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Hello, hello, helloooooooooo! Oh how I’ve missed you! If we aren’t friends on the ole gram, (or even if we are and you just missed the memo), Linda Weinstein, founder of the One Room Challenge, and team released the following statement that Week 5 would be cancelled:
“We stand is solidarity over the racial injustice and murders of George Floyd and the many other victims of police brutality and racism. To both honor and respect these victims there will Not be a Week 5 of the ORC and posting will return next week. The ORC team will use this time to better educate ourselves to be the best possible allies.”
-ONE ROOM CHALLENGE TEAM
It was both refreshing and relieving to not only see them take a stand against injustice, but also give us designers much needed time and permission for grieving and processing. I still worked on some projects during that time, but a lot of my energy was devoted to listening, leaning in, and praying for discernment about how I could make a lasting difference in this space. I shared about that a little bit here. As a result, I’m launching a virtual book club for white people who are ready to listen to another narrative and learn how to be better allies. If you’re interested in being a part of it, please send me an email to meg@roostramble.com. May we never quench our thirst for learning, humbly seeking to understand perspectives unlike our own, and investing our energy into blurring the harsh lines that divide us.
Here we are my loves; Week 6! 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 | Week 4 | Week 5 CANCELLED |
Here’s what’s been happening around here in the last two weeks:
Trim
We replaced all the detailed door trim and tiny baseboards with simple, no frills, pre-primed MDF trim; 3.5″ on the doors and 5.5″ base. Guys it’s not that fun to talk about. Or install for that matter. But if it isn’t the most glorious icing on an otherwise unremarkable cake. We are swapping our whole house one space at a time. I’ll never get over what upgrading trim can do to a room. It’s magic. It was a job I was putting off that needed to be done and I’m happy to call it that. D-O-N-E! Cost: $105.44 (and worth every penny!)
DESK & VANITY
I built a desk! Ok that’s a stretch. I took an old IKEA Alex set of drawers from our office, snagged an extra set of Ikea legs from my mama’s house, and tossed a 3/4″ slab of birch ply on top that I found in the garage left over from another project and added an iron on veneer trim.
I’m not loving the freebie legs. I was hoping they’d sort of just disappear into a sea of white, but alas, I feel like they ‘cheapen’ the space for lack of a better term alongside those beams and that light.
I got lots of great suggestions sent by my trust gram fam, but if I’m honest, I don’t want to spend any more money or time at this stage in the challenge. So I revisited my ORC Pinterest Board for some inspiration and came across what I think will be the perfect solution: Super easy to make (literally 8 total cuts) and I already have all the supplies on hand. You know what that means…. Another zero dollar update!
I debated between two gold mirrors: an old square vintage thrifted that I love, and a classic round from Target. The classic round won the Instagram Polls by a landslide. Seriously, what would I do without my gram fam making all the tough decisions for me? My plan was to add some shelving above the desk with under cabinet lighting to cast down onto her vanity but I’m not quite ready to put more holes in the wall just yet; Could come down to a game time decision.
I only had to purchase one roll of 3/4″ birch veneer iron on to ‘finish’ the sides of the plywood but aside from that, everything else I used for this desk/vanity I borrowed or hand on hand. Cost: $6.58
Wall Gallery
Emmy is finalizing and editing her images for the photo collage sponsored by Parabo Press! We had planned to share the whole process in stories last week including the editing process, uploading to Parabo’s site, and ordering our 4×4 archival quality prints for our project, but we’ll do that this week instead!
I have given her complete control over the photo selection and editing process. She has loved every single second of it and I love that she gets to flex her creative muscle and add her own personal touch to the space. I must say, she’s done an exceptional job and I’m excited to share with you all! Here’s a sneak peak at some of her images.
We still need to move the rest of the furniture in before we finalize the size and location for her gallery project, but if we can get that floating acrylic frame built out and installed before Week 8 I’ll be over the moon! Cost: TBD
PARABO + A DISCOUNT CODE
You’ve got to check out Parabo Press and their full line of printed photo options. You’ll also get inspiration for days from their Instagram page. It’s so good you guys.
