The One Room Challenge - The reveal is…well…revealed
Hey Hey,
It’s a super race to the finish, but I made it to the finish line of One Room Challenge. The egg timer has drained it’s last grain of sand 3 minutes before the official deadline & now we can get on with our accomplishments. Before that, of course, I must show you all the new and improved room.
If you’re new around these Persona Abode journal streets and haven’t got the foggiest clue what the One Room Challenge is, here’s a quick recap:
Over the last 6 weeks designers & bloggers of the interiors variety have been transforming one room. We’ve shared all the blood, sweat, and drill dust of from week one and cheered each other along the way. It’s been epic.
This journey started, for the living room, as a last minute entry after my eldest set up came in the family living room. She vacated and in celebration a new sofa arrived, but the aftermath of her presence and a seven year gap between the last full decorating scheme, the room needed umpth.
Designed by Persona Abode
A little reminder of the space, serving as the family hang out space and my office.
The last two weeks has been a mix of organising 3 birthday celebrations and doing this challenge, on top of the usual stuff. I have the rough hands and bangs under my eyes to prove it. If it weren’t this late i’d knock back healthy glass of wine. But i’ll take the sleep for now.
Before I show off the reveal, I must tell you the project of 98% finished. I simply couldn’t do anymore and to make sure I made to to the 12am ORC deadline, the toolbox has been put down for now. Here’s the thing, i’m ok with it and as you’ll see this place is far from being a construction site.
WHY, so? Because celebrating birthdays was super important this year and while the room is too, you can’t get those moments back. Plus I don’t like to get on my neighbours last nerves. They’re probably happy as they’ve endured drilling, hammering and shifting about for weeks.
Although one of the children next door who knocked on the walls in tune to my hammering might miss the decorating antics. LOL
1. The Perils of Drilling late at night
Remember the mood we discussed earlier in the challenge? Bare this in mind for the reveal.
With everyday life happening as the challenge progressed and getting home late o’clock from the daily commute, manual tasks like drilling have had to take place during the weekends. Add that to the time restrictions for noisy work and not to be buried in the garden by the neighbours, hanginh shelves etc has been done during weekends. If time ran out it had to wait until the next weekend. It slows the process down, especially if hiccups arise it literally takes 2 weekends to fix. But it is what it is.
2. Blocking out the daylight
We have blinds. Sash windows are traditional and all that but boy do the let in cold air. Layered window dressing has always been a must and for the first time I opened for a roller blind.
To speed the whole delivery process up, I used Click and Collect which meant trekking in the cold (BRRRRR) and ice rain to collect the blinds in person. I cannot confirm or deny but there may have been a fall on the tram tracks that caused a few aches during the last few days.
Roller blinds are easy to fix (when you read the instructions for which I only skimmed through it) and a nice added pattern to the room. The girls love them and we can already feel less of a draft. Result!
Comfort was a high priority so to have the girlies instantly feel the benefit makes the whole challenge worth while.
3.Layered Rugs
Rugs are heavy. I give murderers a salute for rolling up dead bodies and disposing of folk rolled up in carpet. That’s strength for you. Layering two in the room by lugging them into position, moving furniture around and making sure they weren't damaged is a 2 and 3 person job. Since I’m not octopus and was home alone, this task took a whole as unsurprising enough a whole corner sofa is a tad heavy. I got finished just as the girlies put the key into the keyhole. REALLY!?
Time to unveil 6 weeks of space creating
The DA DAHHHHH Moment
Here you are, the living room you’ve been waiting to see. What do you think?
Styled by: Persona Abode
Increase the depth of a small space with shiny surfaces and mirrors.
Styled by: Persona Abode
Let your eyes travel around the room with several Vignettes on walls, shelves and surfaces at different levels.
Accessories
Nature is welcomed indoor with salt lamps, plants that are well and truly alive and crystals. A bit of woo woo is always a good finishing touch,
I am, with zero shame attached, a maximalist BUT having said that, I held back on accessories since I had a selection around the house and only a few different touches were needed for the design to come together. Marble to echo that of the planter, and new side table. Ceramics, because the girls are old enough to refrain from breaking my collection and a gifted scented candle from Halcyon Candles that smells absolutely amazing. Note that I have yet to enough burn it yet but the essential oil aroma is making its way around the living room and is awesomely inviting.
Pattern, colour, interesting detail come from soft furnishings. Limiting the colour palette was the restrain needed to the mixed array of organic cotton cushions.
Although I free-styled these painted pieces, the overall design was in the back of my mind.
Dabbling in art
To buy or to make
I dabbled in painting yonks and a day ago but In the spirit of a challenge decided to add a personal touch and get a little crafty. During the final day a little freestyling happened, playing around to have some art for the walls. If for nothing else they are a temp fix instead of pictureless frames. I’ve been known to do that a number of times . It’s ok, feel free to shake your head, I’ll join you.
In your home art is worth experimenting with, repositioning, repurposing and reframing.
Inspired by the colour scheme art work are abstract meetings of burnt orange, blues and teals with a glam touch of silver and gold for highlighting. What do you think of the outcome?
Accessibility
I’ve mentioned before that Mr is paraplegic needs a clear space to roll about. This has somewhat put a limitation on the layout of the living room so creating several points of visual interest helps with the flow of the space. Once the room is complete complete, each point of the room will have something attractive to look at.
Design and creative books took priority on shelves whilst less read reads are in the up cycled low bookcase.
High shelves are fab to make use of the tall ceiling. At 4 metres high I could have row upon rows on books, but I felt that the room would have been top heavy. Balance is key, plus a likely source of irritation for Mr to see so many books but all out of his reach. A parred back collection gave back a sense of space even with my tendencies of MORE is GALORE!
Verdict
I’m super chuffed at the result and although there are a few minor elements to complete the look, I could hop, skip and star jump with excitement to have a chill out space for the family to bond in. Plus a better office space than a corner of my bedroom will do wonders for my productivity. I will have to update you on the progress to completion as there are several things to complete the look.
These are:
Hang the artwork
Upholster the desk chair (i’ll use a dining room chair at the desk in the meantime, although ergonomically it’s not the best.
Recycle all the packaging in the hallway
Hang the curtain pole.
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Art is in the eye of the beholder, it’s a fun way to experiment and think out loud.
Thanks for the One Room Challenge and official sponsors Better Home & Garden. Without the push and community spirit the living room mighty still be a mess.
Don’t end our friendship just yet. Subscribe to remain connected. Looking forward to sharing more with you.
There you have it, well 98% of it. The living room is liveable and a healthy space to do design justice for the clients I work with.
Instead of winging it without a proper plan and to create your very own living room, get in touch to get started.
Now’s the time to thank you for joining us all of this roller coaster journey. Will you be taking part next time?
