Where’s the Color? One Room Challenge Week Six

Beige, beige, beigity, beige. Up to this point in the One Room Challenge, I have been making Andy very nervous about our room remaining a big beige box. At first, he was understanding. He loved the fresh paint and curtains as much as I did. However, that quickly turned to uneasiness and polite questions like, “Uh…I thought you were adding color,” and “Is it time to add color now?” Recently, the questions and comments have become more direct, and I daresay pointed. “Where’s the color!? All I see is beige. What do you have against color?”

I’ve been doing the One Room Challenge for a long time, and he still forgets my process. My timetable looks like this: During weeks 1-3 (or 5, depending on the ORC length), I move at a turtle’s pace with small, incremental changes to the room–maybe one big project. Week 4 (or 6, see above) is when I freak out about the looming deadline and kick it into high gear. Reveal week is when I panic and cry over inconsequential stuff. Then, Andy takes a day off to help me, so I’ll stop panicking and crying about inconsequential stuff.

So here we are, two weeks before the big reveal, right on schedule. It’s time to freak out. This time, freaking out means adding all of that color I promised but never procured and realizing that I have to pay for all of it too.

If you’re here for the first time, welcome! Here are some links to bring you up-to-date: Week One || Week Two || Week Three || Week Four || Week Five

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My Color Inspiration

Last week, I shared the pieced pillow tops that my mom sewed for the bed. I love how the red, navy, and orange linen look together, so I’ve been using those colors as a leaping-off point.

I am also heavily influenced by British interior designer Beata Heuman and her latest book, Every Room Should Sing. She has a way of mixing vibrant colors and patterns that still have a very traditional feel. That’s exactly what I want for BHH.

Even though Beata’s book didn’t make it to my mood board, I thumb through it almost every day to stay on task with the decor in this room.

Two other people who also inspire me with colors and prints are artist/muralist Rachael from Banyon Bridges and Interior Designer Lauren of Studio Laloc. Rachael is a featured ORC designer this round. She’s working on a colorful basement makeover that includes a full kitchen and studio space. Lauren is a genius at mixing prints. I don’t get how she does it, but she makes magic. I love seeing their work pop up on my Instagram feed.

The Random Collection of Colorful Decor So Far

The very first thing that I bought for this room was a rug. I had been scouring Facebook MP for a vintage rug for a few months. Even though it initially smelled like a musty church basement, the huge rug I found for the living room on FB MP ended up being a winner. Of course, I expected the same success finding a rug for the bedroom too. However, when things weren’t coming together by the first of April, I decided to search for a new natural fiber rug instead.

After searching what felt like every single online rug store, I landed on this blue and cream beauty for its subtle texture and soft color. It works so well with the orange glow of our floors.

I bought the 10′ X 14′ size, which is currently sold out, but several other sizes are still available. It’s not colorful, but the coverlet is also new for this project, and I love it. It’s so soft and inexpensive too.

Keeping the throw pillow colors in mind, I ordered this comforter from The Company Store, which I will layer with our new coverlet.

While I was in the mood to spend money, I added navy blue linen shams to the cart.

The new bedding should arrive tomorrow. I think it is all going to work beautifully together, but I think the bed will need one more “something” to make it all come together. That could be a different printed pillow or maybe a long velvet lumbar-style bolster. I dunno. Feel free to offer advice in the comments.

Also, it’s not lost on me that I am inadvertently copying the colors on the cover of Beata’s book. Ha!

Colorful Art

Finding and buying art continues to be a challenge because I see art as something collected over time vs. installed for a room reveal. In my (not) expert opinion, an entire room full of generic art from a home goods-type store can make a room feel more like a vacation rental than a family home. My goal is to get the walls to a certain level of “full,” and then Andy and I can add pieces over time. We are finally at a stage in life where we might actually buy original art from time to time. We are certainly more interested in it now.

Over the weekend, I did take a trip to some antique stores and a local art shop. I struck out on antiques, but I did pick up a bright 12″X12″ print, and I whipped up a quick frame for it too.

Over on Instagram, I asked for input on whether or not I should paint the frame or leave it natural. The overwhelming answer was painting it, and the two most popular paint color suggestions were white and dark navy/gray. I love white, but that’s not what this room is about. So I grabbed some Hale Navy stain from the basement and Wowza! What a difference. Yes, please!

Since pretty much every room in BHH has a little something from Cavallini and Co, I bought a set of four napkins, which I clearly did not iron.

I won’t use all four in this bedroom, but I thought I could make a canvas print out of one of them. More pillows are an obvious choice, but they don’t coordinate with the triangle pattern pillow tops pictured above. However, the napkin colors look amazing next to the new orange print with its navy blue frame. So I will probably hang them together.

Lastly, I did snag a cheap cabinet with glass doors from Facebook Marketplace. I wanted an antique, and I will continue to look for the perfect piece. In the meantime, I am painting the cheapo one in a bright color TBD. Don’t worry! I’m not painting an antique, but that will be a story for next week. Once the bedding arrives, I will decide on a color for the cabinet.

The One Room Challenge is winding down now, but there is plenty more to see over on the One Room Challenge blog. The featured designers posted updates yesterday, and the other guest participants will post their week six updates today.

Now, it’s time to pick up the pace to get to the crying and panicking part as soon as possible. Staying on schedule is important.