Week 2 of the spring One Room Challenge is here! (Welcome to any new readers. I’m Rachel & I’ve never met a color I didn’t love. I’m a graphic designer with a serious love for interiors.) I’m sure a lot of you are already familiar with the One Room Challenge™, but here’s a quick explanation to catch you up to speed. The ORC™ is a popular biannual 6-week design challenge that is shared on blogs across the internet.
Each participant shares the before and after of their room makeover in those six weeks. The progress, the pitfalls, the good and the bad. It’s in the spirit of the challenge to encourage one another to try to get to that finish line and make some big progress on our spaces. Twenty featured designers share their rooms on Wednesdays and guest participants (like me) will be sharing on Thursdays. The spring round began April 5th, and I will be sharing here on the blog every Thursday and linking up to the participant page at Calling it Home.
Most of the things that happened this week are more behind-the-scenes, mostly with items being ordered, delivered, etc. We’re heading to the lake this weekend and I’ll have all kinds of updates as I unpack a few things. But in the meantime, here’s the inspiration for the space. And don’t miss the first week where I showed the before!
LAKE LIVING ROOM: INSPIRATION
The walls are all painted Benjamin Moore’s Decorator White but the real challenge is to layer texture into that wide open space to make it feel cozy and designed. I’ve been collecting images of white spaces and the consistent element that inspired me was the addition of natural fibers and chambray accents. Overall, I want the vibe to be airy, breezy beach house, but with a stylish country twist. Like J.Crew and Sugar Paper got together to have a stylish lake house baby.
That makes total sense, right?
Of course it does. 🙂
I want the room to feel like a pair of white denim jeans with a cool chambray button down shirt. Easy but chic, relaxed but pulled together.
This entire collection from Sugar Paper sets the tone for me for the entire room. (Further proof that inspiration for design comes from all arenas.)
ONE ROOM CHALLENGE: FURNITURE & FABRICS
After realizing that our existing sofa is pretty much the only place anybody sits, I did a few floorplans and decided to do a sectional to maximize the seating potential. Additionally, Simon requested a pair of swivel gliders and I happily agreed. Huntington House is graciously providing the pieces and I’m so excited to get them in. I met the lovely folks there last year in High Point and I was thoroughly impressed with their high quality, comfortable pieces.
Scale was the biggest issue with choosing what sectional and chairs would work. We can’t go too deep but we still want it to be lounge-y and comfy. For the swivel gliders, we’re doing a pair of these Soho chairs in the most gorgeous pale blue Thibaut fabric from one of their Crypton collections. (Side tangent: I frequently get asked where to find Crypton fabrics. They have fabrics created in collaborations with lines like Thibaut, Duralee, etc.– these are fabrics that are available to the trade only. However, you can also get upholstery from Pottery Barn in Crypton fabrics, and retailers such as Calico Corners, Joybird, One Kings Lane also carry them).
For the sectional, we’re doing a Crypton fabric in a gorgeous navy that is so crazy soft. It has a slight sheen to it and I’m excited to see how the texture will play against the rug we’re going with. And because I can’t not do a contrast welt, we’ll do some lovely contrast piping in pale blue on the navy. #preppyforlife
Going with Crypton‘s performance fabrics was a total no-brainer. I’ve been so impressed with how well our white sofa has worn over the past six months. I can’t imagine not using Crypton in high traffic areas (much less if you have kids or dogs). Because we rent the house out, we want to make sure that we choose durable items that can withstand the unknown. They build the technology into every fiber so that there’s permanent stain resistance. It ensures nothing can penetrate into the cushion for the life of the fabric.
NEXT WEEK
I’m hoping to have progress on installing some new sconces (fingers crossed!) as well as the arrival of a few accessories I’ve been waiting on.
All right, Week 2, peace out! Follow along on Instagram as we head into a long weekend as I’ll be posting progress on the Stories. And special thanks to the amazing sponsors who are willing to help me realize my vision for the room. I couldn’t complete this challenge without the gracious help these wonderful brands.