one room challenge: a teen bedroom for charlotte

i have to tell you....linking up to the last round of the one room challenge, hosted by linda at calling it home was SO great for me. you see, i tend to be a procrastinator when it comes to home projects. i just put them off and drag things out fff--ooo--r---e--vvvvv---e---rrr.
or just stop in the middle of doing them.
in fact, i have a chair in my basement that i am in the middle of reupholstering.
yah.
i started reupholstering it in february.
...of 2001.
no. i am not lying or exaggerating.
i have had two two more kids and moved 8 (eight!!) times since i started that chair, and it still isn't done! YIKES!

where was i going with this? oh yeah.
i tend to procrastinate home projects.

i have no doubt that if i hadn't signed up my mini office with the one room challenge, it would still be a giant garbage can/hamper/storage for all things that my family doesn't know where to stash.

see here:


i started with this design board as inspiration....



and this is the before and after!

i am so glad that the one room challenge helped me to get my butt in gear and finish this room!  i now have a functional, pretty office that i get to enjoy every day.

thank you one room challenge!

this round, i am going to be working on my daughter charlottes room.
charlotte is 12 and 11/12th. soon to be a teenager. 
she will officially turn 13 before the challenge is finished!

anyway, she has been begging me to do her room since we moved in last summer.

just for reference, here is the upper floor of our house.
charlottes room is bedroom #4.

here is her room now:

depressing, i know.



it is full of furniture cast-offs...the desk was in her older sisters room once upon a time, the bed is actually two footboards put together. the dresser came from my husbands parents. it is an ethan allen dresser from the 70's. it is staying because it is SOLID and, under all of that terrible distressing, in really great shape.


besides the mattress, the dresser and the light fixture, everything is going.
the floor plan will remain the same, just with updated and revised pieces.

to keep things budget friendly, i usually like to balance out "nice" pieces of furniture with items from stores like ikea and target.

well, I'm not gonna lie....there will be an awful lot of new stuff in the room from ikea.

i looked at SO many sources for a new daybed, and desk, and ultimately, the ikea pieces were the winners. so get ready for a few hacks.

oh, and you see this weird hole in the wall?
it leads to a secret space....just big enough for a couple of bean bags and maybe a small bookcase.
we plan to add a bookcase on hinges so that the space is completely hidden when the bookcase is closed. (the bookcase will be full height, as well as the "entry" into the secure room....we just knew it would be a while before we got to this project, and so we didn't cut all of the sheetrock yet)

 could this room GET any more mismatched and plain??

here is the BASIC plan...i ams still working on the details. ok, i am still working on a LOT of the details. 

the basic color scheme was taken from a set of vintage paint by numbers still life paintings that my grandmother gave me before she passed away.  charlotte and i have been narrowing down the colors and ideas that she likes. (i know, i can't believe i am letting her have an oinion either!)

i started with a bright coral and mustard, but charlotte strongly prefers a softer palette....

so, we are now somewhere in the mustard plus "apricot/dusty rose/peach/light salmon" area.

still haven't decided for sure. we ordered some samples, and are anxiously awaiting them.

 what i will be doing:

*painting the walls a soft neutral color

* painting the dresser, getting new hardware

*getting a new daybed, adding a pagoda shaped headboard

*installing a canopy over the bed (still deciding on exact color! eek! coral? dusty rose? apricot?)

*making a custom bookcase to disguise the "secret room"

* getting a new desk, recovering the seat of a vintage bamboo dining chair

* adding art, mirrors

*making a bulletin board from a salvaged frame

*painting the current light fixture gold

*adding new pillows and bolsters to the bed

*install new brass wall lights i found on ebay


come back next week and see my progress!