If you decide you need a print set of your very own, Parabo Press has been kind enough to offer up one free set of 20 4″ Prints (or $10 off of the larger size) with the code ‘ROOST.’ Offer expires 7/31/20.
Art
I’ve been slowly collecting art for this space for the last couple of months. Sometime last year I won an Instagram giveaway hosted by my friend Cachet of The Peacocks Nest. It’s a beautiful color block portrait from artist Sabrina Khadija. It’s an identical print to the one Cachet used in her Fall 2019 ORC Dining Room and Emmy and I were both stoked to put it in our room this season. Something about twinning ORC art with one of my fave girls on the gram just gives me all the warm fuzzies.
Emmy and I have had the most incredible conversations this week about the importance of being intentional in our pursuit of supporting the black community. There are a lot of hashtags featuring black artists on instagram. (#supportblackart & #youngblackartists are two I love and have followed for awhile.) So Ems and I took a deep dive into one of them and when we came across artist Samuel Blankson of The Many Phaced God we knew we needed a piece of his work. These were some of our mutual faves and strong contenders.
Emmy settled on this portrait of Rhianna and I can’t help but agree that this is the perfect choice; the colors are spot on for this space. When the digital file arrived in my inbox I was blown away by the level of depth and detail. Honestly, I didn’t even know that was achievable digitally. We’re sending it off to Parabo Press this week and I’m even more excited to see it in print!
Doors
Y’all we did it. We built our DIY Modern Bypass Barn Doors and they’re pretty rad if I do say so myself. I really wanted to take a chic and contemporary approach on a classic barn door that felt a little less ‘farmhouse’ and a little more ‘Scandi.’ I sketched out my design to feature five large ‘slabs’ surrounded by a super thin trim for a streamlined look.
Obvi I will put together a tutorial breaking down the plan and process post ORC which, based on history, equates to +/- 6 months from now; Taking over/under bets as we speak. There is plenty I would do differently (which, of course, will also be included in aforementioned tutorial) but I am still completely obsessed with how they turned out and they haven’t even been painted (just primed).. Not sure I’ll ever get tired of the DIY process from conceptualizing an image to producing it with my own hands. What can I say. I’m addicted.
The hardware also arrived midweek and it is WAY BETTER than I could have ever imagined. I haven’t put it up yet so can’t speak to the ease of installation and quality, but it certainly appears to be exceptionally well made and the instructions look far more detailed than your average Ikea instruction manual so there’s that. I ended up ordering this set from Apex Hardware. Owner Kris was a gem to work with and patiently (and quickly) answered all of my nagging questions. Once I get my header board painted and hung we’re going to take a crack at getting these doors up and it’ll be smooth sailing through the finish. It’s the last big thing I need to do in this room.
Rug
To say the rug picking journey has been a painstaking process for me would be an understatement. I’m literally paralyzed by this decision and I don’t even know why. Fortunately a fellow grammar and interior designer Amy Rex at Amy Rex Designs reached out with an offer to help in the selection process. We’ve narrowed it down to a handful of options and I’ll be taking it to a vote this week in stories. TOTALLY COUNTING ON YALL TO SHOW UP! No pressure though. 😉 We are picking a rug THIS WEEK by golly.
Image Courtesy of Overstock 
Image courtesy of Overstock 
Image courtesy of Loloi Rugs
If I can find one under budget, I just may have enough to snag a killer cow hide for under the desk like this one! I would so love something like this to soften that corner where the cement groves conjoin.
I am so encouraged to see this list mostly crossed off! We are getting down to the wire! I
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)Remove and 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
Build DIY Modern Barn Door- Install Barn Door
Bed deconstruction and reconstructionReplace light fixtureSew and install curtains- Dye Headboard Canvas
- Sew/order Pillows
DIY Desk/VanitySelect and Order RugSelect and Order bedding
THE BUDGET BREAKDOWN
Here’s what’s been purchased thus far (new purchases in bold)
- Door Materials (Wood & MDF) $111.01
- Digital Rhianna Print $30
- Bedding (Duvet and coverlet) $160
- 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 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – $1,033.12
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 |
Roost & Ramble 
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