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: 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. 

before & after: DIY white lamp

A few weeks ago I made, yet another, wonderful discovery in my building’s garbage hub: a brassy old table lamp. Stuck to its stained and dated lampshade was a note that read, Still works! :)  

I considered this a good find. Loved the look of the lamp, and was not 100% turned off by the brassy base (the lampshade was a definite no, and was left in the trash). After being left in its original state for a few weeks, I decided that a spritz of white spray paint would give it a more modern and chic look. 

Sporting a new $12 lampshade from Wal-Mart, my garbage lamp is complete! When I get tired of white, I can easily switch out the lampshade for something more dramatic, a la the lovely Rose Landscape Lampshade from Anthropologie (spending a few extra $$ on a shade is easier to justify when you scored the base for free) OR easily repaint the base in a new colour. Another option, would be to try sanding off some of the white, for a brassy-weathered-look (no idea if that would actually work…but worth a try one day) 

And, a friendly reminder to please vote for my bedroom in Apartment Therapy's Room for Color contest. Winner receives a $1000 gift card to Fab.com and some much-needed paint from Sherwin-Williams. Thank you!