Spring 2021 One Room Challenge: Week 7

We’re really getting close to the end of the One Room Challenge sponsored by Better Homes & Gardens. I’ve seen people do so many beautiful transformations, from DIY painted wall paper, to beams, to countertop makeovers. Everyone is doing an amazing job, and you’ll definitely want to check it out on the One Room Challenge Blog!

For my space, this week was a shift in focus on the small details, the elements that give a space life & personality. They are the things that make a space homey and tell our story. That includes new lighting, plants & decor (and baseboards, but that’s pretty basic). I intentionally kept this space pretty neutral. I wanted it to feel calm and peaceful right when we come in the door. Honestly it was starting to feel a little too neutral for my style though. It felt much more fancy & traditional than the rest of my house without the details. This was my chance to add in more color & texture in a way that wouldn’t feel overwhelming.

First up was the baseboards. I removed them while tiling, and you’ll want to remove them while doing any kind of flooring treatment or built-in. Mine were in rough shape and needed repainted so I cleaned them up a bit and got to work. Baseboards are prone to scuffs and scrapes, so you actually want to follow a similar painting process to cabinets with them. You can read more about that in last week’s blog post here. The biggest reminder is to use a hard-dry, enamel based paint, not latex like you would for a wall. I used Dutch Boy Cabinet, Door, & Trim paint, as I have in other spaces in my home. This makes the baseboards durable and wipeable.

After that, some yarn art. Yarn art has been very popular this year as a way to add texture to a space. It’s affordable and relatively easy for a new DIYer or crafter. I found the original plans for this on Pinterest by Delineate Your Dwelling, and fell in love with the design. Basically you just wrap yarn around embroidery hoops tightly and hot glue it into place. The hot glue gun was my original power tool, and I’d spend hours at our craft table growing up gluing things together, making doll houses or little builds. I chose colors that would brighten up the space, but yet to me are timeless. It immediately added a quirkiness & color to the space.

Next was adding a few more decor items that we already had. I love shopping my own home for decor because it’s free, & it breathes new life into pieces that you already have & maybe treasure.

First is the “Fight the Elements” sign. Dylan & I were in a pretty busy season of life (which is really every season for us) and I decided for date night I’d do an at-home Board & Brush. I built some templates with boards ahead of time, and then during our date night we distressed, stained, & painted our creations. I made a tray, and this sign is Dylan’s. I had been meaning to hang it in this space long before renovating it, so I’m excited I finally was able to.

The next piece to highlight in this space is the watercolor on the wood frame. Watercolors are one of my other creative loves. I’m not an expert, and most of the time I paint pieces just for me, but I love it. I’ll put on a vinyl record, grab my cup of hot tea, & paint for a few hours. I mostly paint plants, because they’re easier for me, but I have done a few portraits of people & animals. Check out my self-portrait below. I made a simple wood frame so that I can change out the watercolor if I want to in different seasons.

The last few items on the wall include an acrylic calendar that I made this winter for about $10 after seeing one online for about $90. I think the calendar may need its own blog post sometime, but I absolutely love it, and it came together quickly. I also included a framed picture of Dylan & I from our wedding, which seemed fitting since we just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary this month. These personal touches bring so much joy to the space.

The last new item in this space is a light fixture. I knew I wanted something more unique than the cheap, round lights that were there. I found these geometric lights at Target, and I thought they would add another fun element to the space. This was my first time changing out a light fixture, and thankfully because it’s small and lightweight, it was not hard to do. I’ve seen my dad change out fixtures enough times that I knew the steps in the process, but I feel like there’s always some fear around electrical things. I cut the power off first, then removed the old light fixture. I put up the supporting bracket for the new one, and then lined up the cords, black with black, white with white, copper with copper. The hardest part was that the wire nuts that came with the light didn’t quite fit. Thankfully I had some that were slightly larger and was able to get the correct wires twisted together. After that, I just mounted the light to the supporting bracket, and we were good to go! The satisfaction in turning the power back on and seeing the light actually work was great.

I guess there is another detail…the test tube propagation station. This version is hot glued due to some trial & great error lol. I’m going to keep working on a few different models of the propagation station. More on that later…

I love all these little details and the stories that they tell. I’m excited to finish up this space next week. My goal is to leave nothing undone, so no 95% club for me this time. Wish me luck!