I see the light - One Room Challenge - Week 3
Hey hey
I’m so glad you’ve made it here again to catch on the last 7 days One Room Challenge antics. But it’s your first time here, check out the first 2 weeks HERE.
First off, I’ve gotta tell you why i’m so excited to finally find a main light fitting. Over this last week i’ve trawled through many websites, fell into all kinds of shops in search of something that would give my basement bedroom the ability to not look dark and dungeonesque. Totally not a word but stay with me.
The criteria was:
Must be brass or gold metal
As little plastic components as possible
Be visually attractive against a pink ceiling.
Have no visually sharp elements pointing down towards the bed.
THEN…. (Play the harp, play the harp) Sunday happened! We’re talking Sunday evening web browsing with little hope and Google spurted out Very as a place that sells lighting. I had a look in the ceiling lighting section and this curvy little number grabbed my attention.
Guess how much I had to fork out for this little gold number? Drop your answer in the comments.
Do you know Spanish designer Jaime Hayon? I adore his playful yet memorable designs and this light reminded me of his more elaborate fittings at the Groninger Museum. A girl can dream of having original lights but that same girl can only afford the reminder.
By Monday it’d already been dispatched and was on its way to me. The neighbours must’ve hated me that day because alonng with my lighting delivery were 4 other deliveries. AND I was home to receive none of them.
Back to the Congo wallpaper. Can I just tell you its eco goodness for a minute?
So you know by now that i’ve doing my best to keep VOC levels at bay in my newly designed bedroom (and the rest of the house too), well can you imagine how happy I was to see an A+ Label of the paper for VOC emissions. YES!
Basically, the French emissions classification and labelling regulations rate wall coverings, paints, vanishes etc for the nasty chemical and Congo has top scores. Nasties such as Formaldehyde is real low, keeping my air indoor in good shape. To keep the good air going, I’ve ordered a vegan and eco friendly wall covering paste. You generally cannot pop into any ole DIY store and get eco-friendly alternatives so it’s another occasion of turning to the internet to buy things that are better for your health. They really don’t make it easy for us wellness-ers so I can see why some people don’t bother with all the hassle.
Before I get to have lush walls, this disaster has to go. I’ve started stripping…..the walls of the outdated wallpaper that once lived on the ‘feature wall’. I shudder knowing that I thought that was once ok. Anyway having gotten all the hanging clothes into suitcases I could slowly assess the damage to the wall in the alcove. Peeling paper and missing plaster isn’t the prettiest of sights, but i’m not phased by it. I do building conservation in the world of full time work and i’ve seen some crumbling excuses for wall structures. My walls really aren’t too bad.
“Where-ever you see interior wall damage like blown plaster or damp, get outside to check out the condition of the walls. You may need to do repairs to mortar or replace a brick/stone or even the drainage pipe. ”
Take it from me, the best way to strip woodchip wallpaper is to strip. Yep get naked as long as you’re not using a steamer ‘cause that’d be a hot mess. I discovered this tip when I got up on the ladder while filling the bathtub and started taking that god-damn awful woodchip wallpaper off the ceiling. Those chips of wood were falling like dandruff and thankfully the wallpaper was coming off pretty easily. Did I get it all off? Of course not, I wasn’t trying to flood the house again and after I washed off all those chips I definitely wasn’t about to get back up the ladder. I should have hoovered before getting in the bath though. Flipping messy wood chips are on soggy feet.
I can FINALLY say I can see this project coming together. The house is packed full of suitcases, lurking furniture begging for a home and cardboard boxes with my belongings in addition to all the deliveries coming in. Urgh but smiles! We’re all side stepping in the hallway at the moment but if my girly sideeyes me one more time when seeing me carry in more supplies, she’s totally grounded. HA!
I’m rather pleased that i’ve kept a close eye on the materials I’ve been bringing into the bedroom, even in the smaller details. So the tencel yarn will be a craft moment to make vegan tassels just for the fun of it. I can’t help stroke tassels. I’m a toucher, sue me, but i’m not feeling mingling with plastics and all sorts of unwanted chemical crap so organic components are easier to make myself.
Tencel in place of polyester or animal derived wool
Organic cotton in place of regular cotton
Glass frames with minimal plastic components
A+ grade wallpaper with zero vinyl content
Organic muslin cloth instead of bleached white voiles in a dodgy man-made fabric.
“Take your moodboard with you when shopping. You’ll have an instant reminder of your vision and can stay on track. Even online, get your moodpboard out. I have mine as my screen saver so i don’t even need to search through pictures”
For the vanity of it
Do you know what life is too short for? Stooping!
