Spring One Room Challenge: Week 3

The past two weeks of the One Room Challenge sponsored by Apartment Therapy have been major construction mode. This week it was time to put everything back together. This was a week full of tedious details and hard physical labor, but it paid off 100 times over.

First up, I had to mud and tape all the drywall seams. I am so thankful that the drywall install went smoothly because smaller seams made this step much easier. I use pre-mixed joint compound always for ease. I put a small amount of it in a trowel so that the entire bucket wouldn’t dry out. I globbed it onto the ceiling with a small drywall knife and then smoothed everything out with a wider one. I’ve learned in my limited drywall mudding experience that a wider drywall knife creates a smoother surface because you have better control with feathering the mud into the existing drywall pieces. I applied a mesh-like seam tape everywhere and then went in with another layer of joint compound and a wet sanding sponge to ensure everything was smooth.

Now if that wasn’t enough work, because I ripped out the sorry excuse for crown molding in the ceiling demo, I also had to replace that. I went with simple primed MDF because my style for molding really isn’t anything fancy. I caulked around the molding as well so it looked more finished and built-in.

Last before primer & paint, I decided to create a simple ceiling art piece with 1×2 boards. Originally I was going to get a ceiling medallion and put it over the chandelier. But with this being the largest room in our home, my plans evolved. I started to think of the ceiling as the “fifth wall” of the room that could make a dramatic impact on design. I drew several sketches of potential layouts for this ceiling art install, but in the end I didn’t follow any plans. I hung the boards one or two at a time and slowly kept adding on where it felt right.

Since everything I installed was a raw material, it needed a good coat of primer before I could paint. I stayed up late one night to get this done, because admittedly my arms and shoulders had been getting very worn out and I was ready to be done with the ceiling. I chose a beautiful strawberry milk soft pink for the ceiling paint, and I instantly fell in love with the warm tones it pulled out of the room.

The final detail was hanging this gorgeous beaded chandelier I got from World Market. Now a normal person might realize right away that this is a two person job. A stubborn person like me might try to hang it themself. I struggled for an hour determined to hang this chandelier until eventually my arms gave out and I had to wait for Dylan. Thankfully with his help, it was very easy. When we were done, exhausted, sore, and sweaty, I enjoyed a magical moment laying in the middle of the floor looking up and taking it all in. I know I always say we can do hard things, but I truly will never stop believing that we are always capable of more, and that growth is truly special.

Make sure you’re following along with the One Room Challenge Blog to see all the other amazing room transformations taking place. Next week, we update the coffee bar!