Spring 2021 One Room Challenge: Week 3

Wow friends, I can’t believe it’s already week three of the One Room Challenge sponsored by Better Homes & Gardens. This is the week where I’ve really been feeling the weight of it all. We really are completely transforming spaces in just 8 short weeks! I’m already enjoying the big changes.

As messy as tiling was last week, this week I think I get the prize for taking on even messier tasks. First, and less exciting was patching drywall. This whole part of our house was an addition, and whenever they filled the windows, they decided to keep the shape of the window bumped in (see picture for reference). Over the years living here, I’ve tried to brainstorm what to do with this weird space. I’ve contemplated covering it with giant art, some sort of plant propagating station, hooks for our keys, etc. Ultimately I decided I just needed to fill it in, especially with built-ins going in front of it.

I used leftover 2×4’s from the countertop to make a frame, and nailed the small sheets of drywall I got at Home Depot into it. If you’re like me and you only have a small car, but you treat it like your truck, Home Depot is the only hardware store that carries 2’x2′ drywall panels, perfect for patching. After that I filled the gaps with joint compound, tape, more joint compound, and lots of sanding. I won’t pretend to be an expert on this, but my advice is to cover everything when you sand because of the dust.

Now onto the more exciting part, the countertop. The afternoon that I decided to take this down by myself was a little scary. Ripping out 10 feet of laminate countertop isn’t exactly a solo activity. I definitely worried that it would come crashing down on me or my beautiful new tile, but miraculously it came out slowly.

I’m only keeping about half of the countertop, just enough to go over the lower cabinets, so I had to chop this thing. My trusty circular saw, which is probably the tool I’m best with, made quick work of the job. I decided to add some 1×2’s on the edge to give it a square frame, and used lots of wood filler to make it smooth.

Onto the most fun part, concrete coating! Dylan and I both love the industrial look, so I chose to use feather finish on this countertop. You layer a few coats on and sand between each, and then you seal it. It’s such an easy process with a great result. I would definitely recommend doing this outside if you have the option because it is also extremely dusty and messy, but for $17 you have a completely new countertop! You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make something beautiful. The beauty comes from the care and imagination that you pour into what you make.

That’s all for this week friends! Make sure you’re checking out the One Room Challenge Blog so that you can cheer on all of the participants, and don’t forget about what those Featured Designers are doing too!