Life is too short to be dealing with back ache from stooping just to get the best of an awful light angle. It’s too short for kneeling at the edge of the bed with your knees digging into the carpet too. Duvet gets mucky, mirror falls down and your face looks like it’s been commissioned by Crayola. I’ve been crying out for an upgrade my entire adult life! When I accidently fell into a charity shop over the weekend I saved myself, knees and all, with a vanity stool. I had meant to be looking out for bedside tables but earned myself a sustainability tick in the meantime by buying a piece to upcycle and reclaim as my own.
I’ll need to paint the legs, after giving it a bit of a sand down. What I’m not sure about is the upholstery. This may stay beyond the challenge and eventually be recovered to a kinder fabric but for now the pink valour and fray is actually in keeping with the room. The painted legs might spruce it all. What do you think?
Creating Space For Wellness
Sleep is kind of an essential, as much as anyway tries to run away from it. The thing that the bedroom is used, for so all eyes are on the bed for this piece of wellness advice. The Pillow.
Mini story alert. When I was growing up I had a custom pillow made by mum. It was stuffed with cubes of foam. I LOVED that pillow. Not too hard, or too hot, plus contained nothing to poke you at night like feather-filled pillows do.
Had I known the crap that foam is made from (petroleum), I would have preferred to sleep on my folded arms instead. At least I know better now AND have the sense to do something about it for the sake of my health AND without detriment to the bodies of goose and ducks.
Let’s look at the viable options when you’re wanting to be eco—friendly AND cruelty-free all in one go:
Kapok – Fluffiness resides in the kapok. FIST PUMP! A valid alternative to ghastly synthetic stuffing for teddy bears and pillows alike. When I looked into this option, though, I wasn’t too impressed that it’s also highly flammable. It’s not like I’m sitting in bed striking matches or flashing lighters either but leaving the cushiness aside the flaming ability put me off. Next!
Latex - There’s latex, natural and man-made crappiness. Obviously the option for me when creating a space for my wellness goals is to go natural, but latex isn’t giving too many frigs about your purse strings. The natural goodness of latex would steal a chunk of the budget on pillows alone. Alternatives on aisle one please! So then I find…….
Buckwheat – Buckwheat hulls. Used by the Japanese for YONKS and a day (remember I am super fascinated in Japanese culture), I’ve been considering buckwheat for a while. Hardly something up can pop into the shop and buy so it’d have to be an online order. The Perfect Pillow Company, or Razzmatazz, which I actually found on Amazon, supply ready made pillows or the make-your-own version. So I decided to make my own, you know be a tad bit crafty, and use 5kg of buckwheat hulls inside pillows and the remaining lot to swap out some cushions around the house.
The ready made option is simply pillow covers that you pour the buckwheat hulls into and away you go. Is that crafty? Barely any work at all really! The great thing is the cover is organic cotton with not even a whiff of dirty chemicals sprayed on them. Total win and all of a super sweet price of £10 per pillow.
My 5kgs of buckwheat hulls have already been delivered. I can tell you they smell flipping good and feel less crunchy than I expected. I’m super excited to be sleeping cleaner from now on, we’ll starting after the room is complete. I won’t be having a pillow fight with my new buckwheat pillows though, unless Mr has really annoyed me. Buckwheat hulls have some weight to them. Ha!
Recycled textiles – I had considered chopping up a load of unwanted clothes, since i’m hardly in short supply after decluttering, to make the stuffing for new pillows. Having talked to local recycled cushion company CUSHN Company a while back on how they make the inserts of their eco cushions, I knew it is a thing. BUT……A time consuming bitch of a chore involving hours of scissor work and blending fibres in a food processor. Yeah, not in the lifetime of this challenge that’s for sure.
That’s it for this week, thanks for catching up on the bedroom developments, pop back next week to see if i’ve pulled my hair out yet. While the next 7 days passes, do yourself a favour and check out other awesome and seriously talented participants, they too are sharing their Week 3 One Room Challenge developments, frustrations and all. www.oneroomchallenge.com/orc-blog
What needs to happen by week 4?
Get all the prep works done to the ceiling which should have happened last week.
Pick up the tribal wallpaper and the paints.
Paint the ceiling
Fall into the store because that will happen so i might swell embrace it.
Start getting the wardrobe areas wallpapered and prepped for storing clothes in style
Figure out a plan for the floor, the old tired carpet cannot stay.
If your like how the room is taking shape, give this post a like, or comment below. Hi5s and curtsies! Til next week 🙋🏾♀️
