One Room Challenge-The Sunporch and Master Bath-Week 1

Welcome to the One Room Challenge Linking edition.  I've been MIA since, oh, around January of 2015 (turns out being a business owner doesn't allow for much spare time, go figure) so let me (re)introduce myself.  My name is Tiffany and this ol' money pit belongs to moi.  We've been working on our house for about 5 years now and Linda's ORC has always been that extra push that I need to get stuff done.  Linda is the bestest and such an amazing talent.  I'm so thrilled to participate in her challenge again.  This time around I'm doing my sunporch and master bathroom. Yep, you read that right.  I'm doing two rooms.  In all fairness, the master bath has been 80% done for about 2 years or so.  A few things still needed to happen but we just kept putting it off.  The wait is over though and now it's on like donkey kong!  The sunporch is another room we've been working on for like a hundred years but it was just so time consuming that we had to bite off little chunks at a time.  So without further ado, I'll start with the sunporch.  Here's what the room looked like before we moved in. 

Blech. Those sheers/couch/headboard?  No thanks.  

This is the wall where we had always envisioned a book case.

And these are the pictures of said bookcase being built. This was back  at the end of 2014/beginning of 2015.  So the bookcase is done and mostly styled so I'm going to save that for the end.  This is what the opposite of the room looks like now after some major wood scraping and painting. Can you say nightmare?  Seriously, this is why the room was taking so long.  The good news is that it's ready for the pretty.  Speaking of, you'll notice the teeny sofa in the room.  Yes, the room could handle a bigger sofa, however, I adopted this from my friend who was downsizing.  If it wasn't a Brusnchwig & Fils sofa with Brunschwig & Fils fabric on it I wouldn't be keeping it in the room. However, since it is, I'm going to try to make this work because this sofa is like sitting on a cloud made of cotton candy and dreams.  The damn thing hugs you!  No joke.  

Of course I'll be needing some other textiles.  I think the imperial trellis looks really nice with it.  I do have some other options but don't have any pictures right now.  I'm going to do natural shades below the decorative glass with the sample below and that is a sample of a faux fur rug that will be happening.  I will also be making curtains for the two corners of the room, just for a little more color and layering.  They will be in the same chartreuse as is in the sofa pattern. 

I'm going to be incorporating these chairs in a different finish/color.  They're kind of angular and I'm hoping they don't clash too much with the sofa lines.  

Contemporary Armchairs And Accent Chairs by Philadelphia Window Treatments Calico

I'm doing two of these side tables as well as a glass coffee table.  I'm trying to keep it light and airy in here.  This is the room I'll hide in when I need a bit of serenity.

Contemporary Side Tables And End Tables by Brooklyn Furniture & Accessories West Elm



And now on to the master bathroom.  Yes, it's messy but this is real life.  When a room isn't done I can't seem to muster the commitment to keep it tidy.  I'll declutter for the final pictures.

I'm going to get a roman shade for this window

So hard to take pictures with the sunlight coming in.  Anyway I'd like to put a taller etagere in this little nook next to the tub.  I've got one in mind so we'll see if it works. 

I've had that standing mirror since I was in college and it's time for us to part ways. I'm going to put a bench there and I'd like to do something to the window.  It's teeny, but it needs some love.  We had to put window films up since it looks right into the neighbors house.  Makes showering interesting but I'm ok with not having my nakedness on parade.

We do have a door for this closet but we just need to get it back on.  I'm going to have a mirror made to attach to it.


So here's the to do list:

Sunporch:  -Get coffee table, end tables, chairs (ordered)
                  - Finish styling bookcase and style tables
                  - Put up natural shades (ordered)
                  -Make curtains and decorative pillows
                  -Faux fur rug (got it)
                  -Lamps
                  -Pray that the reality mirrors my vision

Masterbath:  -Get roman shade for window
                     -Make faux roman for small window
                     -DIY bench project
                     -Find/style etagere
                     -Hang closet door and get mirror made
                     -Touch up paint
                     -TIDY UP BATHROOM.

So what do you think?   I'm feeling optimistic about this.  Although I've not finished a room before in this challenge.  Whatevs.  I'm thinking positively.  In the meantime check out all of the other ORC'ers and linking participants in the One Room Challenge and let the games begin!!!!!

I Need Opinions On Choosing A Soothing Office Palette

Remember when I said that I was opening my own business?  Well I'm trying to narrow my color palette choices.  One thing that I know that I want to convey through color is calmness.  So here are some choices that I'm looking at.

I probably would stick with the bottom three grays here.

I'm doing a flooring similar to this but a different material.

Ugh, I really like all three and am having a tough time deciding.  The look I'm going for is rustic modern if that helps.  That could totally change though.  Ha!  I'm so indecisive.   So what do you think?

On a separate note, here's some progress in the sunporch.

There will be a crown on it and it will continue over the doors.

Bottom cabinets in and you can see that the ceiling is partially painted.

That's it for now.  The library ladder has been made so the rest of this should be going in soon.  I think. I hope.

The Year In Review And What's Up For 2015

So this year flew by.   I have to say that 2014 wasn't the best personal year for us, but we're hopeful that 2015 will deliver.  As for our renovation, we had a few highs.  We finished a guest room ORC style and couldn't be happier with it.

