Pre-teen Hangout Room Reveal

It's here! I have reached the 6 week mark of the One Room Challenge. The challenge was to transform a room in 6 weeks, and here it is. Thank you so much Linda for opening up this fun challenge (aka kick in my rear) to all bloggers in your link up party.
Let's take a little stroll down memory lane for a bit, shall we? This is what the room looked like before.
This little space is connected to my 12 year old daughter's room. It was sort of in this transitional mode, since her older sister just moved out of their shared bedroom into her own bedroom. It needed a little updating from little kid space to the fun "eye rolling... I know!" age that she has now entered.
Actually, she is quite a good kid. I shouldn't paint such a bad picture of her. Guess we all go through those fun years, right?

And BAM! just like that it is transformed!



So there it is. I have a few minor tweaking to do. If you have eagle eyes, you may have noticed some of the moldings are missing, and I need to repaint the door molding. If you didn't see those things, please disregard.
Also, I ordered this fun tassel garland to put on her chalkboard wall. Unfortunately it has not arrived yet, but I will post photos of it once it's here.

I am pretty happy with the way things turned out in this space and I think my daughter is pretty happy as well. Fun times should be had in this space with her friends and maybe she'll let her sister in once in awhile. Heck, I might go in there and hide from time to time.

Please go visit our lovely hostess Linda's blog, Calling it Home. You will be able to see the MANY other bloggers that linked up to this fun challenge as well. So many good projects and spaces were transformed, I was shocked and excited to follow them all during these past 6 weeks.

And guess what? Linda is hosting another round in April. I have just the room I want to tackle too!
Shh... don't tell my husband. If you have a blog and didn't link up this time, you will have your chance this spring!

Thank you all who visited my blog during these weeks, and those that left encouraging words. It was so nice and SO appreciated. Thank you, thank you!!!

Continue

One Room Challenge... Week 5

Gulp! Really? Week 5?

If you are just tuning in, I have stupidly courageously took on  transforming a room in six weeks by linking in to Linda's blog, Calling it Home with many other bloggers.

Let me remind you that the room I have chosen is tiny! It's a tiny additional space that is connected to my youngest daughter's room. I'm guessing the builder added it for storage but we have used it as a "play closet" and now using it as a preteen hangout/reading nook/game area/dressing area/music room. Whew! Talk about multi-purpose room.

Okay, so lets get you up to date on what's happening with the progress of the said room. If you have been following along, you may have wondered where I went last week, since I skipped week four. Hello? Did anyone miss me?

I really wanted to shut that room's door, board it up and fly off to Mexico! What could go wrong with changing such a tiny space?

As you recall my plan was to do this type of painting to the walls in this room.

So many of you commented that you were so excited to see how mine turned out. I was excited too. My daughter was excited. Sadly after many (and I do mean many) attempts, I sadly could not pull it off. I tried exactly how many diy youtube videos, and blogging posts describe how to achieve this look and it just looked like a bad 80's sponge paint job.

 

 

Maybe it looks better in photos than it does in real life, maybe I just don't know what the heck I'm doing. The latter is probably the case.

After the 3rd attempt I just had to cut my loses. I am still doing an ombre look but it won't fade into each other like the photo. I will be doing straight lines, sort of like a paint chip. My other mistake was first tyring to mix a can of turquoise paint that we had left over from doing my daughter's ceiling and mixing it with white paint to create different shades. That didn't go over so well either, for most of the shades I mixed didn't look contrasting enough. (the above photo is not the mixed paint) Ugh, I can't tell you enough how sick I am of painting. So over it!

Enough complaining it's onto Plan B now and painting the stripes. I will for sure get this room done by next week if it kills me. It may not be amazeballs (yes, I just typed that) but it will be done!

Thanks for following along, and you can follow me on Instagram too if you'd like to see sort of sneak peeks before next week.

Also, check out the much better progress of my fellow bloggers that have joined in here.

Oh and Happy Halloween!

I have to share this video from The Ellen Show. I watched it quite a few times, and seriously cried with laughter each time.

Have a fun night.

Continue

Week Three of One Room Challenge

Woops, so I was supposed to be posting this yesterday but this week sort of got the best of me.
I would like to say that I have a lot of things to tell you about that I accomplished since last week, but sadly that would be a lie. Dang, how long can redoing a simple tiny room take? Hopefully, no longer than 6 weeks! haha

So, anyway...I will make this post short and sweet. Here is where I am today.

I started painting a plain white cheap mirror from Target green.

I finished the chalkboard wall and have started the first level of the ombre wall.

Still on the search of possible new wall scone lighting for this room, and I am looking for one of these...

I have seem these online at Pottery Barn, Serena and Lily and many other sites, but they are all close to $100. That's not a price I will good about spending on a laundry basket for a 12 year olds' room.
I did see some at Homegoods, a few months ago and am kicking myself for not getting one.
If you know of anywhere else I should search, please let me know.

Thanks and I will hope to show you more progress next week. Have a great weekend!

