Alright, here we are. I need to blog more and this is forcing me right along. Honestly I prefer this. I tend to communicate better via written word, mostly because I’m usually too busy watching over my busy toddler to carry through a complete spoken thought.
It was around March/April when a pandemic hit, work slowed down, and my anxiety was at an all time high. I decided to start recording my DIY projects on Instagram and meet other DIY enthusiasts along the way. I saw so many inspiring designers and influencers participating in the one room challenge, and was immediately filled with regret for not jumping in on the fun! I’ve been thinking about this for months and honestly didn’t know where to start or what to do. I started thinking through rooms in my house and honestly don’t have the mental space to re-design a space in our home, since I’ve spent the past 6 months doing just that. Anyone else completely rearrange their home during self quarantine?!? That was me. Typical enneagram 1 cleaning and sorting to feel like I had some control over all the crazy happening to us.
Come September, I knew the ORC Fall challenge was coming up. My sister with my brother-in-law (whom I really just call my brother), my 12 year old nephew, 10 year old niece, and 20 month old nephew who is roughly 2 months older than my daughter, just moved into a new house. They just moved in a month ago and have such a lovely home with 9’ ceilings, beautiful millwork, and an incredible lot. A deck converted sunroom overlooks a spacious yard and has quickly become the most used room in the home. Natural light galore, tall ceilings, and lots of open space. What else could you ask for??
So we agreed upon budget, design needs and preferences. Here’s where we dig into the design process (thank you, if you’ve made it this far!)
My first step in almost all projects is to collect inspiration images. Whether that is from the client or my collected images. It’s also important to dissect what you like about your inspiration images. Maybe it’s the space planning or the details. Maybe it’s chandelier they used in the space. This helps narrow down the design aesthetic.
Inspiration Images
Once that happens, we need to apply the actual design needs. This is honestly the most important part. What good is design if it doesn’t function for the people it’s serving? When you think about a sunroom, you might think light, bright and happy. That is definitely the goal, but let’s remember a 12 year old boy, 10 year old girl, and almost 2 year old also live here. Oh and also a chocolate lab mix, Dutch Shephard mix, and two long dark haired cats take residence in this space too. So our work is cut out for us. The all white aesthetic is out of the picture. That plus working on a budget is not impossible but takes a lot of work. With a given budget of $1000, I’m going to try to tackle it for under $750. If you are new to my Instagram or blog, You’ll know I am addicting to the hunt. The hunt for a bargain.
I’ve spent the past two-three weeks looking for pieces to furnish the space. I’ve got a few items left, but you’ll see a floor plan below laying out a functional space.
Space plan goals:
-a place for 5 ish people to chill
-a place for a 5th grade teacher to work after hours because teachers are heroes and don’t make enough money
-AND a place for the sweetest cutest craziest toddler to play
I put together a mood board featuring furniture styles, colors and details I want to look for as I’m thrifting or looking through Facebook marketplace. This helps me keep me on focus with the end goal. It’s easy to veer off track when you don’t have a vision or standard in mind. Keep an open mind with furniture and decor that needs some TLC. Know your limits obviously, but don’t let those fixer uppers go. As a rule of thumb I like to keep my purchase under $100 at most for anything that needs work or repair. Free is the goal. Chairs/accent tables under $50 and sofas/large casegoods under $100. For me I like knowing the pressure is off, if I only waste $20-30 bucks on a project vs $100. Also think outside the box on how to transform furniture. Focus on the large pieces then bring in the details.
So, each week I will be updating you with our progress. I will have weekly blog updates but a lot of behind the scenes on my instagram stories. I am super excited for you to see how I pull this together, but also super excited to pull this space together for my sister. She is my best friend, a hardworking mom, teacher extraordinaire and so deserving of a place to relax.
Also, this is such an inspiring group of people who participate in this. The creativity astounds me. Follow other designers and DIY’ers here
www.oneroomchallenge.com/orc-blog
Let’s do this!