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Hello my loves!!! Welcome to Week 4 of the One Room Challenge™, This officially marks the halfway point and while I’m feeling pretty confident about my progress, I’m definitely not halfway done! There are still a bunch of DIY’s to do and decisions to be made.
If this is your first time here, WELCOME! Let me catch you up on the One Room Challenge ™ weekly progress thus far: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 |
If you follow me on Instagram, you likely caught wind of the massive case of ‘Project ADD’ we suffered this week; 3 full days were spent trouble shooting and rebuilding a water feature in our yard, replacing lava rock with cedar mulch and planting new perineals in our front yard. Later this week both my mom and my oldest daughter came to town and I’ve been soaking up every second I can get with my two best girls. So if this feels like yet another uneventful ORC update, rest assured it just means that. next 4 will be jam packed! 😉
The Floors
They’re officially done! I mixed up a tiny batch of Limewash to touch up some patched areas that were still presenting more gray than I wanted Once those dried and I was happy with the Limewash finish, I applied two coats of. Minwax Polycrylic Water-Based Protective Clear Finish, 1 gallon, Satin. This is the first time I’ve used the Satin finish; I’ve used the matte finish to protect and seal both my DIY Painted Stencil Tile Floors as well as my DIY Geometric Plywood Floor in the Fall One Room Challenge. Y’all I absolutely love this product and I am not sponsored by Miniwax in any way. It is super easy to apply, extremely versatile (I’ve used it on raw wood, stained wood, painted wood, painted tile AND now cement) and it has such a beautiful finish. At $50 per gallon it is NOT cheap; but a little goes a long way and the quality of the finished product makes it worth every penny.
I paint the majority of the walls and ceiling in my home with flat or matte paint. I would never recommend using flat paint for trim, closets, doors or shelves because it shows scuffs and fingerprints easily and those tend to be the most used and abused painted areas of our homes. That said, there have been multiple times where I’ve used flat paint for those less than ideal projects simply because it’s what I had on hand. This room is a perfect example of that. I did not want to purchase another gallon of the same color paint in a different sheen so I used what I have, and will follow up by painting all the closet shelves, window sill, built in’s and doors with a coat of Polycrylic to protect the finish from damage and make it easy to wipe down. Cost: $50
Window Treatments
I finally finished up the window this week! I still have a few details to sort out for the exterior window well, But the list of updates made to the window was long and arduous and I’m thrilled with how it turned out. I’m always amazed that big change often comes back to the little things. (I saved the whole process to my instagram highlights)
Before After
First I gave the interior white vinyl a coat of black spray paint that I had leftover from another window project. Cost: $0
I pulled out the old sill and replaced it with a chunkier, more modern version that mimics the profile of our built ins. Cost: $8 for the wood
For the curtain panels, I used Unbleached Muslin fabric that I’d purchased years ago to make tent walls underneath my son’s loft bed. We pulled the plug on the project and I’ve had half of a bolt in my fabric stash for the past several years. I couldn’t tell you what I paid for it to be honest; I remember picking it specifically for high quality look and feel for a surprisingly low cost. And you KNOW your girl didn’t buy 10 yards without a 40% off coupon! At present, you can snag Unbleached linen at Joann’s Fabrics for $2.99/yard
Muslin is an awesome, lightweight, inexpensive fabric that is commonly used in dressmaking and cheese making. It’s 100% all-natural cotton offering a great organic option free from chemical residues. It’ super easy to work with, and my bolt was ‘finished’ on either side so I only had to hem to top and bottom of my panels. Not a bad deal to squeeze two finished panels apx. 77″ x 88″ for less than $20! Because I was able to use what I have, my Cost: $0
Check out this video for a quick and easy hem and curtain ‘training’ tutorial!
I was able to reuse the bamboo matchstick shades that have been here since we moved in and I love the added layer of texture they provide. I don’t know where these were purchased, but these are similar. Cost $0
I selected this allen + roth Matte Black curtain rod from Lowes for it’s simple design and 1.5-inch, Set of 30 Black Metal Curtain Rings with Clips because at $11.99/30 pack, you can’t beat the price! Cost: $42.97 for both
The Light
I really didn’t want to spend a lot on a new light fixture, but I knew I needed something with at least 3 bulbs to brighten up this basement bedroom. I’m a big fan of West Elm light fixtures (I have several already in my house) and totally had my heart set on their Staggered Glass 8-Light Chandy.

But even at 30% off this light was WAY outside of my budget. So I turned to eBay which has been a great resource when I’m looking for something specific that is either out of stock in stores or too expensive. I tracked down an exact replica from a vendor online and was able to order the fixture at a fraction of the cost. (West Elm cost: $599. Homelight_online: $243.79) The fixture arrived quickly, however some parts were missing (tension wire screws) or incorrect (down tubes were not the same size).

