We made it to the finish line of the Spring 2017 One Room Challenge! This bi-annual event virtually brings together hundreds of designers and interior design bloggers for a six-week room transformation challenge. Thank you to Calling It Home, the host and ORC founder, as well as media partner House Beautiful, for organizing another successful ORC!
Let's get to it! Six quick weeks ago, we took the smallest bedroom in our home - a 10 ft. x 11.5 ft. design-deprived and under-utilized space - and started transforming it into a triple purpose bedroom-study-lounge!
The following links will get you caught up on the room's weekly progression:
We spent the last few weeks executing the conceptual design plan...
...which primarily revolved around smart SPACE PLANNING and the power of PAINT to improve the look, feel, and functionality of the room.
Now here we are, six weeks later...
...and the room has been successfully turned into the "SMALL BUT MIGHTY BEDROOM-STUDY-LOUNGE" that I envisioned! Come on in and take a look around...
Painting all the walls in the same dark color that was previously just on an accent wall made a big difference in the overall feel and appearance of the room. Contrary to common thought, the room actually feels larger wrapped in the dark paint color. The lesson here is to NOT be afraid to go bold and dark in a small space.
ALL ABOUT FUNCTION
Despite its modest 10 ft. x 11.5 ft. footprint, we maximized every square inch of the room and packed it with function! Designating specific zones - Study Nook, Bedroom/Lounge, Media Area - was integral in the space planning.
A study nook was created by outfitting this wall with a simple parson-style desk. One of our
dining room chairs is currently standing in as the desk chair until I find its replacement. 😉
I had originally planned to add a patterned fabric treatment on the square insets of the closet doors, but it looked too busy. The insets were finished with chalkboard paint instead
you know, just in case we want to write on the wall!
My favorite addition to the study area is the oil painting I salvaged from my parents' house. It adds vintage "soul" to the room. Love that it came in a brass frame too!
When conceptualizing the room, I knew a daybed would suit the dimensions and intended purpose(s) of the space. However, I used a frameless twin mattress set instead to achieve the daybed concept. Going frameless helped maximize floor space, which was important with limited square footage. The bed serves as a "sofa" when lounging, and acts as an actual bed when needed for sleeping.
Blankets and pillows in various patterns and textures were layered on the bed for softness and dimension. The textiles were kept in a monochromatic color pallet of cream, black, white, and gray to keep things streamlined.
One of the unspoken goals for the room was to give our boys (ages 8 1/2 and 12) an alternative space where they could entertain their friends. When our kids have friends over, they usually hang out in the family room unless they're playing outside. Installing a television and eventually moving their gaming console to this room enables them to have a "private" place to watch movies or play video games (without bothering us and vice versa 😆).
Love the abstract geometric pattern and brass detail on this planter!
By the way, the leather bench by the bed...
...actually doubles as extra seating AND storage!
Here's a combined look at all the function we packed into the room:
GALLERY WALL OF MIRRORS
A feature aspect of the design plan was the gallery wall of mirrors. Since the entire room was painted a dark color, I used mirrors rather than art to help visually "expand" the space. Mirrors also reflect and bounce light.
The wall of mirrors provided huge design impact for very little money. The gallery wall was curated by sourcing mostly inexpensive vintage options to compliment our existing aged brass mirror (purchased at Bombay Company years ago). The only exception was the antique silver starburst mirror, which I found on clearance at Home Goods!
Mixing different mirror finishes - aged brass, "metallic gold" (via spray paint!), antique silver, and wood/rattan - helps to achieve a more collected look.
BEFORE & AFTER
My favorite part of any makeover is to take a look back at where things started so you can really appreciate the transformation!
I am so glad I made the last minute decision to jump into the #oneroomchallenge. There is nothing like a tight deadline to motivate you to pull a room together. My family and I LOVE how cozy and functional the room turned out!
Thank you all so much for following along, and sharing your support and encouragement throughout the process. I am so grateful to be able to share the transformation of our beloved fixer upper with you, room by room! I'll dig into the specifics about this room in a separate post, so come back soon.
Visit the room reveals of all the ORC participants: