One Room Challenge – Week Three

Thank you for checking in to see what Week Three has in store for me on this One Room Challenge, brought to you by Linda at Calling it Home.  To take a look back at Week One and Week Two, you can catch up in the links and see my plan and progress.

Ok, so week three and I didn’t do all that well… I thought that week four was supposed to be the hard one? It’s been a busy week.  I hate to say it but my progress has really not been what I had hoped.  I did however venture out and do a lot of sight-seeing shopping.  This is when I don’t find anything specific to my project, but I find a TON of sights to see on my shopping trip.  I was a very good and stuck to my budget and didn’t buy anything that wasn’t part of the original plan. Have you ever had a shopping trip where you were just overwhelmed with all of the magical objects so much that you couldn’t focus long enough to really see things?  I had this experience this past weekend. I call this DADD, Designer Attention Deficit Disorder.  Not to be confused with regular Attention Deficit Disorder of which I also suffer from.

I would love to say that I am still on the design high from last week. But it was a busy work week at my full time job (my desk moved from one building to another), wife and mom duty would not let up and this momma got sick. It occasionally happens.  As mom’s we are famous for “shaking it off” (thank you Taylor Swift for a new theme song) when we fall a little under the weather.  Thankfully for me I had my mommy come for a little visit and she makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches and soup!  I managed to get a little Birthday celebrating in there as well.

Some notes from this weekend’s adventures…. GO, no RUN to LUCKETTS Store in Lucketts, Virginia, as in NOW!  If you love old doors, architectural details and just beautiful things that are just awesome, you will not be disappointed.  I’ve lived in the DC metro area for going on six years and I have always heard about this jewel, just hadn’t made the trip.  They have market several times a year where the store has tons of vendors that flood their area.  It’s just AMAZING and you need to check it out.  It’s only about an hour/hour and half from DC, but so worth it!!!  I tried unsuccessfully to convince my dear husband that we needed to take home about four sets of antique doors.  These were just some of the amazing things I found.  I will need to go back without toddler and without husband to really dive into the goodies here. Sensory overload is an understatement!!!

 

 

 

Next up on my weekend festivities was Gone Girl. It is a crazy messed up movie, but it’s awesome.  I didn’t read the book but now I want to!  Those of you who enjoy any of the variety of crazy that is on the Bravo, (No judgment zone, myself included) you will laugh out loud and feel  a high level of discomfort  all at the same time.  It’s been quite a while since I was in the movie theater where several collective and synchronized GASP’s came from the audience.  It’s a roller coaster that I’m glad I got to take!  Must make mental note, the hubs and I really need more date nights sans toddler!

So you want to know what I’ve done with my room so far. Well here it is, THESE beautiful creatures arrived Friday

 

I subcontracted out some pillow making to this lovely lady and her assistant.

 

Those of you who have toddlers (2 year olds specifically) can appreciate that we are just living in their world; therefore, we are their assistants. Right?!?!?!? My mom daughter sewed the fabulous Charcoal Dot’s fabric from Domesticate into two pillows to go on the big comfy couch!

Also, cleared out the room, shifted the rug and center everything on the fireplace.

 

I did get the overhead light ordered, but it won’t be shipped until Oct 28^th. It will be a miracle if it makes it and gets installed before my final photos are taken.  You will have to stay tuned to see which one I ended up picking. Mainly, because I may just up and change my mind, no designer has ever done this right?!?!?!

I would love to say that this upcoming week I will be more productive; but alas, I highly doubt this since I will be all about this……

 

 

Yep, you are seeing that correctly. It’s a Twinx, a Twinkie, stuffed with a Twix, wrapped in bacon and deep fried.  I am sure that there will be a ton of equally horrific yet fascinating food, people watching and gluttony to be had this weekend at the North Carolina State Fair! Follow me on Instagram to get all the goodies that I won’t post here. @emiglitter

I may have to make a stop in one of my favorite retailers for all things funky and fabulous Furbish Studio for a little “market research”.  I love it! Today’s test statement to see if my husband actually reads my blog, no hints friends, we will see how long it takes for him to say something. I love that I can tell him its market research for my work and really it’s just a shopping trip. J Perks of the trade!

