ONE ROOM CHALLENGE // WEEK 4

We are beyond the half way mark now in the One Room Challenge, created by Linda of Calling it Home. I am linking in as a guest participant to provide an update on the new, in-home work space I am creating for myself in what was once our unused guest suite. In Week 4, I tackled some of the bigger projects in the space - including a reupholstery project and the new art gallery wall. I also made progress on the drapery panels fashioned out of my favorite Schumacher fabric - Pyne Hollyhock. The room has taken shape and I am already busy polishing it up with some of the prettier details. 

Today, I want to take a step back however and fill you in on some of the organization and furniture components that will make this a more functional home office. 

The gallery wall has started to take shape and I can't wait to give you a better look at all of my final selections. For now, I wanted to showcase some of my favorite affordable go-to frames that will be housing my pics within the gallery. I prefer to use a pretty simple, streamlined frame for artwork within my home. Luckily, there are several sleek options that afford me that look for a reasonable price - my favorite of all being the basic Studio Decor frames found at Michaels. You can purchase these in volume for an even greater value and sub in some matting for an upgraded presentation. I used several of these within the gallery with matting and was pretty darn happy at the way each piece turned out. Ikea also has several options I love - a new one being the Knoppang frame (in black). The Gunnabo frame also has an insert that provides a sleek shadowbox effect and is worth checking out to keep things varied and interesting- particularly when grouping a set of frames together on the same wall.

I've spent some evenings this week organizing all of my supplies and vast magazine collection using these bins and files from IKEA. The TJENA magazine files were unfortunately sold out in black both online and locally, but I was able to source through an Amazon seller - albeit for double the price. However frustrating, it was well worth the extra spend once I saw the organized line up on display.

I thought I'd share some of the furniture solutions that will be at work in the space as well. I am committed to repurposing as much as possible from my previous space and I have been fortunate to use all or most of it with only a few additional investments. My Expedit bookcase will be put to use as an organizational console paired up with the Bullig and TJENA bins mentioned above. I've already created a better system to organize and store my fabric collection here - out of sight, but readily accessible for projects. I am also repurposing my old desk chair which is still in great condition and expanding and improving upon my current desk set up with an additional Linnmon table top and a couple of inexpensive sets of trestle legs from IKEA.  

Truth be told, I have always had my eye on the  Strut Desk by Bludot. But in the end, I just couldn't justify the spend. I think for my money, I was able to focus and invest on other corners within this space that made more of an impact than a fancy new desk would have anyway - at least that's the story I'm telling to myself. 

Speaking of fancy - this chair I was lucky enough to inherit from my neighbor's curb got a fresh new look with some pattern of the moment buffalo check. I tackled the destruction and recreation, complete with piping last Friday evening along with my trusty sidekicks Valentino and Chardonnay.  I can't wait to show you how it turned out. 

Next week will be special - I want to showcase a few projects I completed and resources I've leaned on during the challenge. I'll share the finished chair and draperies and will also share a better look at the artwork chosen for the room. I'm pretty anxious though - I could very well show you some of that before next week on Instagram. Are you following along?

Be sure to check out progress made by all my talented blogmates this week over at Calling it Home.

Previous Updates:

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3