I am still cheerfully in this, which feels like a gift. Historically, week three is when I start doubting my participation in the One Room Challenge. Don’t get me wrong. It’s always fun in the end, but deadlines, even those without penalty, can be stressful. With nine One Room Challenges under my belt, I feel like I finally understand that the outcome matters, but it also really doesn’t if that makes sense.
If you’re here for the first time, welcome! You can catch up on the previous weeks here: Week One || Week Two
Clean Slate
This week my schedule was tight, so I focused mainly on maintenance and clean-up. There are still a few punch-list painting items to do, but my goal was to finish up enough to hang our new curtains and blinds.
I am so pleased with the perfectly imperfect look of the painted plaster. The walls are matte finish Sherwin-Williams Emerald latex in Accessible Beige (7036). The trim color is Crème (7556), and I used Sherwin-Williams ProClassic oil-based enamel for the first time. I have used the water-based formula before, and it’s excellent. However, a quick test on the existing white trim in this bedroom revealed oil paint. Since I only planned to give it a good scrub and a touch-up, I stuck with oil paint in as close a match as possible. Oil-based paints are not available in all states. If you are in this situation, as long as you use an oil-based primer first, you can use latex over oil.
The empty room in beige and white kind of makes it feel like a vacation condo, but I keep reminding myself that this is the beginning, not the end.
Window Treatments (for people who don’t like window treatments)
This post contains affiliate links.
With pretty much everything except decorating, I am a team player. If I am brutally honest, since we moved into BHH, I have found it very hard to compromise with Andy. We have vastly different styles, and I care more. He would say the same thing. To me, BHH demands a level of sophistication that the two of us have never had to bother with in our past houses. It’s a very push-pull feeling. I am ready to move towards more intentional house-specific purchases. Andy is like, meh, good enough. Neither of us is wrong. See? I’m a team player.
The point of all of that is to preface the fact that when I asked Andy what he wanted out of this bedroom project, the only thing that meant a lot to him was sleeping in total darkness. He wanted blackout curtains and blinds, and I wanted to make sure he got them. Even so, my initial response was, ugh, no. Our house has gorgeous original wood windows, and I never want to hide them behind heavy curtains.
I love the morning light that filters through the antique wavy glass, and when the moon is full, I enjoy watching it behind the trees when all of the lights are off. I will miss both, but Andy travels some for work. When he does, I’ll get my fill.
Blinds
Trying to meet Andy’s need for total darkness and my need for curtains and low-profile blinds that complement the windows took some research. This room has two windows that face east and west, plus a door and a window that face the south.
Since the south-facing window has the built-in bench under it, I thought full black-out curtains of any style would look kind of silly. Also, there will be plants on that bench, and curtains will only get in the way.
Keeping all of that in mind, I chose cordless cut-to-size cellular shades from Home Depot instead. Currently, they don’t help this room look less like a condo, but I love that we can barely see them when they are up.
The stock color parchment was a near-perfect match.
For continuity, I used the same style on the door, mounted on the outside instead of the inside.
I highly recommend these blinds as a budget option. I was concerned that there would be a gap on the sides, but the fit is nice and snug. Full disclosure, these shades are only light-filtering instead of blackouts, but I think they will work. Home Depot does have a blackout option. However, the white was very cold with blue undertones, and the next closest match was a poopy brown color. I broke a design rule and chose form over function. If you need more privacy, they have the coolest day-to-night version that operates from the top down and the bottom up. I couldn’t stop playing with the sample in store.
Curtains
For the windows that face east and west, curtains felt like the way to go. Our ceilings are nice and tall, leaving plenty of room to hang curtains high and wide. It’s worth noting that BHH does not have air conditioning, and managing the summer heat will be easier with blackout curtains. In the past, I pinned sheets over the windows during the hottest months. Curtains will be a huge improvement. Truthfully, we may need to add blinds too. The morning and afternoon sun is intense.
After a bunch of online shopping, I found these velvet curtains in the color neutral ground. I was so worried about choosing a color online, but they are truly perfect. Unfortunately, when I bought them, the 96″ length panels in that color were sold out, but the 108″ panels were cheaper anyway. I will need to hem them.
Currently, I am shopping for French return rods, so I don’t have a reveal photo yet. That will have to come in a separate post.
What’s Left
Next week, I will be in Missouri visiting my mom. We will be working on some fun throw pillows for the bed. In the next few weeks, I will primarily be shopping for odds and ends. Here’s what I am searching for:
- curtain rods
- globes for the sconces
- a bed skirt and pillow shams
- art
- two small rugs, preferably vintage
- plants
- a large mirror for over the fireplace
- an antique cabinet with legs
- side tables or a side table solution
That list is much longer than I imagined, and it looks expensive. Oops!
Be sure to check out all of the other creative and beautiful One Room Challenge projects. The featured designers posted their week three updates yesterday, and the other guest participants like me will be linking up their posts today.
If you want more, the real-time updates are always happening over on Instagram and please do subscribe to this blog via the link in the sidebar. I keep the content coming whether it’s One Room Challenge time or not.
Thank you for following along.
