Welcome to the Grand Reveal post of my spring One Room Challenge project! If you’re new here, welcome! I worked on a flex space on the first floor of my townhouse to make it the perfect content creating studio. I relocated to Dallas a month before lockdown, so I took it as the perfect opportunity to participate in ORC.

Last year I worked on my living/dining room and had waaaay more space to work with. Can’t say I shy away from a challenge. 😉 The flex space is a little over 70 square feet, so I didn’t have the most room to work with. The room has one window that brings in a little light but otherwise, a completely blank canvas, which allowed me to get really creative!

ABOUT THE FLEX SPACE PROJECT

The original plan was to take the entryway into account, but that is going to be a phase two project this summer. Why? Well, we added a puppy to our household in June! We adore him but let me just say, he LOVES the stairs. He loves to sniff them, lick and chew them. And everything else, too. So, since he scratches and chews the stairs, wallpapering them isn’t going to work for a few more weeks. The same goes for the plants I wanted to add as one would walk into the house. We don’t want him to get sick, so we have to do more research and secure some that won’t hurt him. Even if we did artificial plants, we still need to wait because as I said, he tears up ev-ery-thing! God Bless him… 🙂

THE INSPIRATION

This was the mood board I shared when I kicked off the project. You see that the wallpaper was the focal point, with natural textures and warm hues. If I had to describe the theme, I’d say it’s California meets Texas and I’ll explain more about that further down.

While some things did shift, I’d like to say that I brought this vibe in a MAJOR way!

THE “UNEXPECTED”

I’ll confess, I let this project drag on a bit and lost interest. Once I had my “mojo,” it quickly faded away. And then came back again. And then faded. I absolutely blame #COVID on that.  I like to shop in store. I like to thrift and go to antique faires. As you know, a lot of these places are still not open, and if they’re open, it’s an entirely different ballgame. But, eventually I did get my steam back after talking it out with friends. Because the truth was, I needed an office regardless of One Room Challenge. Why not bring everyone along for the ride?!

Once the room was painted, the wheels were really in motion. The first “big” place I went to since shelter-in-place was IKEA because I had my eye on the EKET series of cabinets. After realizing that the shipment wasn’t going to reach me until July, I had to do some research to see when IKEA was opening again, and as luck would have it, I ended up going to the Frisco location on opening day and getting the cabinets I wanted. Combine that with one HomeGoods run, two trips to The Home Depot, and one last-minute Target run and that was the extent of my time out of the house. Masked and armed with sanitizer. I was not playing! HAHA!  Everything else was delivered to my doorstep and then assembled.

And alas, finished!

THE GRAND REVEAL

This space makes me so incredibly happy and feels so “me.” I mentioned  that I wanted the space to remind me a bit of my last apartment (also a One Room Challenge project) at the kick off of this round, but this takes it to the top. That was a very collaborative process, and this one was not. It feels SO good to have done almost everything myself, from vision to styling.

What I’ve realized in all of this is that I’ve designed a space that I don’t want to leave. That is the best feeling to have when you’re feeling super fired up creatively, and I have already enjoyed a full day of work in here. I’m obsessed.

SHOPPING AROUND THE HOUSE

So many of the accents came from my apartment and were part of last year’s One Room Challenge, which makes it really special because I LOVED that place and it’s nice to have pieces of it scattered to remind me of when I was home.  But, this also meant that I didn’t spend a lot of money on the little things and most importantly, limited my time outside shopping.

New items include the clock and mirror set (both from IKEA), as well as the lampshade, mint green pillow, bookcases, the jute rug, and chair courtesy of Homepop Furniture. I love how this chair is comfortable without being oversized. It’s perfect for breaks, reading, and having a guest over to chat with!

Everything else on the walls came with me, and so did all of the accents and baskets, and the chair I’m currently using at my desk (will likely change this out over the summer).

DRESSING UP THE WALLS

This room would not pop in this way without two very distinct elements: paint and wallpaper. and for this project, I worked with Clare and Milton & King to bring my vision to life!

I worked with Clare last year on my accent/gallery wall and knew what to expect in terms of quality. I was so pleased with how Dirty Martini looked with just one coat, but to add extra richness, I had CJ add on one more.

The Queen Palm wallpaper by Milton & King was installed in an afternoon by moi and it took two rolls. This was my FIRST time installing wallpaper of any kind, and Milton & King’s instructions and video made it easy for me to replicate the steps. I am so obsessed with it and can’t imagine the room without it! I will be sharing the full process in an upcoming post so you can see just how easy it is if a room in your home needs a little facelift.

MAKING IT PERSONAL

The cacti prints are from my old gallery wall, plus one photo that was in my bedroom. They were taken by my dear friend Christina when we were in Palm Springs together. The Gray Malin print is from the Parker Palm Springs. I have a map of Sacramento’s grid, along with engagement photos that CJ and I took in Sacramento, one on the Tower Bridge, and the other at Block Butcher Bar, which is where we had our first date (and they just closed for a rebrand).

The quote hanging behind my desk is from To Kill a Mockingbird, and it says “She was powerful not because she wasn’t scared, but because she went on so strongly despite the fear.” That has been how I’ve lived my life and when I saw it at HomeGoods I nearly lost it!

HUGE THANK YOU’S TO

Linda, the founder of One Room Challenge. She was wonderful guiding this cohort by pushing out the start date, extending the time again, taking a pause to allow Black voices and stories to be heard including mine. It means a lot to be part of a community effort with a leader that is aware of what’s happening and does something about it. Thank you, Linda!

Clare for not hesitating to support my project. I appreciate you joining my project for the second year in a row. It means so much that you amplify my work and voice.

Milton & King for supplying the most exquisite Queen Palm wallpaper. The moment I saw it I wanted it and I so appreciate your support.

Homepop and Kinfine for the beautiful blush chair to complete the office! It’s the coziest and it makes CJ come downstairs and visit during the day. Speaking of CJ…

CJ, thank you for your support, for the paint assistance, for the #RudyDuty, and for agreeing to letting me do whatever I wanted with the space. I went pink and it wasn’t a thing. You’re the best. I can’t wait for us to take on our next project, together.

and to the Rudy in #RudyDuty, our new puppy that brightens every single day. Thank you for keeping me company while I styled the room! And for ALL of the kisses! We love you so much.

CHECK OUT THE OTHER PROJECTS!

Thank you SO MUCH for checking out my grand reveal! It means so much to have had your support on Instagram and through the entire process. I look forward to sharing some highlights and how-to’s now that it’s over. Stay tuned!

Be sure to dive into the other ORC Guest Participants and see how they transformed their spaces. Special shout out to my friends Rebecca of Studio Plumb, Katrina of Katrina Blair, and Kyla of House of Hipsters for KILLIN IT as Featured Designers.

Cheers!