One Room Challenge: Week 2 (The Design Plan)

Thank you to Linda at Calling it Home for inviting me to take part in the One Room Challenge again, and thank you to my sponsors (whose products I’ve noted with asterisks) for making this all possible. I’m grateful for them, and for you, too! Thank you for following along.

I’m going to be honest here and tell you that I’m a little worried about finishing this whole thing in time. The front entry, back entry, a total of four flights of stairs, the second and third floor halls… it’s all happening in real time over these six weeks, and it’s going to be a scramble at the end. Let’s get into the design plan today, shall we?

Front Entry

This should be easy enough. I’ve already started, a lot of what’s already there is staying, and I’d say there’s only about three days of work left. I want the entry to make a good first impression when guests come over, but it also needs to function well for our family of five (and all of the coats, shoes, and backpacks that end up in the space everyday).

I’ve been wanting this “Mask” print by Jennifer Ament for ages now. I like it juxtaposed above something very traditional, like this lovely print of a Thomas Gainsborough painting, and that mix is something I’m going for throughout the house. I still love the IKEA Stockholm Sideboard that holds all of our shoes (see my review here) with its leather and brass knobs. I’ll be topping it with a pair of lamps by Alexa Hampton* and a faux shagreen tray*.

The little light over the door is getting replaced with a similar brass downrod with a simple globe, and the gaslight-style fixture (that I think is facing the wrong way) will be replaced with a modern lantern*. This peacock blue velvet chair would look amazing in the entry, referencing the color of our sofa in the other room and the geometric lines of the lantern, but it’s not available until December. Instead, our copper chair will be just fine — with the added bonus of improving with abuse from the kids.

The front and back doors are getting matching Victorian oval knobs and back plates* (available here) and matching deadbolts* (here). The antique hall tree is staying, but realistically, we do better with additional room for coats and bags, so there will also be a separate coat rack*. The walls will be painted pink — possibly Amber Wood*, but I’m still deciding. There is a window at the top and bottom of the stairs, and both will get pink roman shades*. The semi-antique Persian rug will stay, the wood trim is staying as-is, and of course I’ll bring in flowers and whatever other finishing touches that are needed.

The Back Entry

The reason I’m doing all of these spaces as my “one” room for the One Room Challenge, is that they’re all getting variations of the same design. Colors will carry through. Hardware and lighting, while not an exact match throughout, will all work together.

The same door hardware* as the front door — keyed alike so we can use one key for both. The windows at the top and bottom of the stairs will get the same pink roman shades* as the front entry. I’m leaning toward pink paint again, but I may switch to the same creamy white I’ll be using in the third floor — what do you think? The main thing I’m excited about in this space, is the antelope stair runner*. It’s going to look amazing! Although I have to say, the pleated pendant* (I’m getting my pleats!) and mirrored sconce* are not to be overlooked.

I would love to skim coat the walls (especially since we basically have a drop cloth down with the old carpeting there), but I’m not sure if it’s going to happen. Paint would do wonders, and while we are going to hire out the carpet installation, we will be ripping all of the old stuff out, repairing and replacing damaged treads beneath (it’s pretty obvious that there are some problems), and then sanding, priming, and painting the stairs. I don’t think we can devote enough time to do the walls in this space right now when there’s so much else going on.

Second Floor Hallway

Black doors, white trim, drywall, cadillac. Yeah, the hall’s a time bomb. The ceiling needs to be framed for drywall, then that drywall needs to be hung, taped, and mudded — all of which is getting started tomorrow. This is the other big thing that we’re hiring out but how long’s it going to take, I can’t say exactly. Two weeks?

We can’t do anything in the hall until the drywall is done, but after that, we can sand, prime, and paint the doors and trim, prime the walls and ceiling, paint the ceiling, hang wallpaper, and install new lighting. It’s not the worst list of work to be done, but it’s slow-going stuff that’s going to take time to execute. We are having all of the stairs in the house done with the same antelope carpet* except for the ones in front from the first to second floor. The hall will also have a couple of runner rugs, but I haven’t decided 100% on the pattern/color yet. Maybe this one*? A solid color could be nice too.

The hallway will get a mix of single* and double rope and tassel sconces* with black shades. (You know I love a good tassel sconce.) Four brass flush mount fixtures with milk glass globes* will line the ceiling, and I’m thinking pink Tourbillon wallpaper* will line the walls. I’m all for pink.

The vintage armoire we’ve been using in the hall for storage is not holding up so well, so it’s being replaced with a new dresser*. On top will be the teeniest little brass lamp* and maybe another faux shagreen tray*. I need art above the dresser, and possibly throughout the hall, but I haven’t made any decisions there yet. I feel like there’s always room for vintage portraits* somewhere, and a vase* of fresh flowers, too. There is a window at the end of the hall (which used to be blocked off before we remodeled the second floor) that’s going to get another roman shade*, but in white. With polka dots. CUTE.

Third Floor Hallway

No problem, compared the other hall! The first two floors have similar proportions with the same 10″ tall molding, original Victorian hardware and details, and high ceilings. The third floor isn’t as grand. The trim is half as big, with little detail. None of the hardware matches each other, let alone the rest of the house, and the ceilings are a standard 8′ high.

The walls are textured again, but skim coating up there is not a priority. I’m also leaving the wall-to-wall carpet that’s in the hall and two rooms (meh). Still, paint is going to work wonders. I’ll be using a creamy white paint — I’ll share the exact shade once I’m sure. The doors will be black and the trim white, for continuity with the second floor. Something I’m pretty excited about is the new hardware* that’s going on those doors! Brass, to match the originals throughout the rest of the house, with period-appropriate details, but modernized a bit with rope rosettes instead of long, skinny Victorian back plates.

I’ve already chiseled out space for the new, larger mortise locks to fit and repaired the doors with wood putty as needed. All six doors up there are in progress, then it’s time to paint everything and change a couple more lights. The ceiling fixture will match the brass mounts with globes* on the second floor, and I bought more classic sconces and black shades for the whole top floor (three of them in all).

There’s only about 3-1/2 weeks left to do everything, because I need at least a couple of days to take and edit photos at the end. Um, not that I’m stressing about it or anything. (Yikes!)

Follow along with the One Room Challenge participants!

• Jana Bek • Chris Loves Julia • Shannon Claire • Coco.Kelley • The Curated House • Driven by Décor • The English Room • From the Right Bank • Sherry Hart • Hi Sugarplum • House of Jade • Hunted Interior • The Makerista • Making it Lovely • Marcus Design • Pencil & Paper Co. • Megan Pflug • Place of My Taste • Suburban B’s • Waiting on Martha • Media Partner House Beautiful • TM by CIH

My One Room Challenge Sponsors

Thank you to the following sponsors for generously providing product.
• AllModern • ATG • Bellacor • Chairish • Crystorama • Dash & Albert • Dutch Boy • Farrow & Ball • Jill Rosenweld • Joss & Main • Karastan • Lamps Plus • Nostalgic Warehouse and House of Antique Hardware • Schoolhouse Electric • The Shade Store
* Individual products provided have been noted above with asterisks.

My One Room Challenge Posts

Follow along from the beginning!
• Week 1: The Before Shots • Week 2: The Design Plan • Week 3: Work Very Much in Progress • Week 4: Those Stairs, That Hall • Week 5: When it Rains, it Pours • Weed 6: Final Reveal!