Are you wondering what happened to my Week 5 post? Thankfully and thoughtfully, Week 5 was cancelled by Linda of the One Room Challenge because of everything that has been transpiring after the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and many, many others compounded by the rather disgusting behavior of Amy Cooper. As a Black woman, I have been exhausted in every way with what has been happening, and so has every Black person around me. My Black experience has had ample racism so I believe in the protests, and holding people that are racist and anyone (including companies) accountable that stay silent showing their complicity, cultivate a culture that forces Black people to stay silent or allows racism to be apart of the fabric of their company, or make no effort creating a diverse environment within their company or have shown their lack of support of Black people and their work. Black Lives Matter and that for me is non-negotiable.
Although I have been dealing with the stress of everything going on, I have still had to work on my clients projects and the One Room Challenge. And I’m happy that progress has been made! If you’ve missed prior weeks, here’s the recap of prior weeks:
Week 1 was the introduction of the challenge with a walkthrough what my home used to look like including a tour on NBC’s Open House NYC,
Week 2 was a walkthrough of the vibe of the space, my must-haves and my wants, and my color palette with some of my preliminary finishes, and
Week 3 was focused on the kitchen and included everything from my moodboard to specific products that I’ll be using.
Week 4 was focused on my living room and we jumped into the juicy details.
This week I want to jump into the Dining Room. My goal was to simply create a space where I could happily entertain and give my guests conversation pieces and an experience. It’s not a shock that I love color and I wanted to bring that from the floor (area rug) to break up my wood floors and to set the stage for my dining room table. The area rug that I chose is from the Loloi x Justina Blakeney collaboration, the CIE-08 Berry / Tangerine, and it is SO PRETTY!! It’s this mix of blues, berrys, tangerines, and more in this cool pattern, and it’s durable so I’m not concerned with food spills and wine stains.
I knew that I wanted a round dining table with a base that was a jaw dropper. As a Bungalow 5 fan, I was sold as soon as I saw their Stockholm Table because of that gold base (and marble top!). It would perfectly accentuate the rug and could stand firm on its own. Seriously, she’s beautiful.
I’ll admit that it took me forever to find dining chairs that I love. I was literally getting on my own nerves. I opted to buy 6 blue chairs and get 4 reupholstered because I hate when everything matches. What is utterly amazing that the mood board doesn’t give the full effect for, is the reupholstery fabric is the Imagine Natural from Calico Corners (the little square slight hovering over the chair) but the picture that I swiped from the website does NOT reflect how the fabric looks in person. I went to check on the chairs yesterday after some back and forth with the upholsterer to get them perfect, and they look sooo good! I might give a sneak peek this week on Instagram also.
Here’s the meat of my what else I opted for:
Wallpaper: This was a must-have and I wanted it to go up my entry stairs and wrap around a wall in my dining room. I looked at a lot of options and landed at the Shibori Diamonds in the color Calm by Milton & King because I wanted something light and muted but high on visual impact. Plus, I wanted a a boho style wallpaper and this fit the bill. While I watched my wallpaper hanger put it up, I was sooo happy with my choice. The quality is amazing and the geometry on the pattern is gorgeous, and loved it more once I started pairing my art. Sneak peek below with one of my art selections.
Bar Cart: A drink station was also a must-have and I chose the Leland Bar Cart from Apt 2B. I wanted wheels (check) and a bar cart wide enough for me to fit wine, glasses, and of course decor. I’m pairing this with the Makeda print (custom framed) from Malene B so I’m not sharing this area at all until the final reveal so you can see how everything looks together. Smiles big.
Doorbell Chime: Details matter, a lot. One of my walls has the doorbell chime which is a super cheap one from a big box store aka pretty tacky. I wanted something in black which is on par with the color that that I’ve made most of the hardware in the house. After some hunting, I found the Craftmade 7″ Wide Chime on Build.com that is unlike anything that I’ve seen, its simple and sleek and literally perfect for my purposes. Build.com has the best selection of home improvement products (bye Home Depot) including trending and traditional styles, unique finishes, and new technologies at competitive prices all in one place. Customers can find what they need to create their own personal style.
Art: Ok, so clearly I just gave you one of my art picks above. But, let me tell you about 3 other pieces that I’m using!
Lovely Day by Natalie Osborne. This piece is a custom 36×40, oil on canvas, where we collaborated on what it would look like and of course short hair was a must. I also had it custom framed by Mona Lisa Framing who is local to me. Here’s the thing, I didn’t want it to look like stretched canvas, I wanted it to look like framed art so Dayana (owner of Mona Lisa) stretched the canvas on acid free 100% rag board and we used a scroll mat which means that the border is heavier on the top and bottom than it is on the sides.
Dalton Vertical Leaf Art: This is a tall (72 inches!) resin wall piece with carvings patterned throughout. I included the detail shot below but you’re going to have to wait for the final reveal to see it all.
Robe of Ned by Rachel Stewart: I knew this piece was going somewhere on one of the wallpaper walls. I’m a fan of her work in general but this piece constantly speaks to me. This is the conversation piece for the guests seated facing the wallpaper wall. Stay tuned.
Next week I’m going to focus on the powder room and entry as we lead up to the Final Reveal so I’ll see you guys next week! And don’t forget to check out the other Featured ORC Designers below!
Veneer Designs | Rambling Renovators | Renovation Husbands | Studio Plumb | Media BH&G
Love The Design? Share Below!