Fall 2018 One Room Challenge: Week 1

Last Friday, I was not sure if we would participate in this round of the One Room Challenge. Our spring project went from bad to worse, and I just wasn’t sure I had it in me to tackle another project right now. After a  lot of soul-searching, I decided that I like the punishment of stressing myself out for six weeks at a time. Knowing that a couple of hundred other people are in the same boat makes it all the better. The featured designers discussed their projects yesterday, and you can immerse yourself in guest participant posts starting today.

If you are visiting Blake Hill House for the first time, I’m thrilled. As much as I like Instagram, I am team #blogsforever. I still love reading other bloggers’ meaty posts full of content, and I enjoy writing too. I hope you’ll subscribe for the long haul. If you adore big old houses, podcasts, and women who pretty much wear the same sweatshirt in every DIY Instagram story, you found your kindred spirit here at BHH.  (note: Ever since we visited Prince Edward Island over the summer, I cannot stop using the phrase kindred spirit.)

Which Room Did We Choose?

I’ve been teasing a bit over on Instagram. Even though all of the rooms I mentioned (sleeping porch, halls, college student bedroom) could use a good makeover, the room we chose for this round is our main bathroom upstairs. If you have been reading here for some time, this is probably not a surprise.

I’ve dubbed this project the scary bathroom. If there were any ghosts trapped in this room, we let them out already. Andy and I have grand plans for this room, but we don’t have the $20,000 to make it happen. So, I convinced Andy that we can spend a little now and have a bathroom that is both beautiful and functional while we save the money for our dream remodel.

The good news is that last year, we discovered original wainscoting hiding underneath the pink paneling.

We also have the most beautiful marble sink that stays for sure.

Since we thought we were going to be getting an entirely new bathroom this year, we pre-demoed the walls and wallpaper which left us with this unfortunate situation.

There is also a layer of faux wood vinyl on the floor. Is this print fooling anyone? Yeah, I didn’t think so either.

The Plan

Most of the plan involves cosmetic changes, but our chief complaint is that there is almost no storage in this room. This dresser serves as primary storage.

There is also a tiny little cabinet.

For all you list-makers, this next part will make your heart go pitter-patter.

To-do (in no particular order):

• add some storage (maybe a built-in?)
• pull up the vinyl flooring
• paint the wood floor
• restore the original wainscoting
• repair and paint the walls
• restore the marble sink
• restore the clawfoot tub

To buy:

• shower curtains
• rug
• frame an original piece of art by my father-in-law
• new lights
• storage cabinet
• storage solutions (bins & containers)
• towels

Inspiration

I posted this photo a couple of weeks ago, and it will serve as the transformation inspiration:

photo credit

Green is finally back, and we are embracing it in more subtle ways this time around. Fun fact: Green was my favorite color for forever until we moved to BHH. Then, I got very tired of it, but I’m starting to feel it again.

I put together this crappy-looking mood board because it’s what we do as challenge participants even if we are no good at it.

The wainscoting will stay unpainted, but the walls above will be white. The floor will be green. Although I love the glass shelves in the Fabrikör metal cabinet by IKEA, I may swap them for wood. It feels like a safer option since this cabinet will get used on a daily basis instead of just holding curios. Wood vs. glass will be a game-time decision.

Let’s do this! Are you with me? Let me know what you think about the plan, and be sure to check out all of the One Room Challenge projects from the featured designers and the other guest participants too.

PS: If you are interested in our past projects, here are the links:

Kitchen Pantry | Street Side Front Porch | Library | Breakfast Nook (featured in This Old House magazine! | Dining Room