and move back home with my parents I knew I'd enjoy a few perks, like the home cooked meals (my mom is an outrageously good cook), reliable snow removal (thanks dad!), and free room and board. I definitely wasn't expecting them to purchase a lakefront home...needless to say, we're all excited and I may never move out :)  It also felt like the perfect opportunity to jump into the ORC.

The new house is pretty close to perfection, it had recently been renovated and staged to sell, however the two upstairs bedrooms have awkward sloped ceilings that likely prevented the previous owners from installing doors. With this in mind, I am expecting to get creative with the closet and bedroom door, with hopes of incorporating a pair of sliding barn-style doors (anyone have any tips for installing these?).

The gambrel roof makes the ceiling feel a bit lower then it actually is, so the plan is to incorporate some trim to help give the room the illusion of having some height. I was in awe of the millwork in Vanessa Francis' ORC bedroom makeover from last season, and also found an inspiration image that shows the millwork going right up onto the ceiling—definitely on my list of 'Things to Consider'.

As you can see by my mood board the goal is definitely cottage-farmhouse-chic. Planning to refinish some older pieces I already own, as well as perhaps adding a few modern touches with new lamps, bedding and accessories.

You can meet my fellow Guest Participants here as well as the incredibly talented Featured Designers here.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone has up their sleeves for this round of decorating madness!

Inspiration via Wit and Delight

 Inspiration via Thoughts from Alice 

Inspiration via Keltainen Talo Rannalla

Inspiration via Vanessa Francis

get the look: mod bedroom

You know those interior design magazines with high/low style stories? Well, my classmates and I were recently tasked with choosing an interior and sourcing high and low price options for some of its main pieces. Not as easy as I had initially expected but managed to find some reasonably similar solutions for both the high and low shopper. 

CHEAP + CHIC 

Manor Capiz Seashell Chandelier by Kouboo | Magical Thinking Mariposa Butterfly Sham Set from Urban Outfitter | Saarinen Tulip Side Chair by Rove Concepts | LEIRVIK Bed frame from Ikea 

SPLURGE WORTHY

Tulip Armless Chair EERO SAARINEN 1957 from Knoll | 19th c. Quaterfoil Iron Bed from Restoration Hardware | Kyoto Pillow Covers from Serena and Lily | Cyan Design Bella Vetro Chandelier from Wayfair 

mod bedroom image via Style at Home

floral shelf DIY

A few years ago I had picked up a set of three metal shelves from Urban Outfitters. Marked down so low that they were practically free, I grabbed them all without knowing where they’d wind up. Fast forward a year and a bit and my new room had an empty patch that was screaming for a set of three metal shelves ;)

I’m terrible at documenting projects with photographs, but covering the shelves was fairly simple. I traced each side of the shelf onto the wrapping paper, cut them out and pasted them piece by piece onto the shelf. For the top ledge, I used a slightly larger piece and folded the excess bit over to the underside of the shelf for a clean edge.

Gently smooth out the air bubbles as you lay the pieces of paper flat—this is probably the most important step to achieve a clean and smooth finish. Easy peasy.

The final product is now the perfect place to showcase an eclectic mix of books, pictures and mementos that had previously been cluttering the dresser.

Up next: deciding on a colour to paint that pink table!