We are off to visit with family, have our annual fall photo session with the amazing and talented Emily Alane Photography.  I mean, seriously guys and gals you have to check her out.  She took this masterpiece in last year’s fall photos and I cannot WAIT to see what she captures this year!

 

 So to recap the official to-do list for my Challenge, here is where we are sitting at week 3.

1. Remove horrible and ugly dated banister and patch the (hopeful) hardwoods beneath. Please lord, let the hardwoods be in good shape and please let me not have to keep it for building code reasons. This right here was the “You’re going to do what? Comment.

2.  Center seating area on the fireplace. This has bothered me from day one. With the banister in place, it really limits you on where you can place furniture. Until now the couch has been on the banister wall and we have a bowling alley down the middle. All is right with the world, now that I can have my symmetry! It may not be perfect but it’s balanced and that just makes my life feel complete!

3.  Create a secondary focal wall, so that no matter where you sit in the room, you have a pretty view. Have I mentioned that I have and OCD tendency for perfect symmetry? Really hoping to find some extra-large plate hooks on my travels this weekend.

4.  Purchase; Frame new artwork prints from the amazing Charleston artist Lulie Wallace. Seriously you need to check out her florals and her new tabletop series. She also has textiles and lunchboxes!

5.  Purchase lighting. I really don’t understand why builders don’t put overhead lighting in homes. Let’s face it, cost. So, I am going to attempt to source some super cool lighting that I can use on top of an existing buffet. Then the piece de resistance… ceiling swag for the seating area. I am going to have to get really creative since hubbie is keeping me on a very tight budget for this. Stay tuned, I got one ordered, but it may or may not be here in time. May have to get super creative and pull out those 3D Art skills!

6.  Purchase a coffee table. Quite frankly it’s embarrassing that I haven’t had one. Or what is worse that we have been using my daughters play table as our coffee table. So I am “living” with the current stain from the coffee table, and it is sort of growing on me. I am not sure if this is because, I really don’t want to sand and stain the thing, or if it is really just growing on me. J 

7.  Keep an area for my daughter to have her play table and chairs. This will also involve the use of creative storage solutions (i.e. baskets galore) to hide those fabulous brain stimulating, make your kid smart, bright and obnoxious toys! Who am I kidding here, there will always be a space for my daughter to play, regardless of whether or not it looks pretty. Take note in the “cleared room” photos there are toys EVERYWHERE! Even in my after photos, I plan to make it all beautiful and then let her have five minutes in the room and then photograph it.  Let’s face it people, there is “photography ready” and life.  Most of us live in life, so learn to see the beauty in the everyday as well!

8.  Make throw pillows. I collect fabric and I’ve found some major winners on Spoonflower.com. While I do know how to sew, it is not something I enjoy. Mostly because to do it right, it requires taking up lots of space and making a MESS! I may attempt to get my mom to help me on this one, since she is coming for a visit in two weeks. Thank you Momma, you’re the best!

9.  Drink some wine. I figure this will more than likely be a vital part of this challenge. Did I mention I have a two year old and a full time job. I really feel as if I let my readers down on this one, aside from the glass I had at my birthday dinner, I really didn’t drink much of anything besides hot tea this week. I guess it’s the being sick part. I promise, I will do my best to make up for it this week though it may be beer, since I am going to Raleigh.

10.  Source and or make new MAUVE drapery panels. Still having a hard time typing that MAUVE… Yeah, so I am still having a hard time with this one. I did make the current black, gray and cream horizontal stripe panels several years ago and I do still like them.  I will have to check my old haunts for some good mauvey/lilac-y fabric this weekend and see if I really want to change them out.  My fabric sources here have let me down a bit lately.

11.  Accessorize, style and find a photographer to capture some really amazing shots of the completed project. Still searching for that photographer in the Northern VA area that may want to help build their portfolio and help me photograph the final product. 

Well I guess, I should feel a bit better after revising my master to do list, really only three major items that I can’t check off at least part of the task, not too shabby! Keep checking back as this is the official half way mark of the challenge.  Oh crap, just realized that these three weeks have zoomed by and that means that the next three weeks will no doubt zoom by as well.  Please take a moment and check out the amazing talent that Linda has gathered for the One Room Challenge as well as all of the Linking Participants here.  Good luck everyone!

Until next week!

Xo, Emily