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Holy cow it’s finally Week 8 and Big Reveal time for the One Room Challenge™ (ORC) Sponsored by Better Homes and Gardens! I can hardly believe it! This is my second time participating in the ORC. Last Fall I completed this guest room, and had such an amazing experience I knew I had to give it another go!
I started ‘Emmy Lou’s Danish Digs’ almost 4 months ago in anticipation of a bunch of travel during the original ORC dates, all of which were cancelled or pushed back due to Covid. On one hand, it feels like her room has been in the works forever! On the other hand, the last minute scrambling that has made up much of the last seven days makes it feel like the typical One Room Challenge experience: Fast and furious!
I am so grateful to Linda Weinstein for creating this concept that allows for both legit designers and regular ole mama’s like me to be a part of an inspiring challenge while fixing up our houses one space at a time. It’s been an absolute delight to be a part of such an incredible community. Forever grateful Linda and team!
If this is your first time tuning in, please allow me catch you up on the Spring 2020 One Room Challenge ™ weekly progress to date: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 CANCELLED #BLM | Week 6 | Week 7 |
I am absolutely DYING to share this finished space with you guys! But before we dig in, let’s take a little stroll back in time to where it all began shall we?
The Before
Original MLS Photo
The Mood Board

The Quick and Dirty
This room was a 14th birthday gift for my youngest daughter, Emmy Lou. I so enjoyed collaborating with her on a design concept and working to bring her vision of how she wanted this space to ‘feel’ (calm, neutral, Scandinavian & minimal) to life.
Admittedly a neutral, minimalist aesthetic is far outside of my color-loving, maximalist wheelhouse; But I found it to be a fun and refreshing challenge to try something new and stretch my design capabilities. As an added bonus, I cannot deny the respite I’ve discovered in this calming space.
I went into this challenge with the intention of being as resourceful as possible: As a family of 6 living on one income, finding ways to cut costs in all of our home renovations has given me both the freedom to take on more projects and the challenge to get creative with what I have. It’s also become the crux of my blogging and Instagram journey; I’m a big believer that you don’t NEED a lot to DO a lot.
This season, I made a commitment to share the cost breakdown of each DIY project and track every last dime spent in this space. I feel strongly that transparency in this area brings much added value to you, as the reader and fellow DIY’er, and helps keep me accountable to the realities of actual costs incurred.
As per ushe (interesting debate on google regarding the spelling of this slang form of ‘usual’) I stuck with my general rule of thumb to: Use or repurpose what I have first, Thrift/trade/barter second, and only buy new as a last resort (and it better be on sale!) As such, almost every aspect of this transformation was a DIY project from the lime washed basement subfloor below to the faux beams added to the ceiling above.
In the end, we revamped every single square inch of this space for a hair over $1,500, much of which was paid for in gift cards obtained from cashing in airline miles. Up top fam! This feels like a big win!
My General rule of thumb is to Use or repurpose what I have first, Thrift, trade, or barter second, and only buy new as a last resort.
Are you ready to see this budget makeover in all her danish inspired glory?
The After
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!
Product Sources & BUDGET BREAKDOWN
Here’s what’s been purchased thus far (new purchases in bold)
- Parabo Press Gallery Wall (gifted): $0 (Valued at $40)
- Two Curtain panels (used to wrap headboard & make pillows) $44
- Faux Fur Pillows (2 @ $34.99) $70
- Rust Color Pillow $0 (pulled from another room for photos. Still waiting on an AMAZING one to be delivered)
- Desk Chair: $5.68 (one can of spray paint and an old chair)
- Desk” $0 (used items we already had)
- Martha Nordic Diamond Area Rug $204.21 (after coupon and rewards)
- Round Vanity Mirror, Carved Dot Natural Floor Mirror: $0 (items we already had)
- Beige Cowhide: $120.39
- HomeGoods Throw: $24.99
- Door Materials (Wood & MDF): $111.01
- Digital Rhianna Print: $30 for file, printing gifted by Parabo Press
- West Elm Bedding (Organic Flannel Herringbone Duvet and coverlet) Clearance priced $160
- Polycrylic for floors, shelves and closet (1 gal): $50.98
- Window Treatments ( allen + roth Matte Black curtain rod & 1.5-inch, Set of 30 Black Metal Curtain Rings with Clips, Muslin fabric taken from my personal stash): $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 & Rustoleum Black Spray Paint in Semi Gloss: $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 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – $1,502.39
Room Projects & Tutorials
Coming soon!
DIY Limewash Cement Floor
DIY Faux Ceiling Beams
DIY Modern Bypass Barn Doors
DIY Artifact Uprising Acrylic frame Dupe & Parabo Press photo grid (gifted)
Paint Colors
Walls and ceiling: Benjamin Moore White Dove (my go to white) in matte
Modern Barn Doors: Sherwin William’s Tricorn Black SW 6258 in Satin
Window Paint: Rustoleum Black Spray Paint in Semi Gloss
FOLLOW ME! IT’LL BE FUN!
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PARTNERS
I am tickled pink to be partnering with some seriously amazing companies during this year’s One Room Challenge including:
Thank you so much for following along each week as I documented the process of renovating a room under the gun and on a dime! I hope you enjoyed the process!

You can also check out other bloggers, instagrammers and designers final reveals a 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 |
While the room is minimalist, all the textures have me like whoa! The maximalist in new was fulfilled 😊 I love the layers. Your curtain trick is gonna be clutch now. Doesn’t feel like a basement room at all. Great job collaborating! It looks amazing!
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Thank you!!! I so appreciate that! I went as ‘minimalist’ as I could but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do! haha! So appreciate your comment! It doesn’t feel like a basement bedroom in real life either! Mission accomplished! Thanks again!
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As I knew you would, you knocked it out of the park! I adore every detail! My daughter Emma loved it too! Such a beautiful and fresh space! Cheers to your new space, or Emmy’s new space I should say! xoxo
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Ahhhh! Thank you so much sweet friend! I love that you shared it with Emma as well. Thank you for that! Can’t wait for the next one!!
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It’s amazing what you were able to do with $1500! It really looks like a room from a high end resort in the CA desert
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Thank you so much!!! We definitely lucked out on a few big projects to help keep the budget low. I love the idea of a high end resort in a CA desert! Sounds like vacation! Thank you for that compliment!
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Beautiful room! Where is the black floor lamp from? I didn’t see it listed.
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Thank you!! It is an old Opal House from Target I purchased a few years ago!
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