Spring is here and so is the One Room Challenge!

The One Room Challenge

It’s pretty important to know yourself, don’t you think? One thing that I know for sure is that I do better with deadlines. I have declared 2019 a year of change for me and one of my goals is to work here on my blog a little bit every day. You know that old saying- “Small steps can lead to big results”. My hope is that I will get momentum and this little blog of mine will go farther than it has in the past. But as it can happen with many goals that we set for ourselves, I got lost on my travels. I wasn’t spending the time here that I had planned. Life was just getting in the way- work, illness, chores, side business- the list goes on and on. Then along came around The One Room Challenge and with it came deadlines. Just what I needed!

What is the One Room Challenge?

The One Room Challenge or the ORC- is a biannual event in its 15th season that happens every April and October. It brings together a wide community of participants that support each other to redecorate one room in six weeks. You can read more about the One Room Challenge and its mission statement here on the One Room Challenge site and the details page- ORC- What is it?

My First ORC- The Back Patio

Last spring was my first time participating in the One Room Challenge. I worked on my patio to get it ready to enjoy for the warmer weather to come. And of course, first, it snowed and then it rained every weekend. But in the end, I was able to put together a bright and colorful patio that we enjoyed all the way through into the late fall season. You can check out all of my posts from last years challenge below.

• Week One: the ORC and I’m a guest participant- What-What?
• ORC Week Two: DIY Flamingo Pillows
• ORC Week Three: No Progress, but We had Snow!
• ORC Week Four: Oh Yeah, now We have Progress
• ORC Week Five: Lets’ Talk Budget
• ORC Week Six: Colorful Patio Reveal- Part 1
• ORC Week Six: The Colorful Patio Reveal Part 2
• ORC Week Six: The Colorful Patio Reveal Part 3

This year’s challenge has come at a pretty good time

For this One Room Challenge, I have chosen to work on my living room or the front room of our cute little rental home. The room is a long rectangle that has the dining area at one end. The front door has a landing spot and a closet. We have a big picture window that I have filled with plants. It’s a great room, but it’s just not working for me anymore. It’s just been feeling a bit cramped and cluttered. I needed to take a hard look at how we were living and using the room. And ask myself- how did it need to change?

The answer was pretty simple- we needed more room in our room! The room has been filled with furniture that is just too big for this space, it’s time to let a few of those big pieces go and find a better solution.

The sectional was just TOO BIG!

We have loved our L-shaped sectional very much. It was big and comfy and over time I collected four different colored slipcovers for it. That way I could change the look of the room whenever I wanted. And as much as I liked how big it was, it was just too big for this space. The sectional could only fit in two spots of our living room. One spot blocked the window, and the other made it hard to walk through the room. And it was just a big clutter catcher- pillows and blankets and dog toys and sweaters and books and so much more were being thrown in the corner of the L. Making it always looked a bit messy. So, on a whim one morning I put the sectional up on Craigslist with the four slipcovers thinking it would take a while for it to sell. Then we got multiple inquiries and it was gone before the week was out.

The Plan

While I didn’t expect the sectional to go quite so fast, I was happy to see it go to a young couple that had just bought their first home. Then the One Room Challenge came up and it seemed like a good push for me to document the progress of redecorating the living room. Here’s what I have planned so far:

• sell sectional and buy new sofa
• change the layout of the room for better traffic flow
• decide on art or gallery wall above the new sofa
• sell china cabinet and replace with something smaller
• sell TV armoire and replace with something smaller
• rethink/ restyle how the plants are in the front window
• replace mirror by the front door
• paint front door
• rethink/ organize the drop off table by the front door
• rethink tables and lamps
• get rid of all the CLUTTER!

I hope that you follow along on this One Room Challenge with me!

I have a few DIYs planned and others to figure out. But I am pretty excited to change up this living room of ours for us to enjoy and to participate in the One Room Challenge once again. It was a fun experience last time, and this time should be just as great!

Be sure and check out all of the other particpants HERE and follow along on Instagram using the hashtag #oneroomchallenge