Missed out on the first two weeks? Here's week one and week two. Or want to see what other bloggers that are linking up are doing? See here

Continue

Chalk One Up for Week Two

We are now at week 2 of the One Room Challenge. I picked a tiny room for my challenge and thought to myself that 6 weeks will be more than enough time to complete this room. I have no fear that it won't be completed by 6 weeks, but at the rate I'm moving it may not be done earlier than I anticipated.

In case you've missed it, here is the post on my selected room.

What have I accomplished from last week? Well, sadly not a whole lot.



Before



In Process

One coat of the chalkboard paint was thrown on, to be honest....yesterday! Second coat hopefully will be put on today. This is my first time using chalkboard paint and it wasn't really any different than painting with regular paint. I little tip though, if you aren't going straight home to paint with this particular paint, note that you need to do a lot of stirring before you start. It really becomes thick on the bottom of the can, so either be prepared to stir a lot, or take it down to your closet paint retailer and ask if they will shake the can for you.

Also, it wasn't a completely lazy painter move as you see the lights dangling there,I couldn't take the lights down because there is no other light source in this tiny room and no windows.

I didn't exactly show my plan for this room last week, so here is what our current plan is.


A Chalkboard wall.


Via Felt So Cute

Bean bags for lounging.

 

Via PB Teen

 Sheep skin rugs for softness and texture in the room.



Via Ikea

Painting the remaining three walls and the slanted ceiling in an ombre effect. Using the same turquoise color that we painted her bedroom ceiling with.



Via P.S. I made this

 Adding this fun banner on one of her walls.

Via PB Teen

I will also attempt to paint her bookshelves in this room, add a full length mirror to one wall and some wall hooks, and find some new lights. I best get going!

It was really fun seeing the over 70 other bloggers link of to Linda's challenge. There are lots of fun projects going on. If you'd like to follow along, go check out Linda's blog.

Continue

Hidden Room Meets the ORC

Today is the day to link up to Linda's (Calling It Home) One Room Challenge. I'm so excited to be able to partake in this challenge because I seriously need a fire lit under me to get this "little" project done. Thank you, Linda for having this linking party!

If you are popping over from Linda's blog... Hello, and thank you so much for stopping by! I will quickly introduce myself: My name is Stacey and I am from and still live in the Pacific NW. I have three daughters (23,14 and 12), and have been a stay at home mom for the last 14 years. I have always had a strong love for interior design but it has gotten stronger over the last 14 years while being at home with the girls. I FINALLY decided as I approached the big 4-OH to take an interior design course (Sheffield, now named New York Institute of Art and Design) and see where it leads me. I decided to take the course so that I could learn a little bit more about design and hopefully gain some confidence in what I am doing in my own home, but I would really love to help others with their spaces now. When I finish my course I will hopefully add a e-design option to my site to hire me if you are not in the Seattle area and hopefully will start working for local clients.
Well, that about sums up me, right now.

Let's get back to the Challenge. What have room I chosen? As much as I would've loved to makeover my kitchen (in 6weeks, ha!), or my laundry room, or my master bedroom.. or maybe even just finish my family room, or living room, or dining room...but what really needs to be finished is my 12 year old daughter's room.

A little back history on this space, both my 14 & 12 year old daughters have shared a very large bedroom since we moved into this 3 bedroom home, 12 years ago. After, my now 23 year old daughter moved out on her own, my 14 year old moved into her old room and the 12 year old scored the large room to herself. So both younger daughters deserved a room makeover with this switch. Still with me??

I started this bedroom makeover in mid- July. Now, almost 3 months later it is sadly still not completed. Poor girl hasn't had window coverings in nearly 3 months! Yikes.
I will not use her actual bedroom as the challenge however since it is nearly 80% done. What I am doing, is her little hideaway room that is connected to her bedroom.

This is what its current state looks like. Real life, no editing.

 As you can see the preteen years are slightly starting to take over the sweet pastel butterflies, flowers and bees theme we had going on in here, and I had already started priming some paint over a few of them. I will miss those cute little bugs and the sweet memories of younger years when the girls were itty bitty.

I wish I had pictures of what this room looked like when the girls were little. We had a kitchen set in here and a cute little café table and chairs. It was the PERFECT play area for them both and their friends. Plus when it got ransacked and Polly Pockets and Barbies were spewed out everywhere, I could just close the door.

Now, it's just her and she's well....12. She would now like to use this space as place to get dressed, and a place for her and her friends to sort of hideaway and hang out. A place to play board games, or play on their iPods/iPads/iwhatevers. It's also a great area for her to practice her flute, and snuggle into her bean bag and read a book.

We have a lot of fun ideas for this room. You can check out my inspiration board on Pinterest to get some ideas of what we are thinking. I hope you'll come back each week and see the progression. Actually, I'm begging you to come back and keep me in line and don't let me slack off. Thank you in advance!

Don't forget to go to Linda's blog though and see all the other link ups today. It's going to be so much fun to see who else is linking up and what other rooms are being made over.

I also love to have new followers, so if you'd like to follow me on my journey, you can follow me by Bloglovin or by Google Friend Connect or by email delivery, just look over on the right hand side, and/or follow me on any of the other social media outlets as well. I like to meet new friends and will follow you back!

Continue