One Room Challenge™ - Our Family Room - Week 1

Every year I have considered participating in the One Room Challenge™. But for several reasons I have never joined in the challenge. For starters, our home renovations usually take much longer than 6 weeks because of busy work schedules, and second, we pay for our home projects with cash as it comes “available” so it usually takes even longer. I’m sure so many can relate.

At the end of last year, we had plans and the money available to update our family room this year so it is perfect time and project to be a guest participant in the One Room Challenge™.

If you are unfamiliar with the One Room Challenge™, twice a year a group of featured designers share a complete room overhaul in six weeks. Every week, guest participates get to share their own adventures in renovation and design on the same platform. This year I am one of the guest participants in the One Room Challenge™.

A few weeks ago, a former project featured in the One Room Challenge™ just happen to come across my Pinterest feed. It was a inspiration moment and this time I decided to jump right in. It is a great way to motivate me to finish off the room. I have another project planned right behind it.

This is the room my husband and I have chosen to update. Our very dark and slightly dated family room.

I don’t even need to go through a reason why this room needs an update, you can see it for yourself. Everything is dark and brown!

To give you a quick overview of our home, it was built in 1979 – 40 years ago – and is a mix of mid-century modern details and cheesy 1970’s and 1980’s bad decor. Over the last 12 years we have tried to breath new life into our home and incorporate more of the mid-century details it should have had in the first place. Some areas we have just ripped out the cheesy stuff and added updated modern styles and fixtures.

Even though I haven’t been a participant before in the One Room Challenge™, we have obviously tackled our own “one room challenge” several times over the years as we have slowly updated our home.

So what are we planning on doing?

We started some of the very basic work on the room back in January such as ripping out the carpet and installing the can lights. Then the project stopped there for weeks until my husband could install the new back wall treatment.

In the family room, I have changed out the pillows and decor so often to try and brighten up the room that I can’t even remember what it looked like before we got started.

First, the cove lighting directed upwards toward the dark paneled ceiling will be converted to downward can lights.

Second, the carpet is coming out to be replaced with new flooring.

The back wall with the embossed wall vinyl installed some time in the 1980’s will be covered up. We have considered removing the wall vinyl but by this point it has been painted at least five different paint colors including primer. Removing the wall vinyl will probably cause lots of damage to the wall underneath, if we can get it off.

A new updated wall treatment will be installed instead.

Since the sofas and recliners are only a few years old, they will be staying. However, other furniture will be moving in along with new accessories, drapery and lighting.

The art on the walls will also be changed out or updated.

After the One Room Challenge™, our goal is to still have our comfortable family room, but it will be so much lighter, brighter, and in sync with the modern architecture of our home.

I hope you will come back and check on the progress during the next six weeks. And be sure to visit all of the other talented designers and participants in this Spring 2019 challenge.