The Palaver of Putting a Room Together - The One Room Challenge - Week 5
Hey Hey,
Woo hoo for week 5 and this update of One Room challenge antic. A challenge it has been. I don’t know about you but I am exhausted, not fully from the living room but tired all the same.
Ding dong the old chandelier is gone….along with a chunk of the ceiling which fell out after it.
Before spilling the beans on week 5 updates, a quick shoutout to Better Homes and Gardens. Woo hoo for being the official sponsors of the challenge.
I won’t leave out the One Room Challenge itself for encouraging folk from all over the world (waves from London, England) to transform one room over a 6 itsy bitsy weeks. Together with a awesome community vibe both and BADASS creativity, the prize of having a completed room is worth it in the end. And that end is next week….already!
Oh the dusty mess and making light dramatic
“RING RING!
Electrician: Hi, can I quote you for the job? I can be round at 10am tomorrow morning and it’ll cost £50ish.
Me: Excellent, I’ll text you my address asap and will see you tomorrow
Text electrician, clear space ahead of time and get up and dressed ready for that doorbell to ring.
Clock strikes 10 (obviously in this digital age I actually checked my phone which does not strike).
Dilly dally around the house making sure no one is making sure is thumping out loud music to drown out the doorbell. Looks at phone and witnesses 11, 12, and 1 roll on by with no show of Mr electrician.
”
Swapping out ceiling lights was a episode in drama. I guess that’s why ORC is a challenge
When it comes to a 4 metre ceiling height, a ladder and a homeowner of 5ft 3, calling an electrician to spend an hour installing a light fitting is THE option i’d for time and time again.
When I put the initial call out for an electrician, my inbox was full of offers. The lighting hold up , however, meant nothing could be booked.
With the gorgeous new chandelier nabbing any space it can in the corner of the room, now I was ready to hire, 2 electricians wanted to quote for the job. 2. TWO. II!
I read the read for both, the next step was to get in touch for availability and book the job. Easy, no hiccups. One said he could be round at 4 as his son had football while the other confirmed a 10am appointment. It turns out it was very worthwhile having a back up since 10am arrived, passed and was a distant memory before he sent one dry text saying sorry he couldn’t make it. This followed with “did you get it sorted?”.
“Dude, you were supposed to be the one sorting it!!“
Before the text had arrived, electrician number two was hanging out at the top of the ladder, swapping the chandelier for a sleeker modern replacement.
Of course the story didn’t stop there. A chunk of the ceiling crash landed on the living room floor. Solid, chalky ceiling that left a huge gap round the diameter. Not what the electrician was expecting but after the fixed that up came the drunken light fitting.
Yep, there was noticeable lean in the chandelier, looking like it had a cheeky pint midway through the installation. There was no way it could stay that way. The electrician insisted on putting it right and not budging until it happened. But the lack of instructions left is both baffled.
A 20min installation stretched up into 1hr 30 battle ending in success and rubble on the floor below. Yey.
Handling deliveries gone slightly wrong
Let me introduce you to my new pal, Door, Door Handle.
We live in time where you can track deliveries right to the front door and drivers will snap a shot when you’re not in to squiggle a signature.
I will put my hands up now and declare myself a bit of a knob for screwing up the delivery address. Yes, I had started a strongly worded email to the supplier about their eff up. Yes, I repeatedly said ffs while doing so, but Yes, something made me double check the delivery details only to discover it was all me. The street name was correct, the area correct, but not the postcode. Oops.
I’d invented a whole new address, a clash of the delivery point with the billing address.
Accidents happen, own it, fix it, move on. So in true ownership style that email got trashed and I typed in a collection point to pick up the new door handle.
Praise next day deliveries, a godsend to staying on track.
Don’t you love when deliveries show up ahead of schedule yet expect to have a place to to stored.
Finer detail to the floating shelves raise the aesthetic game
There’s one common word used during the One Room Challenge and it’s called F&@k. This time it was the sheer silliness of plastic and endless packaging that was getting on my last nerves.
Compare the House Of chandelier with zero plastic bags or polystyrene wedging glass shades tightly in the box, the floor lamp was a lesson in how to jack up the planet.
Those chunky bits of polystyrene may have held the glass shades safely but what a palaver they made. Urgh!
Suppliers who care to not overload packaging are great in the grand scheme of eco friendliness.
What needs to be done to get us to week 6 and the grand reveal?
EVERYTHING and them some madness
Style the room and snap finishing pictures
Lay down the rugs
Hang curtains
Rehouse the books
Tell you all about the week of craziness
Time for me to get the room together and thank you for stopping by. I appreciate you staying on board. If your like how the living room is finally taking shape, give this post a like, or comment below. Hi5s and curtsies! Til next week and the REVEAL!
Don’t forget to cheer on everyone else who are doing a fab job for this challenge. Links to read your heart out is here: www.oneroomchallenge.com/orc-blog
