One Room Challenge - The Home Stretch, Pun Intended
Week FIVE, the HOME STRETCH! And yes, the pun was very much intended. If you live in a hole or maybe you just aren't the sports type, I'll fill you in with regards to the pun. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series last night after being shutout of the honor for 108 years. So week 5 is very much THE HOME STRETCH! It is the time that the One Room Challenge participants start to really feel the pressure. This is it people. Next week we all pull the curtains back and reveal our marvelous creations! And if you have really been living in a hole or this is your first time popping in on House Plus Love, I'll fill you in again. Today marks the fifth week of the One Room Challenge which is a SIX week design challenge where designers and bloggers tackle one room in their home! I have been taking on the task of revamping my home office! If you would like to take a peek at our progress over the weeks you can click here: WEEK 1, WEEK 2, WEEK 3, WEEK 4. And now you are officially "filled in".
So let's get started with some organization! For every project I tackle, for myself or for a client, I start with a plan and my planner! I created the House Plus Love design planner last year after years of using the same system in several residential and commercial design firms! I realized that this tool, that most designers use to keep their client projects organized, could be simplified and used by the design savvy homeowner themselves! The House Plus Love design planner was born!
The planner is divided by room, and begins each section with a space for your inspiration photos. Here is a look at what my inspiration print out looks like for this fun office! I printed out this beauty and taped it into place on my inspiration page as I began to make decisions on the space!
Next up, I took measurements of the space and sketched out the floorplan of the room. I also penciled in my initial idea for furniture layout and placement. Then there is a place to record your existing furniture that you plan on using again or re-purposing in the new design. In this case, I had a couple pieces that I knew I wanted to use again even if in a different way. For instance, my high gloss white LACK Ikea bookcase I planned on turning on its side and using it as a console. For those Ikea connoisseurs out there, you'll know that the LACK bookcases are THE original! Blaha! Therefore in this section, I was able to store the existing furniture information and dimensions.
The remainder of the pages provide spaces for you to store and record your new selections for the space including: paint, wall-coverings, furniture, lighting, accessories and more! I took the time to take note of the key pieces I knew I wanted to showcase in the new office. I didn't want to forget those important decisions I had made while planning and the vendors I wanted to include! For instance an adorable pillow by Clairebella Studios, artwork by Teil Duncan, prints by Thimblepress and Scarlet and Gold, and custom finials by Moon and Lola! So there you have it, my very organized design planner that keeps me focused when working on a new space! You can find our House Plus Love design planner right here!
Next up in the land of progress is a little story about a desk. If you are a faithful follower like me of Sugar Paper, you'll remember that back over the summer they released an office collection that included a very beautiful white and gold desk!
Isn't it a stunner! We were warned that they would go fast and that they would released at some ungodly hour in the morning. So of course what's the reasonable thing to do? Yes, you stay up all night and into the next day through all the technical difficulties, and order said desk. I was so thrilled! I knew at some point I would be redesigning my office and I was off to a good start with a beautiful desk on its way! To add to my good fortune, somehow in the technical madness, Target made a 5 minute mistake in the price of the desk and incorrectly listed it for $249 (originally $399). I somehow managed a Cubbies win the World Series luck and scored the desk for $150 off. You can imagine my excitement. Cue the confetti! That's about when my good fortune took a nose dive into the ditch. After a backorder notification, my desk finally arrived in August. I was so excited! I had scored the desk for an amazing price and now it has arrived giving me a slight edge in what I know sits around the corner...this One Room Challenge.
I'm sure the underpaid laborer in China who packed this beauty wished they could have seen the smug look on my face with all my beaming pride. Because what they knew that I did not is that, they had not taken the care needed when completing their task of: PACKING THE DESK PROPERLY! Of course, my excitement quickly turned to disappointment when I discovered the desk was crushed. CRUSHED. Beyond repair. Let me just take that straight to the dumpster for you Target. But no, I contacted the trusted customer service department and fought through the frustration and language barrier to get a return ticket and be placed on a wait-list for a replacement; because I'm the kinda girl that gets things done! Insert eye roll. Yelp it's November, and finally got notification that the sacred glossy white and gold legged goddess is headed my way. Which is fantastic! Except, confession time: I already had my professional photos taken of the space last week. You heard me right, my photographer friend happened to be in town and I booked him asap! Then I ran around like a crazy person, cried, and kept asking myself WHY, why did you agree to this! But now I have some gorgeous shots to share with you next week (BUT WITHOUT a shiny new desk) and I can't WAIT! So I'll leave you with a itty bitty sneaky peaky!
YAY! Alright everybody there you have it!! Another One Room Challenge is almost in the books! BE SURE to come back next Thursday for the BIG REVEAL! I'll show you everything and give you all the sources! You are NOT going to want to miss this!
Be sure to follow House Plus Love on Instagram and check out our Instagram stories to stay in the loop with our progress and all the "going-ons"! Also stop by the One Room Challenge participants as they share their transformations! I am SOOO excited about these spaces! And be sure to also check out the other linking guest participants for even more renovation goodness!! I can't WAIT to see everyone's reveals!!! See y'all next week!
