TIME FOR THE BIG REVEAL!

Are you ready for the big reveal? AHGHGH!! Well, you will have to slow down a second. I have stuff I have to share with you first. Simmah down now.

It’s been a six week journey to this day. I have shared the progress each week, which you can catch up on here:

WEEK ONE || WEEK TWO || WEEK THREE || WEEK FOUR || WEEK 5 || WEEK 6

Did you skip all of that and are asking yourself, what is the One Room Challenge? The One Room Challenge is a bi-annual event hosted by Calling it Home  showcasing 20 featured participants and many guest participants as they renovate a single room, documenting all of it over the course of six weeks. In it’s fourteenth season, the One Room Challenge kindly shares all of the blog entries and the finished spaces at the end of the 6 weeks. Many of the entries end up being featured in places like these:

And this season, look who’s going to be the official media partner..

They are going to select two of the Guest Participants to be Featured Participants in the Spring ORC, which comes with the benefits of some sponsorships from some pretty cool companies. Will the Design Ninja be one of them?? I don’t know, to be honest. There are over 200 of us to choose from.

YOU STILL HAVE TO WAIT A MINUTE.

Before I get to the big reveal, let’s revisit the BEFORE images.

NOT YET!

I can’t do the big reveal yet because I want to tell you about the client and why I decided to make the room look the way it does now. I met her through some friends (both are also past clients) awhile ago and she has asked me several times if I would work on her house. The timing was never right for me, and I think it worked to her benefit in the end. Because, as time went by, I learned more about her personality and her interests through our Facebook connection. Aside from the obvious things like her family (one lovely husband, two gorgeous teenage girls and two cute dogs), I was able to determine she likes to have a lot of fun, like going to Vegas with the ladies and dancing the night away. That sounds fun, right? She’s kind of outspoken, and she seems a little bold, at least to me. She strikes me as the type who rocks leather pants once in awhile, know what I mean?

TAKING A GAMBLE

Her home didn’t really reflect that spirit at all. It’s neat and clean, and nothing was really wrong with it, but it was lacking any of that vibrancy I felt she had. And it was very beige. You did look at the BEFORE pics above, right? Figuring I would try my luck, I aimed to give this room a fun, colorful vibe that reflected her personality. Maybe push her buttons a little and make her uncomfortable at first with this One Room Challenge. I told her she has to basically just trust me, knowing I could get her excited and happy at the end.

My job is not about ME. I am always striving to bring out the clients’ personality into the design. 

I wanted to make sure we kept the envelope neutral but not boring, so the wallpaper has shades of charcoal, taupe and cream. I needed a couple big pieces of furniture in colors and styles that will work with any look, so an almost black, chunky round table and a tall wood and iron étagère were next. But after that, I was going to just bring in the color and the fun, all of which can be changed on a whim (although I can’t imagine she will be changing it for awhile). I wanted to balance some feminine with some masculine. Pinks and golds with bronze, iron and warm woods. I think it all works together and makes everyone who lives there happy. The mood board she got to see only had about 3 of these things on it, and the rug wasn’t even the same. I really wanted to surprise her. I know that not many designers are this lucky; I basically had the run of the joint.

WANT TO SEE?

Well, what are you waiting for? Check out these videos to changes to the view when you walk in the front door. (I did set all of these slide shows to repeat so if you want to see it again, just stay here for a little bit.)

It’s a little different when you walk in the front door now, eh? That window wall is all gone, and that gorgeous art by Amira Rahim is now in it’s place. Ours is big, about 40″x48″. Amira makes such gorgeous art, doesn’t she? If you like her work but are on a tighter budget, you could get a canvas print.

{{I may earn a little money if you click a shoppable link and make a purchase. There’s no extra cost to you, so have fun!}}

Here is a glimpse of the doorway to the dining room where we added trim around the door. You might not even notice it because I think there’s enough new stuff to distract you!

Are you starting to get the fun vibe here? How about the view looking toward the living room? Notice the front door and the railing had a makeover too.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Did you think that was all I was going to show you? No way, man. We don’t call it the Big Reveal for nothing, right?

In the spirit of the One Room Challenge, I tried to add links in the captions to things (or similar) you might be interested in so you can just click and go.

SPEAKING OF THE DOGS

Of course Brody and Penny just had to be in the the big reveal. They are the cutest, even when they just wandered into the shots.

HOW DID I DO?

I can’t believe Project Shut The Front Door is officially done. My first One Room Challenge turned out ok, don’t you think? I am hopeful I get to come back to make some additional changes to the dining room and living room that branch off this foyer. Now that the foyer has more personality, more life, and welcomes guests with a big smile, I think my client finally feels good about what she used to refer to as her foyer from hell. I think her whole family likes it, and may be a little proud.

I am.

We pulled this off a little ahead of schedule, even with a change of plans and added construction. And even with a week of me being in NC and a week of me being sick in pajamas. In the end, this was really fun, it was a real challenge not to just design the space and implement the plan, but to write about it every week on a deadline. I appreciate all of the words of encouragement over the last six weeks.

I really hope you enjoyed this six week journey with me and I hope you like the big reveal, which was made all the better by my amazing photographer, Laura Moss.

All of the other participants have been busting their butts and I’ve been in awe of what I’ve seen so far. The twenty featured participants have done some amazing things in their One Room Challenges and the big reveal day did not disappoint, to say the least.

The guest participants have also blown me away, I can not believe some of these entries! Kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms… So many projects, big and small, but all pretty challenging. Check them out by clicking the logo.

And with that, that’s all she wrote! It’s bittersweet. When the projects are fun, I never want it to truly be over. Yet the time has come.

Stay tuned for more excited stuff because I actually do have other projects in the fire. I wonder what will happen in April for the Spring 2019 One Room Challenge?

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