{one room challenge} Week 3 - The Storm Before the Calm

No matter how many big projects I work on - whether they be design, DIY, or organizing - I always have that moment of frustration where I look around at the mess I have created and wonder if it will ever all come together. And in the ongoing process of redesigning our master bedroom for the One Room Challenge, Week 3 was that moment. As I sit in the room writing that post, I can safely say we've hit the it gets worse before it gets better point.

Although it doesn't yet show in the room, a lot of work did get done this week - and some major decisions were made. If you follow me on Instagram, then you saw a few sneak peeks of what I was up to.

Over the weekend, we took a lot of measurements and drew up the plans for some trim moulding we'll be adding above our bed. Since we don't own a miter saw {something I am going to have to rectify}, I went over to my parent's house to use my dad's saw. Cutting the moulding became a great father-daughter project.

I had planned to assemble and paint the mouldings yesterday, but a stomach bug got in the way, so it's now on the "to do" list for tomorrow.

I also spent an afternoon at Ikea where I found this rug that I think will make a good replacement for the one I really want, but which is back ordered until December.

While at Ikea, I also came up with a plan for our drapes that I am really excited about. Are you familiar with Ikea's Kvartal curtain rail system?

Since the fabric we selected for our drapes has a large, graphic print, I decided that flat panels {rather than gathered curtains} would look nicer and better fit the modern style of our space. I went to Ikea once to look at the hardware for the Kvartal drapery panel system, but I started to second guess whether it would work in our space. I returned with my mom and my little helper, and, after talking through all the logistics, we determined that it should work perfectly. It's true that two heads are always better than one! Two heads and an adorable baby...bonus!

Best of all, the fabric I ordered for the drapes arrived on my doorstep yesterday!

Now that I have the fabric in hand, I can finally pick the wall color for the room. We've known all along that we want a light grey for three of the walls {we already have one dark grey wall, which will stay the same}, but we didn't dare pick a shade of grey until we had something to compare it to. Greys can be very tricky - often reading too blue, purple, or beige. It's vital to always look at the paint samples in the room, and at different times of the day, because changes in light throughout the day can drastically change the appearance of the paint color. I have a big stack of grey paint samples that I'll now be sorting through to find one that coordinates with the drapery fabric and works with the lighting of our bedroom.

We always do all of our own painting, but the more we talked about it, the more nervous I started to get about all the cutting in required around our stacked stone fireplace.

Now I realize that this probably sounds really silly considering that in Week 3 of the Spring One Room Challenge, I was sharing my detailed plans for painting an argyle wall. But that was just a matter of a complex tape job, whereas there is no way to tape around all of the stacked stone. Cutting in without taping is a skill I have yet to master, and I am so fearful of getting paint on our stone and making a mess of it. We finally decided to hire someone to paint the room - and now I feel like a major weight has been lifted. Painting is scheduled for Monday!

Lastly, thank you so much for all of your comments last week about the chair we picked for the room! I am so excited to be partnering with Home Decorators Collection, and you all seemed to love their selection of chairs! I posted the photos of the four chairs {all under $500} that we were choosing among on Facebook and Instagram, and asked you which you would want for yourself.

I was surprised that the majority of you picked the same one I did - number 3, the Meloni! This chair is available in five different colors, including a distressed brown suede and a beige linen with dark piping, but we ordered it in the black herringbone shown in the photo above. I received a shipping notification yesterday that my chair is officially on it's way, and I can't wait to sit in it! Home Decorators Collection is sending me the chair for free in exhange for my sharing their selection of chairs with you - but you can be sure that I'll give you an honest and unbiased review of the chair when it arrives!

That was Week 3 in a nutshell. On the agenda for next week is painting, installing trim moulding, beginning to make the drapes, and laying out the gallery wall.

The saying may be "the calm before the storm," but when it comes to interior design projects, I think it's more accurately "the storm before the calm." You have to tear things apart before you can start to put them back together, and I am hopeful that this week will be the turning point. Once the walls are painted, we can finally start the process of hanging art and installing drapery rods. Right now have this great vision, but oh, how I look forward to seeing a few things start to come together!

The One Room Challenge is hosted by the fab Linda of Calling it Home, and there are 20 amazing designers headlining the event, and more than 80 other linking participants {like myself}. Each week they are sharing their updates as well, so be sure to check out what everyone else is up to. It's the encouragment we share with one another that makes the One Room Challenge so great!!

You can find all of my past One Room Challenge posts here:

FALL 2014 ONE ROOM CHALLENGE: Modern Metro Master Bedroom



SPRING 2014 ONE ROOM CHALLENGE: Vintage Preppy Little Man's Lounge