Here we go again! Another One Room Challenge season and another room of Bonnie Manor getting started. I am sort of sticking to one room this challenge; however, there are some other projects running in the background: flooring and paint for the Kitchen/Butler’s Pantry/Powder Room, plumbing fixture installs, finishing up electrical... One day the reno storm will calm and I can enjoy one project at a time or at least that is what I tell myself.
If you are new here, welcome! I am Kristian and the house is Bonnie. We got hitched last summer and since then I have been working on her, she was set in her old ways and some not so good like termite damage, dirty old carpet, and wallpaper falling off the walls. She’s been giving me a run for my money, but I think I finally have her coming around.
And if you are new to the One Room Challenge, click here to see more! This is an 8 week challenge event by Linda from Calling It Home where 20 Featured Designers and Guest Participants take on making over a space all while sharing the progress until Reveal Day! It’s a fun way of getting the job done and making friends too. For the last several years I have been either watching or participating because I am absolutely addicted to it! (Thank you Linda and BH&G!)
So what is my challenge? Bonnie’s Dining Room! Which is actually one of the reasons I fell in love with her. I am already envisioning holidays with the family and murder mystery parties with the friends! But there’s some work to be done first…
top left: North I top right: South I bottom left: East I bottom right: West
The first task of the Dining Room makeover is DEMO which is set to start on the 16th, the day after my little sister’s wedding (the bridal party will actually be using the Dining Room – memories!). In the meantime, I will be tackling some smaller prep tasks like having the large furniture that has been sitting in here since last July finally moved out and up the staircase, working on the side porch and the door that connects these two spaces (I want the side porch to be an extension of the Dining Room, especially for dinner parties) and finishing up the bathroom upstairs so I can finally share those reveals from the last ORC season!
The walls and ceiling of the Dining Room were originally plaster, the house was built in 1914, but both have been covered by other materials that need to be removed. The walls currently have faux wood paneling over them (and I can tell that the West wall has already had the original plaster removed) and the ceiling currently has tiles covering it (some starting to fall off) which I am assuming are nailed with furring strips into the original plaster like in the stairwell (where many ceiling tiles have already fallen so I can see the whole situation). From previous experience of peeling away the years of remodels in the house, the original plaster is either already gone or not repairable. Which leads me to the next task.
New sheetrock! Once we get back to a base, new sheetrock will be installed over the existing lathe and furring strips to give a fresh start while also not looking too different from what was originally here. And then paint! I do have a color picked already, but I am anxious to see if I will find any of the original plaster and its paint color. Warning: this could make me change my mind about the entire design!
So for now, this is what I have planned…
A neutral but warm paint color to balance the strong blues and greens in the surrounding rooms, while also bringing them in through accents.
Antique furniture appropriate for the time period of the house (who was here for when I scored the dining set?!)
and possibly recovering the dining chair seats
Switching out the light fixture
New curtains - undecided on color / pattern
Setting the table with my collection of Lochs of Scotland china
Artwork or some other form of wall decor
Removing the paint from the porch door (its not stained glass and casts a yellow glow while also blocking the view of the porch)
and also removing the storm door for the same reason of improving the view and ease of access
A short list this go around and hopefully conquerable within the time frame! There are things that I plan to do later to this room like refinishing the hardwood floors, maybe having a mural painted (which is another reason for going with the neutral paint color that will do well as a background) and I would love to install two windows in the West wall where I believe two originally were! For now though its all about making this fresh and livable (no ceiling tiles falling on heads and turning the murder mystery party into the real deal) in time to take a break for the summer with my Q!
Tune in next week for a walk through of the scope of work and some progress and maybe a surprise - you can follow along in real time via Instagram and peep what has been inspiring me via Pinterest. And be sure to hope over and check out the challenges that the other ORC Guests Participants and Featured Designers are taking on!
- Kristian with the ceiling tile in the Dining Room