I started the office/ craft room and it's really come a long way since when we moved in. I kinda lost steam on it though and it's become a dumping ground for things without a home.  I'm putting it back on the list for 2015 though.

Then there was the foyer.  Huge huge strides were made considering what we started with and I really tried to get it together for the fall ORC, but life wasn't having it. So it's still on the verge of completion.  I know this one will be completed in 2015 though.

We also started and didn't finish the sunroom.  It needs a lot of work though so that's my excuse.  The built in bookcase should be done in the next week or so.  There was a delay on the library ladder so that's what the hold up is.  Of course the prep of the windows still isn't done.  Oopsie.  We just haven't been in the mood to scrape and chisel a century's worth of paint off.  Go figure.

One thing I haven't told you about is the landscaping.  We've actually done quite a bit of work to the outside but for some reason I keep forgetting to post about it.  I'll save that for another time though.

Now on to what I'd like to accomplish for 2015.  First off, I have something to share.  I'm planning on opening my own business which means I'll have more rooms and bathrooms to put together.  Woohoo! That's not sarcasm.  I'm really excited to put it together.   What I do for a living has absolutely nothing to do with design but the space has to be designed, right?  And I'm going to do it.  I'm probably going to be asking for opinions along the way but I'll share more about that later.

As for the house, here's the list.  I have no idea if what's on the list will get done, but a girl can dream (can't she?).
-Sunroom is the number 1 priority right now
-Finish up the foyer which is ridiculously close to being completed
-Finish the dining room.  I've actually changed up a few things in there that I didn't share.  Just forgot.
  Kinda like the outside.  Oops.

I think I'm going to leave it at this.  This seems doable.  If I accomplish more, great.  I'm looking forward to the New Year and all the possibilities.  I just have to make sure not to have too high of expectations.  I'm totally guilty of that and then I get disappointed in the end.  I'm setting the bar low this year. Yes, low expectations it is.

A Light, New Windows And Drywall In The Sunroom

I still haven't found chairs for the foyer but I'm tracking a couple.  In the meantime we finally got a light for the sunroom.  My husband just put it up yesterday.  Finally, I won't have to feel my way around in the dark.  And now we can even work in the room at night.  Oh joy!  It's hard to tell in this picture, but I'm painting the ceiling that faint blue color.  It's BM Palladian Blue 25%.

We also changed out the old louver windows with something that comes much closer to the originals.  They aren't perfect, but much improved from what was there.  My husband finished putting up the drywall.  Now it just needs tape and mud and then we can paint.  Though I still haven't finished prepping the old windows.  It's such a nightmare.  We had asked a painter for a quote to do the prep work.  Let's just say that person never got back with us.  Hmm.  I wonder why?  Nightmare.  

Not much else has been done, but in the next month we are having a bookcase made for the opposite wall.  

It will be the entire length of this wall, going over the doors (which we found in the attic!) and from floor to ceiling.  The bonus is that we're getting a library ladder.  I'm so excited! This is definitely going to be my favorite room in the house. Light + windows + books = heaven.  

It's Almost Done...

It's so close.  I'm just trying to find some smallish chairs, preferably some barrel back cane chairs, and some tidying up and flowers and it's done.  Here's a peek, but keep in mind that a) I'm a horrible photographer, and b) it was a really cloudy day.

I'll take better pictures for the reveal...or at least I'll try.  It will be after Thanksgiving some time, depending on the chair situation and the need for reupholstery?  Until then, everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving and try not to go overboard on the turkey;)

More Action In The Foyer

The ORC may be over, but my foyer is still in the works.  I don't think I've even gone through 1/10th of the reveals but what I did see was awesome.  It's motivating me to finish this already.  That and Thanksgiving looming.  The good news is that we finally got the mirrors.  They are awaiting picture molding hooks and wire.  I sure wish we would have thought to buy that stuff weeks ago, but then again we were a bit preoccupied.

 I made the Neo Toile covers for the bench pillows this weekend, so the bench is complete.

The lambrequins are supposed to be ready next week.  I had a picture of the try in but it was so dark.  It's so hard to take a picture of a window.  At least it is for me.

Anyway, I'm really hoping to wrap this up before Thanksgiving.  We'll see what lady luck (whore) has in store for me.

The One Room Challenge- To Be Continued

So I didn't finish.  I'm kind of bummed but it will be done in a few weeks or so.  Not the end of the world really.  I think this time around there were just too many things out of my control.  And, it's been a very rough month for my family.  In addition to being sick for just short of a month now, my husband's sister, who he's extremely close to, lost her year and a half long battle with cancer last week.  She was 48 years old.  Needless to say my foyer hasn't been tops on my mind.  I'm not linking this post to the challenge but I didn't want to leave it hanging.  A death puts so many things in perspective and I just feel like now, more than ever, I want to love on my family and live like there's no tomorrow.  When you're young you feel like you're bullet proof.  Like nothing bad can happen to you.  The reality is it's just not true.  I know everyone says this, but make sure the people who are close to you know how much you love and appreciate them because our lives are so fragile and uncertain.

And now, getting off my soapbox and on to something less heavy, I wanted to thank Linda from Calling It Home for putting the challenge together.  Though I didn't finish, I did get the kick in the pants that I needed to get started and I know it's going to be fabulous (or at least it looks fabulous in my head).  I plan on spending some time this weekend looking at everyone's wonderful rooms.  It will be a great diversion.