Ladies and Gentlemen I have done it again…I’ve taken on another project just before I have put the finishing touches on my last project. Are you bad at doing that? I am. I will forever be a member of the 95% club and I hold my membership card high in the air proudly. So with that let’s dive into ORC Week 1 of this wonderful event. But first lets talk about what exactly this event is.
When I first heard about the ORC (One Room Challenge) by Better Homes and Gardens my interest was immediately peaked. What is the ORC? It’s an 8 week event for DIYers and Interior Designers to redo a space around the home just for the love of it. It’s a great way for us to share our love for DIY and Interior Design and what our space is all about for us.
I decided that since this is my first time participating I would do one of our smaller rooms. So why not the smallest room in the house…our home office. Our office measures 11×9 with two windows, a door that sticks when you try to close it, and a fan that sometimes turns and other times it looks at me with a side eye as it sits still. So I think it is screaming for a redo.
When it comes to planning a space first thing I ask myself is what do I want to feel when I walk into it? With this room I wanted that feeling that I just grabbed a relaxing spot in a cozy home library. A space that I could get comfortable in while working not a cold space like a regular office space with fluorescent lighting. To me that’s a space with darker colors, comfortable furniture, and softer lighting. Pulling inspiration from so many wonderful designers made me realize what I kept leaning towards for this space.
And with that I knew what my next decision would be.
PAINT: Now if you have been following us on our social media than you would know that we have some form of dark colors in most of the other projects we have done around the house already. So why wouldn’t I do the same with this room and that’s where the gorgeous color Inkwell by Sherwin Williams comes in. When my husband told me that he didn’t want black in this room cause he thought it was to small of a room for that I said ok and went with a really dark blue………well its not black.
FLOORS: Lets talk about floors. We have the the original hard wood floors from the 1950’s in our home so I’m sure you can guess they are starting to look a little worn. I will be trying to strip them down to which I will be putting a natural sealant and finish on them. I’m hoping they will come out close to the finish our new floors in our bedroom are. Cross your fingers and toes everybody.
PINBOARD: With all that we do project wise in both our jobs I thought it would be really cool to have a couple large pinboards to be able to pull our ideas together on. So off I went looking for inspiration and I came across Eyeswoon Pinterest page. She did a gorgeous pinboard that definitely will make you “swoon” and it is easy to create.
FURNITURE: When it comes to the furniture I went with IKEA. They have the clean look I wanted for this space and I’m also balling on a budget over here. I needed something that looked modern but not to pricey. I also like that IKEA’s furniture holds up very well in my experience and look how beautiful the pieces look.
FINISHING TOUCHES: Add in a rug for some color, plants of course, a fan, and those little extras that will tie a room together and I think it will reflect us and the vibe we’re going for.
You know what else is perfect? The fact that you can go an follow all the other amazing spaces that are being renovated by all the talented participants in this event at oneroomchallenge.com
Stayed tuned for next week as we continue down the rabbit hole where I decide if I knew what I was doing when I picked my paint color…..
Excited to see your DIY pinboards – I always think it’s such a chic and functional touch to an office space.
Thank you! I can’t wait to see how they turn out as well. I think its going to be a perfect touch to the space.