All in for the One Room Challenge

Since creating this tiny corner of the Internet, I’ve started following a ton of home blogs and Instagram accounts. This time last year, I noticed a lot of these creators posting about a One Room Challenge. I was intrigued, I paid attention, and it turns out anyone can participate and link through to the platform. So I made the plan to do that next year.

Guess what, it’s next year right now – the first week of the Spring 2021 One Room Challenge. And while this blog (and, in general, the house) has been languishing, I’m going to kick my skills into gear and commit to following through on this 12-month old idea. It’s going to be challenge to say the least. I’m sure it will be entertaining as well.

The Room

The room to be transformed is one of three original spaces left in the house. It got a great refresh in the renovation, and it’s truly a clean slate to get creative as I want to be.

Behold the unfinished linen built-ins in the Guest Bathroom.

But wait….

Welcome to the Secret Kids’ Room.

The whole family has been really excited to have this space since the plan was made to finish it and hide it behind a Murphy door. It used to be a closet off of our upstairs bathroom where we kept all of our out of season clothes and other personal clutter. In the new house, this would be where the kids would make their secret clubhouse and spend hours and hours playing and pretending and generally being adorable children.

In reality, it’s been a big highlight on their guided tours of the house to guests and visitors. But when other people aren’t around, it’s just a place to throw things that don’t have a place in their rooms. (Apologies to Mr. Giraffe). Yes, there has been some quality playtime in there on occasion, it just hasn’t become the special space we all envisioned. Cue the dramatic, transitional music.

Until now…..

The Plan

The vision for this room is simple — make it a space that’s just for them, and make it function for the way they want to play. And, make it easy to evolve as they grow and their interests change. Right now, those interests are imagination and pretending – dress-up, dollhouses, and tea parties. (My son is three, he’s along for big sister’s ride for now). Pretty soon it might be reading and hobby corners for time spent away from the other sibling. And when they are teenagers, I’m throwing a lock on the door and making it my meditation room!

First things first, I’m going to paint. Wait. First things first, I cleaned out their crap.

With the kids help, I’m going to pick a few soft, warm colors to color block on the back wall. And, we’ll decide on a design. I think combining curved lines with the sharp angles of the room will soften things to make it cozy and inviting for them.

Next, lights. Obviously there is an overhead flush-mount, but I’d love to find a way to bring in reading lamps, or even some twinkle lights. The challenge is there are no outlets in here. Batteries for the win!

Then, storage. I’m thinking some cubbies for bins and baskets will give the tiny doll furniture a home, AND provide a platform for the dollhouse. But we’ll see, that knee wall is pretty short. I’ve already got my eye on these floating wood shelves for books.

Finally, furniture and decor. I’m going to keep this really simple because a) I rather be spending my furniture budget on the rest of the house, and b) I want to keep this space open and versatile for however they want to use it. So, expect to see an inexpensive rug, a refresh to the existing table and chairs, and some cozy seating. Originally I was thinking small pallets for reading or napping, but we will probably start with bean bag chairs and big, smushy pillows.

And just for fun, here’s what this room looked liked a year ago. We’ve already come a long way, baby.