ORC week 4: an inexpensive shadow box project

for week 4 of the one room challenge, i thought i would share an inexpensive show box project that i finished this week for grady's room.

i love the look of art groupings. i love the repetition, the spacing, the textures that result when several similar things are placed together on a wall. i was particularly inspired by this image:

for the last several years, grady has been collecting flattened pennies...you know--the ones that emboss a "local" scene onto a penny that you drop into the machine. he has about 20 of them, and i decided that displaying them would be a fun personal touch in his room.

i considered several "looks" for this collection, and ultimately decided that something SUPER simple and dark would showcase the pennies in a very subtle way.

i started with some black frames with black mats. i bought mine at michaels, but here are the same ones at amazon:

i removed the photo insert, and replaced it with black scrapbook paper.

i attached the pennies with glue dots. they hold really well and are great for small three dimensional objects.

then, i simply placed them on the scrapbook paper:

 they are the perfect accent in between the curtains!
textural and subtle and masculine.

other progress---

*the chair from overstock arrived. it was VERY affordable and fits nicely bedside his bed.

*i installed this acrylic shelf from cb2 on the wall next to the chair. a few books and some art will be placed on it. i think i will also hang some art on the wall above the shelf. grady plays the guitar, and this chair will be his spot to practice, so the shelf will also hold his notes and music.

* i also added these fun little wooden knobs to the ikea desk! they are from hobby lobby, and they really add some personality to the all white desk.

* i dropped this yummy ralph lauren plaid fabric (scored on eBay) off to have a custom bolster pillow and smaller square pillow made. its actually a bit of a splurge to have a LONG pillow made with a custom down and feather insert, (for the bolster), but i really think that asking a 12 year old boy to put any more than one or TWO pillows tops is just asking too much! i plan on using the bolster on his bed and the square pillow on the chair.

i only have a few things left to do in his room! i am really excited to see it all come together and can't wait to share the finished pictures.

ORC week 3: black walls and and ikea dilemma

it's week 3 of the one room challenge, and i am moving along with grady's room!
the walls are painted, and they look fantastic. it really is amazing how paint can transform a room!

i knew that i needed to stay on a budget with the "storage" wall, which will include a bookcase and a desk, so of course i turned to ikea.



my original plan was to purchase the 72" best burs desk.

i was at ikea several months ago, and fell in love with this desk. the slender, long proportions of the desk were prefect for what i envisioned. i almost bought it, but knew that it would just end up taking up space in my garage until the room was painted. when i went back to buy it, it was OUT OF STOCK. not only that, but DISCONTINUED and out of stock. i called several stores, tried to buy it online, waited to see if any remaining stock would be sent to my store so i could snatch one up. 

no luck. 

i was in mourning for several days, and started a new search for the perfect replacement desk. i found a few that i liked, but they were sadly way above my budget.

i ended up buying the similar, but shorter micke desk:

 

the micke desk, paired with the vittjo shelving unit will create a place for grady to play video games and store some of his books and other goodies.

 the dresser and bed have been placed in the room...and i spent some time this week putting together the ikea pieces:

 here is the shelving unit assembled and ready to style!

 coming this week:

installing the curtain rods and curtains

hanging art and the large mirror over the dresser

getting bedding and getting a custom pillow made for the bed

ORC week2: design plan for grady's grown up bedroom

it is week 2 of the one room challenge, and grady's room is finally getting some love!

before i begin any project, even one in my own home, i like to have a visual design plan for the space.
enter the design board:

so heres the plan for grady's grown up room:

*black walls. (i just started painting, and it looks FANTASTIC!)
*bring up the west elm dresser that has been living in my entry for the last year
*new queen sized bed + mattress
*a bookcase and desk to replace the bench currently on his side wall
*add dark drapes (from ikea!)
*showcase his collection of souvenir pennies with some shadowboxes
*add a lounge chair to give him a cozy seating area for reading and video gaming
*keep everything clean, simple and masculine
*add some art + storage for lacrosse sticks

design boards help envision how patterns, colors and furniture all work together, and act as a motivation to get a room  done! if you would like to see more design boards that i have created for clients, check out my instagram page:

one room challenge week 1-gradys grown up bedroom

oh boy. *deep breath!

it's me. i'm baaaaaaaack!

how in the world did a week become 5 months? YIKES!

(by the way--thank you to all those who emailed me and messaged me on instagram about my...um...absence!
i did not plan to take such a long break, but i must admit that it was a bit therapeutic.
i HAVE been posting about all of my projects on instagram, so if you follow me, then you know that i have been as busy as ever.)

i am still NOT finished with my previous one room challenge space, my laundry room and mudroom. we had some major issues with the fabrication and installation of the cabinets, as well as the paneling. we are still dealing with a few details on some of the issues, which are holding us up from completion.
ugh. i dont even want to think about it. it has been so frustrating.

however, i am going to go out on a limb and promise that i will have not only the laundry room and mudroom but gradys room as well!
so...two reveals for the price of one? not bad, huh? *even if ONE of those reveals is 6 months late!

OK!! onto the good stuff.
for this round of the one room challenge, i am "officially" working on my son gradys room. he recently turned 12 and is super excited and opinionated about his bedroom.

here it is before:


for previous rounds, i transformed my teenage daughters bedroom:
(gradys room is actually a mirror of this room! same size, same everything.)






it started as this:

(you can  see more pictures of this project here)

in another previous round, i worked on my daughter charlottes room:

which  started out like this:

(you can read more about this project here)


as well as my mini office:

which started out here:

(you can read more about this project here)

gradys room is a complete BORE right now. yuck. i am falling asleep just looking at it!

 it is a large bedroom, which is wonderful, but everything in his room is too small for his current needs. he has sleeping in the same bed since he was 3. 

now that grady is 12, and has some thoughts on his new bedroom.

he wants his walls BLACK.
i know, i know. black walls.
trendy.
overdone.
everyones "sick to death" of seeing them.
but guess what?
i'm not.
and apparently, neither is my little man.


so, black walls it is!

other than that, i know i will be using a dresser that i scored from a sale at down east  last year for $240.




he definitely needs a bigger bed! i purchased this bed on clearance at jc penny over two years ago, and it has been sitting in my garage, just waiting for this moment. (i am glad that i bought it when i did, as it is no longer available.)




i know that i want to keep the room feeling simple and masculine. grady also wants a place to play video games in his room, so there will be a desk as well as a comfy chair to sit at.

i am thinking of using the herman miller aeron chair that we have had forever. i bought it as a college graduation gift for my husband, almost 17 years ago. (at the time, i was working for a design firm that specialized in systems furniture and owned the reproduction rights to herman millers designs, and so i got a great discount on it!)



i will keep the overhead light fixture, (the z gallerie sputnik chandelier), his table lamp and the nightstand, but will most likely try to paint or update the night stand in some way.





anyway...
i hope you will forgive me for completely checking out and disappearing from my blog for several months. it was actually good for me to "get away" for a while. and while disappearing in the middle of a project is SO LAME, the absence has refreshed me and i am ready to share with you all the things that i have been working on for the last few months!


lets DO this!
:)