The One Room Challenge - Week 1
Hey Hey,
Welcome to October and the first of the room transformation series that is the One Room Challenge. If you’ve never heard of it before, let me get you up to speed. It’s a friendly challenge where designers & bloggers of the interiors variety sign up to transform one room. It can be a room of their own or a client’s, but either way the timeframe is 6 weeks. Eek! It’s all blogged about as the transformation progresses each week and YOU get to follow the whole shebang along the way. So I signed up to do a bit of a blitz of a room in the house, the main bedroom.
In any design project there’s issues to resolve, that’s the whole point of hiring a designer, to help you through it right? But this challenge is full of some serious issues.
At the moment not even the furniture wants to be in the main bedroom, it’s been through it. A right good transformation will turn this pitiful space right around so the One Room Challenge came at the perfect time. In a space of 6 tiny weeks I need to go from deciding what I want to carrying out what I want, then i’ll nod off happily. So far I have a few ideas floating ahead in my head, nothing has materialised above that, so i’m very much starting at from scratch. Let’s be realistic for a minute. I need to hot step it as soon as possible so I quickly get to the point of ordering samples and factoring in delivery times for anything I need to buyer the room. This is what I love going, there arranging is as fun as putting the room together but the state of the room right now to daunting. Decluttering will happen while I formulate a plan of action, so by the time week 2 comes and you find yourself back here to check in on the progress, there actually will be progress made.
“Here’s the disaster i’m dealing with:”
The bedroom is in trouble in so many ways, bring on the transformation.
I’m fresh back from September’s Maison Et Objet in Paris and quick footing it around London Design Week so I have a headful of inspiration. This is kind of a hinderance and a blessing at the same time, I’ve seen so so much yet I haven’t really nailed down what I want exactly. But there are some essentials that MUST be tackled.
Ok first, STORAGE! I’m shouting this one out because it’s lacking so bad it’s a crying shame. I may have a lot of clothes, scratch that. I have a lot of clothes. There’s hanging space and drawer space and the casualness of a pile of clothes on a wingback chair which should be the place to read yet only reads clothes labels.
Somewhere, Marie Kondo is shaking her head with her arms folded as she mutters I told you so. As I lower my head in shame, I may admit she is right. A declutter day is in order and then I can take a proper look at what I’m dealing with.
Maximalists raise your hands and i’ll join you! I like stuff but I don’t like it all over the place, so there needs to be a creation of homes to discourage the build up of clutter. If I had an inner minimalist, now would be the time to channel it. I’ll settle for shelving and closed storage.
The essential and biggest thing in the room is obviously the bed. If it’s an eye sore it will stick out like a sore thumb. Your room should entice you every night and that enticement starts with your bed. Chuck the cushions on the floor, turn down the sheets and climb right in. Best feeling ever, especially with fresh shaved legs, right?
Not only is the bed, sheets mattress and frame, important for getting rest it’s also a must for exercising with Mr and reading the iPad on Sundays lie-ins…… ‘cause who buys a newspaper anymore!? Aww,I do love my bed, as in the mattress. It’s comfortable and is the thing that gets me many compliments.
The headboard isn’t quite there. Since the bedroom will be my wellness space to zone out and lounge around in a kimono, the headboard needs to be comfy to rest against. You’ll have to stay tuned as the weeks roll by to see how I make a custom headboard. The fabric is ready to go, the international components however need to be sustainable and as ‘clean’ as possible. It’s so close to my head, I don’t want to breathe in a toxic cocktail of unknown chemicals that will find their way to the bloodstream. At the moment I have visions of tack-nails and a wingback headboard of some sort, but we shall see. Not everything is viable after-all, for now, that’s another idea for the moodpboard.
The 5th wall is one hot mess. Look up, the ceiling is the fifth wall, but in my case the filthy wall. No bedroom is complete when the ceiling looks shabby. I live in a rental and although I can paper or paint the walls as I wish, the ceiling needs help ASAP. A few years ago the ceiling literally fell in jacking everything up. See what happened was….. the kitchen is above the bedroom and a flood happened bringing the ceiling down with it. There was water pouring taking into heavy plaster and a soaking wet mattress. Well everything well soaked. Sure, my landlord did the repairs and patched the ceiling up, but what they left wasn’t pretty. They only fixed the areas that needed repairing so half the ceiling has god-awful wood chip wallpaper on….this was NOT me by the way…..the other half has fresh plaster and a crack from another leak. Waking up to that mess is urghful!
Along with the ceiling disaster came the floor which got destroyed after the first flood. The carpet is a flat as a pancake, not cushiness whatsoever. The second flood didn’t help matters so a healthy flooring that isn’t bringing toxic chemicals into my home has to be done. There is no point in creating a space for wellness if you then go ruining the air with the ton of chemicals sprayed onto carpets, wall coverings and furniture. No thanks! I’m thinking about cork or wood with cotton rugs but research will shine a light on what I end up going with. What’s your thoughts on a healthy flooring choice?
“Ok, let’s a have run down of what my needs are to pull off this transformation and up the wellness anti:”
Plants and crystals are great for wellness but the cluttered styling is a joke. Don’t let me start on the wallpaper.
Storage to display the things that but make me happy. I’m very much a maximalist so while some folk don’t like books in the bedroom, i’m not included in that crew. Bookshelves it is. Hardbacked books galore and I have 6 weeks to figure out beasty styling for that. I can’t wait!
Storage for a thinned out collection of clothes & shoes that I actually love to wear. Create space for things you love helps your wellness goals afterall.
A headboard to match the cosy bed that isn’t seeped in harmful chemicals.
A ceiling minus cracks or patches of discoloured paint or wood chip wallpaper.
Lush flooring underfoot, easy to clean and as natural as possible without using animals to do so (yep, I won’t be having is any animal derived nonsense ‘cause i’m not up for animal cruelty and I specialise in creating homes that want the same).
Bedside tables for the usual things like my glasses and water.
Layers of lighting to set as many moods as I wish. More about lighting next week.
Designing for wellness
Your wellness is more than your physical health. It shapes how you perceive yourself as well as how you go about interacting the world outside including those people who eat all the food in the fridge (aka the Kids).
Wellness develops you as a whole person and your home can totally support or hinder your wellness goals. I’m all for creating mine, to support a healthy and happy lifestyle.
As the bedroom is at the heart of your wellness journey it’s got to accommodate us when we’re at our drowsiest and when we’re most awake. My personal needs call for the right environment to dress up and lounge around. I’ll like to lounge with great scents drifting in the air, lush plants that are easy to keep alive and also clean the air, and visual elements that spark my imagination.
Cop a look at that ugly pretend chandelier, it never fooled anyone
Now you know what i’m dealing with, why not leave a comment describing your ideal bedroom. Before I Hi5 you on your way, remember to pop back next week to catch up with the progress of transforming that awful ceiling and my battle of the woodchip wallpaper. Plus get inspiration on how to build your wellness goals into the design of your home.
www.oneroomchallenge.com/orc-blog
AND…. be sure to follow the awesome and seriously talented participants who will be transforming a room of their own (or a client’s) over the next 6 weeks.
What needs to happen by week 2?
Have storage needs calculated and planned out on a floorplan
Create a colour scheme that’s restful yet full of personality
Source headboard, wall covering and flooring supplies
Prep the room for some hard work
