Eleventh Hour Reflections | ORC Week Six

May 12, 2016 Stevie Storck

Perhaps this is because it's nearing 9pm EST, but I am having a horrible time writing an introduction to today's post. Which should have been posted about 14 hours ago and should have included some very different photos... Story of my life these last six weeks? Haha.

So I admit, that I took on the One Room Challenge pretty much on a whim. I didn't consult Anthony, not that I needed his permission or that he wouldn't be willing to help me, but there were some significant things I overlooked before I wrote my Week One post. Namely, a wedding we would be traveling to upstate NY for and finals week for Anthony's online classes. Honestly, these last six weeks have been some of the craziest of my life but instead of telling you the 39 reasons why I didn't finish the One Room Challenge, let's just skip ahead to the room update part.

It's not lost on me that my "Reveal Day" photos look more like most participants "Before" photos. In fact, according to the master outline I wrote during the first week of the challenge, today I'm where I thought I would be after Week Three. But even though our Master Bedroom is still an empty room, it's an empty room that's undergone quite a transformation! Here's a reminder of what this room looked like when we bought our house:

First, we ditched the random sink. Then we craftily covered the oddly placed window with our DIY Faux Brick Accent Wall (we hung a mini-blind up first so from the outside you can't tell!). Then we tore up the existing carpeting, the linoleum underneath and the underlayment underneath that. We removed roughly 900 tiny nails from the original hardwoods (whoever put down that underlayment was seriously overzealous). I painted the walls once, hated the color, primed and painted the walls again (still not sure about the color, hopefully I will love it when I get the trim painted a brighter white). I became very well acquainted with our new/old hardwood floors after hours and hours spent scrubbing and sanding them on my hands and knees. With the help of my mother-in-law, Lisa, we finished off the sanding, cleaned up and put down the stain last night. We chose Minwax English Chestnut, a pretty close match to the original finish that was still hanging on in some areas.

I was hoping to have the room loaded to photograph today, but because of the humid weather we're experiencing in PA, the stain is still pretty tacky. Also, I forgot that I should probably apply some polyurethane and let the whole thing cure for a good week before I try moving heavy furniture over it. (Note to self: next time you do a six week challenge, for the love of God, refinish the floor before the challenge begins!)

So since I only have photos of an empty room for today's "reveal post", I decided to play around with some of the art and accessories I've been collecting for the room to set up these two vignettes to show you guys.

About the Vintage 1920's beaded purse: I actually found this at the Sablon Antiques Market in Brussels, Belgium while I was studying abroad. I probably spent way too much money on it but I loved it so much that I carried it at our wedding and used the chevron design in my DIY invitations.

I've been looking for an arch-top mirror ever since I sketched this design of our Master Bedroom a few months ago. But being the enormous cheapskate that I am, I refused to order the plentiful options I found online because spending $100-200 on a mirror gives me the heebie-jeebies. The stars finally aligned for me this Tuesday when I found this adorable and super heavy mirror at one of my favorite consignment shops for just $9.95.

Faux Roses: HomeGoods | Ceramic Lamp: Interiors Home Outlet | Everything else: Thrifted!

Another fantastic find from Tuesday's thrifting trip was this aerial drawing of downtown York circa 1741 by famous local midcentury artist, William Falkler. I'm such a fan of William Falkler's paintings. He has painted countless landmarks and buildings around York County in his signature watercolor style. I had never seen a drawing by him before, so I was happy to snatch this print at just $10. I love that I can recognize the streets and a few buildings that are still standing today!

I've heard that the One Room Challenge is difficult even in ideal circumstances, and darn near impossible if the stars don't align for you, which they definitely did not for me this time around. I still plan on "completing" this room in the next few weeks, so I promise to keep you all updated with my progress! I learned a lot from my first experience with the One Room Challenge and I already know what I will do differently for the next one.

To satisfy your "before and after" cravings, I highly recommend checking out the reveals of the 20 Featured Designers! There are some really incredible makeovers in that bunch. I'm thinking I'll pick my top 5 favorite to share on the blog next week.

Media Partner House Beautiful | TM by CIH

Also, be sure to check out the reveals for the other Guest Participants! You can do so by clicking here. I also love scrolling through the #OneRoomChallenge tag on Instagram! So much inspiration.

Now it's nearing 10pm EST, and it's time for me to go to bed! Thank you for all of your encouragement over these hectic last few weeks. Whether you are a new reader or an old friend, your support means so much!

See this gallery in the original post