This Life I Styled - One Room Challenge Fall '19 - Week 2
To say this week has been a whirlwind would be an understatement! The One Room Challenge is full swing and it’s amazing to see what can be accomplished in one short week. I’m really loving checking in with both the Featured Designers this year as well as all the other Guest Participants. I can’t believe that there are over 350 participants this time around. That’s so exciting for Design Community! I’m making some great connections and virtually meeting so many talented people - it’s invigorating!
So, as far as my little laundry room makeover goes, let me share some details!
It’s feeling like Christmas around here! Bright, shiny new things are starting to show and it’s fun that in this particular instance, they’re for me instead of a client. Unboxing the items and seeing my vision for the space really start to come together feels like the long days of labor are going to be well worth it when all is said and done. Outside of the pretty stuff showing up, I’ve been able to get more than I expected done this past week! Mostly because my husband has chipped in with some additional elbow grease, which has been super helpful. Here’s what we’ve accomplished so far:
Gutted the room completely
Laid new flooring to match the flooring we laid throughout the rest of our downstairs area.
Painted the cabinets that we will be keeping.
Donated those that we will not be keeping.
Troubleshooted a few issues that were discovered during demo (always a fun experience that seems to happen every. single. time).
Reapplied all the door frames we had to remove in order to lay the new flooring.
It’s already feeling a lot more fresh and feels a lot better in the space. It’s hard to go to sleep at night seeing the progress that we’ve made so far and not want to keep chugging away at it! But, we do both still have jobs to do and two little kids to raise!
Painting the cabinets sure was an experience. I plan on doing a separate post with full details on how I accomplished what I feel is a damn good paint job on my laminate cabinets, but for now I’m going to just keep this short. I’ve always loved Benjamin Moore Paints. I think their fan decks provide me with the most diversity as an Interior Designer and I think their paints last and are easy to work with. In making my color selection and figuring out what product to use, I popped into my local Ben Moore store to get the products that my favorite Professional Painting Company, Painting America Inc. recommended to me. I’m soooo glad I had them as a resource! Both the primer and the paint they recommended did exactly what they told me they would do and I actually found the process to be far easier than I had anticipated. I’m really happy with the outcome! For all of those who are wondering, I was FINALLY able to select the color and what I settled on is Benjamin Moore’s Holiday Wreath, 447.
Amongst other things that have come up, I’ve decided that we need to deal with out stairwell while we’re doing this project. I just feel like it falls in same priority list because you have to use the stairs (duh) to get from the first floor to this new laundry room, so it seems pointless to do one and not the other. It is going to require us to bump up our budget a bit and naturally, it’s going to add quite a bit labor and time, but I think it’s going to be worth it in the end.
This week we’re traveling a bit, so I don’t want to stress myself out too much, but I do well with a list. If things go well, here’s what I’m hoping that I can check off before Week 3.
Purchase and stain all the new stair treads
Install the newly painted cabinets
Re-install our washer and dryer AS SOON AS FRIGGIN POSSIBLE!
Paint and install all new trim
Sand and skim coat wall that is to be wallpapered
Source and template solid surface remnant for the new cabinet layout
Finish ordering all remaining items
Take photos of my little ones for my feature art - wish me luck on that one
I’m happy to say that instead of feeling overwhelmed by this process, I’ve really been enjoying it. Six weeks is a tight timeframe - I would never be crazy enough to commit this timeline to a client! But, there’s something electrifying in knowing that in just a few short weeks, the space will be completely new and that I made that happen. I realize that a lot can change in the coming weeks, but I think really committing to enjoying the entire journey… it’s suiting me well.
Thanks for stopping in and checking out my One Room Challenge progress. I can’t wait to keep updating you with what’s to come! Thank you for all your support and, as always, happy designing! Heather-Scherie
