One Room Challenge WEEK ONE

One Room Challenge. Totally transform a room in six weeks and broadcast your progress to the world.

I have to hand it to Linda at Calling it Home. She lined up 20 designer bloggers to participate in what would otherwise launch most of us in a tizzy. What did you say? Completely do a room from top to bottom in six weeks? Are you having a break with reality?

Definitely hop over and check out the masochists talent she lined up for this round.

Yours truly may be suffering a break from reality. I'm taking the plunge and joining in on the ORC Linking Party. Totally unofficial but none the less still public; smaller audience. Nothing motivates like the terror of potential public humiliation and nothing commits like a commitment.

Just what I need to get my daughter's new room out of planning purgatory and finished.

Daughter's dog, Pumpkin, is as affectionate as she is cute. The Schumacher floral coverlet in this pic was once the middle curtain. It (the floral coverlet) was not a hit; too decorator-ey and was instantly banished. I dragged it out last year for Pumpkin's portrait.

The last and only time I did Natasha's room was 17 years ago. She and her little dog have flown the nest but they visit frequently.

I want their new quarters to be a comfortable library with a bed. A room to sit, read, relax, work at the desk. More sophisticated, somewhat gender neutral, cohesive, no mish mash. Wait, did someone mention that a 'not too decorated look' is preferable?

Here are the four walls today. Remember, 17 years is a long time.

Door to the hall on the left, closet behind the sliders.

Trying out a new shade of blue paint. ORC tip number one: always paint a big swatch, and two coats to get the real color, and take it right up to the trim. The new color needs to be isolated from the existing to get any real effect.
N.B. The vacuum's contract gives it Sunday through Wednesday off. No exceptions.

The window wall. Yellow silk shades used to be the duvet cover (gave the room a totally different flavor, and kept the arctic down comforter clean, thank you).

This will be the new library wall. Two dorm style rickety bookcases were falling apart so I lugged this up from the family room. As soon as it was in place I knew this room had to be a library.

why yes, that crazy floor lamp next to the bed is indeed a DIY project! 

Plus, Natasha left this on her night stand on her last visit. What could be more perfect than a library for my scholar? I just love her to pieces.

A little light reading before bed. And what's on your nightstand?
Vintage troll Christmas stocking. I'm sure it will get packed away before Easter.

And the fourth wall, where the desk will be. The old dresser (with nothing in it), mirror and buffet lamps will exit stage left to the walk-in attic.

Inspiration abounds for library bedrooms.

Jeffrey Bilhuber, screen grab from his website

a Georgetown Classic via The Peak of Chic

Charles Spada's Normandy manor via Polish website, Weranda

Jeanette Whitson, HouseBeautiful. Right, not a bedroom but serious napping could easily take place here.

The new color scheme. I posted it last Fall. In the meantime I have only made a couple changes, honest.

Here's my plan.

First, the library wall. I have three more freestanding bookcases like the one above. Two more will fit to make a wall. The crowns will have to be modified so all three can be ganged together. And then painted white. I am the first one to admit this is ambitious. Always good to flex the DIY muscle, right?

The bed. Replace the 30 year old head board with a simple upholstered piece. We'll need a new coverlet and bedskirt. Center the bed on the bookcase wall à la Jeffrey Bilhuber and Charles Spada.

The desk chair. TBD. A reading chair. TBD.

The windows. New England's winters are the real thing and someone turns the heat down so low at night you would swear you have been transported to medieval Ireland in a stone cottage in January and the peat is too wet to burn and you lost your matches anyway. (My fingers ache just thinking about that one). Also, guests appreciate shades. A nice sleep-in the morning after a hard day's travel does not happen with the rising Sun blazing through the windows as they do in this room.

The floor. Would love to take up the wall to wall.

Lighting. Not to worry, I will ditch that crazy DIY floor lamp. Room has no overhead lighting. I have been pining for a Moravian star since 2008 when AD did a spread on Mario Buatta's reno of Sister Parish's apartment.

Here's a last look at the (now) vintage curtain fabric.

foxgloves, very English, not too surprising since this was printed in the UK eons ago.

Make sure to visit Linda's blog, Calling it Home for her personal ORC and links to the other 19 projects. Then pop over to the ORC Linking Party and see dozens of room re-do's by other nutcases really lovely people, like me.

Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading,
Linda Pakravan