I reached out to the vendor and they have been very responsive in trying to find a resolution and redeliver the missing/incorrect parts, but the delivery date is still unknown so we decided to work around the hangups by skipping the down tubes all together and getting this baby installed anyway. If/when the parts arrive we can reinstall if we chose to do so but we probably won’t. This light looks amazing in here as is! I still need to purchase proper lightbulbs and install all the globes, but here’s a sneak peak of her in all her glory. She lights this room up like the 4th of July!
New Bedding
Emmy Lou and I took a trek down to West Elm in Boulder to do some rug shopping. While there were lots of gorgeous options we adored, I’m just not prepared to lay $1,200 of stainable wool underneath my sublimely messy teenager. But we didn’t leave empty handed! We found a stunning coverlet and a really cool duvet cover that I cannot wait to see laid out on her bed. I’m not spilling all the deets on that just yet, but here’s a little sneak peak of the textiles we pulled together once we got home from our shopping excursion.

The Bench
I haven’t mentioned the bench before today. My husband made this bench from a leftover piece of wood from my son’s loft bed. He gave it a coat of dark walnut, ordered hairpin legs from Rockler, and it’s been in my son’s room for the last couple of years. We sanded it back down to its original grain, applied a couple of coats of Minimax Pickling Oak Stain that we had on hand and two coats of wax to protect the surface. It looks like a completely different piece! Cost: $0
Before After
The Barn door
This is the week y’all. I just got the door hardware ordered and I can’t wait to FINALLY dive into this project! I ended up ordering the 7 ft Single Track Bypass Sliding Barn Door Hardware Kit through Apex Hardware on Etsy for two reasons: First, I’m an avid review reader and the reviews about the quality of the product and east of installation were nothing short of raving. Second, I reached out to multiple vendors to inquire about what track length they would recommend as well as a potential partnership (full transparency). Not only was Kris, the owner, the ONLY ONE who responded to my product questions, but he answered them within minutes and was so helpful in determining what length would work best for my specific situation. In the end I did not get the hardware sponsored, but he did offer a discount and was such a pleasure to work with! Cost: $140.05

This week…on the gram
Lots on the agenda this week!
*Wall Gallery: Emmy is finalizing her images for the photo collage sponsored by Parabo Press! She has been editing them all in a great app and we plan to share the whole process in stories including the editing process, uploading to Parabo’s site, and ordering our 4×4 archival quality prints for our project.
*Doors: Once our barn door hardware is delivered we’ll get cracking on building out these ultra modern doors. We’re brainstorming the different ways to achieve the look we want with minimal headache. So much of DIY is fleshing out all the ‘what if we tried this’ and ‘that might be better’ details. I love geeking out on logistics and efficiencies.
*Rug: I’m picking a rug THIS WEEK by golly. I’m sure I’ll be agonizing over the entire selection process, the pros and cons, and polling my audience in stories so hope over and vote on your favorites. Or talk me off the ledge. Because once that’s done….
*I get to start moving furniture back into this room!!!
THE PROJECT LIST
Repaint the entire room in ‘Benjamin Moore White Dove’Spray paint window vinyl blackTrim out built-in shelvesCloset build out (extra shelves,shoe storage)Removeand replace all trim & baseboardsRemove carpet, pad, and tacksFill tack holes with cement patchDIY Limewash cement floorsPoly coat cement floorsDIY faux ceiling beamsRefinish rustic benchClean out and wash window wellSpray Paint Window Well white- Spray Paint frame hardware, screen, doorknob black
- DIY Artifact Uprising Acrylic frame Dupe & Parabola’s Press photo grid sponsored by Parabo Press
- DIY Barn Door and installation
- DIY Art Project
Bed deconstruction and reconstructionReplace light fixtureSew and install curtains- Dye Headboard Canvas
- Sew Pillows
- DIY Desk/Vanity
- Select and Order Rug
Select and Order bedding
THE BUDGET BREAKDOWN
Here’s what’s been purchased thus far (new purchases in bold)
- Polycrylic for floors, shelves and closet (1 gal) $50.98
- Window Treatments (Curtain Rod & Ring Clips) $42.97
- Single Track Bypass Sliding Barn Door Hardware Kit ($140.05)
- Trim (Includes Built-ins, Closet shelving & header, door trim and baseboards): $121.58
- Window Sill Wood & Spray Paint: $13.72
- Cement Floors (includes patch, Limewash, acrylic binder & brush): $82
- Ceiling Beams – $0 (We ended up using 12 ft rough sawn aspen boards we had left over from another project.)
- DIY Bed Deconstruction & Reconstruction (4×8′ sheet of ply): $28
- Amazeballs West Elm Light Fixture found on eBay $252.81 (retails $599)
- RUNNING TOTAL – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – $732.11
PARTNERS
I am tickled pink to be partnering with some seriously amazing companies during this year’s One Room Challenge including:


I hope you’ll continue to follow along each week as I document the process of renovating a room under the gun and on a dime! Look for my post updates each Thursday, and if you’d like to follow the day to day progress as well meet me in my Instagram stories.
You can also follow along with the other bloggers, instagrammers and designers taking on the One Room Challenge ™ on the ORC Blog!
Thanks for being here!
XOXO,

Visit each week of the One Room Challenge™ Here: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 CANCELLED #BLM | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 |
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