One Room Challenge- Week 2 (Paint and Upholstery)
Psssst… this post *might* contain affiliate links: see my disclosure here.
Week 2. One Room Challenge.
I’ve never done the One Room Challenge before so I’m afraid my organization in regards to posting is crap. I’m making some GREAT progress, but I’m not sure the outside viewer would notice that. Ha! The room is a D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R. To remind you… here’s the plan.
Week 1/ Week 2 (you are here)
Despite the disaster, I have one BIG thing to share. The walls are now BLUE! Whenever I come up with a room plan, I start by poking around Pinterest. (See my dining room inspiration board here.) The rooms that jumped out at me had these amazing dark and rich walls. I’ve been DYING to go dark in a room. Our dining room doesn’t get a lot of natural light… it has windows on either end, but both lead to covered porches. Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy is kind of the gold standard for navy blues, but it’s also the darkest blue on the color swatch… I opted to come up a couple shades to BM Van Deusen Blue and I LOVE it.
Shop my favorites!
I brought in painters for this one because the trim was getting a touch up and required lots and lots of prep and oil paint. None of that is my forte. (Tune in later in the week to see what tips and tricks I learned from the pros after they repainted our family room and now our dining room.) The blue is perfection. Exactly what I was hoping for in here. Cozy. Rich. Vibrant. All those great adjectives. I’ll share a little secret with you… the trim on the bottom half of the room is *actually* just the wall. It’s not true wainscoting. The painters asked if I wanted to paint over and make the whole wall blue, but I’m glad I kept that bottom portion light.
Other updates.
My buffet has one more side to be painted. Here’s how the drawers are looking, and I am SO EXCITED. Until I started blogging, I never thought I’d say things like this with enthusiasm: Let me tell you about this paint! (Housekeeping. I was lucky enough to request and receive some of these products for free but opinions are ALL mine.) I’m using DecoArt’s Maxx Gloss. I’ve used their chalk paint before and love it, so when I decided to paint the sideboard, I looked up their color pallet and Maxx Gloss in Juicy Melon was the perfect coral. Did I mention it’s NO PREP?!
Even when things say no sanding necessary, I still make an effort to clean the surface. In this case, I gave it a quick once over with a deglosser. The directions for the Maxx Gloss are dead on- follow them. I made sure to paint a horizontal surface which was easy for the drawers, but meant some flipping around for the base. But the paint self levels BEAUTIFULLY and after 3 coats, it’s shiny smooth almost like a lacquer I’m SUCH a fan! Amazon carries DecoArt- this is the one I used. (Affiliate) Search around for different colors, but this is the same paint.
I’ve also had a whole saga with curtains. The room doesn’t *need* curtains, but I like curtains in a dining room to help with noise when the table is full of conversation. I will also use ANY excuse to bring in some more of my favorite fabric. I’ll share a curtain post later since I’m hoping to come up with a tutorial for how I solved a problem I didn’t realize I had until 3/4 of the way through.
Another problem I didn’t realize I had? Upholstery. I took apart the two side chairs and the foam DISINTEGRATED. Like turned to powder, people. Meaning I have to scurry around and pick up some new foam to finish of those beauties. More work, for sure, but ick… glad to be rid of THAT!
So that only leaves me with swapping out the chandelier, painting the table, hanging some art, DIYing a couple pieces of art, and… setting the perfect dining room table. Four weeks left! Head over to Calling It Home and peruse the Link Up to see all the other AMAZING rooms that people are taking on. So much inspiration.
Psssst… Check out our newly published House Tour on HOUZZ! So exciting!!—> Click here.
Wow! I am in love with that blue and I can’t wait to see the coral with it. So excited to watch you out together this colorful room!!
Thanks so much, Kimm! The blue is AMAZING… SO glad I went for it!! xx
Love that blue on the walls Charlotte. AN the coral makes a nice contrast to the blue. Looking forward to next week. Sometimes it’s good to have a deadline!
Thanks, Mary! The blue looks SO great in there… it was a little nerve racking at first to go with such a DARK color, but I love it. 🙂 Phew!
Hi, love the colour in your livingroom…the finished one on Houzz…..I cant find what the colour and paint are,,,,,will you please tell me what it is?
thanks very much
Hi Dinah, Unfortunately, that was the color we inherited when we moved in! It’s a lovely color! Sadly it’s not a great tone for much of our furniture, so one day I plan to paint over it, but it works very well in a home this old!
I agree with the above comments. I am digging that coral and blue combo. Holy crapoly, I have never seen foam fall apart quite like that. I’ll bet new foam makes a huge difference though! Not an expense, I am sure you wanted. Why is foam so expensive, btw???
Looks great as always.
HAHA! When I saw how the old foam looked, I was HAPPY to buy some new stuff. And agreed… NO freaking idea why it’s so pricey!!! Thanks, Pat! xx
Looks like every everyone is covered in paint this week (myself included.) So much great color here, I excited to see where this goes!
Right?! Thankfully paint is a BIG impact and not a big deal compared to other changes we could be making! So fun to see the progress! Thanks!
I am also loving the blue and coral combo! So pretty! Also, your house tour over on houzz was amazing! I am loving all your flea market finds!
Thanks, Tilisa!!! I didn’t expect that color to have such a wonderful impact! Now I’m eager to finish. 🙂
LOL – did you notice that your new blue walls match the inside of your pet dish?
A coincidence? I think NOT!
Sounds like you’ll have NO problem getting this room done on time — quite an accomplishment for a ORC newbie. Can’t wait to see the finished product . . . .
HAHA! SO coordinated over here. That’s part of having the rooms ‘flow’ ;). Ha! NOT! Fingers crossed! I heard so many stories about people working until 4 a.m. every night that I’ve tried to plan accordingly! Thanks!
It’s looking good! The blue paint color in your space is absolutely gorgeous, especially with the coral as an accent color in the space. I can’t wait to see it finished!
THanks!!! I couldn’t BELIEVE what a great impact it had when the painters gave it the first coat. Hallelujah! 🙂
Wow! Loving this! Very bold, I dig it.
Thanks, Erin! Excited to get this thing FINISHED!
I Love your blue walls! I have been debating about which color blue to use in our bedroom, Hale navy and Van Deusen Blue being on the list so i love seeing them at work in other houses!
I did the SAME thing and found a post where someone had the same concerns I did with a darker room… they used the lighter and it looked great so I just copied. For me, I put up samples around the room and at night and on dark days, I couldn’t tell the HN was a blue as well as I wanted… that was the clincher for me. 🙂
That blue and coral are going to be gorgeous together!
Thanks, Tiffany! I was SO happy to see how pretty they looked together!
the blue and glossy coral paint!!!! gorgeous! I’ve looked at that exact paint and color at the craft store before but I think you may have just convinced me I need to try it. 🙂
You HAVE to! I can’t wait to try other colors in the line… I’m turning into a real paint geek! 🙂
that juicy melon color against that blue is gorgeous! I love what you have done so far and I cannot wait to see the completed room.
Thanks, friend! Back atcha! I need an extra day just to sit and ogle over everyone’s gorgeous plans for this!
I love Van Deusen Blue and it looks so great with the white trim and “wainscoting”!! (I have the same wainscot 🙂 ) You’ve tackled a ton this week…..can’t wait to see next week’s edition!
Thanks, Lisa! That whole color card is perfect, isn’t it? And clearly great minds think alike with the faux trim! xx
LOOOOVE that Juicy melon color…I’m already looking for something in my house to paint in that shade! 🙂 Can’t wait to see the finished product! This is my first time doing ORC too-so fun already!
Thanks! It’s always a little bit of a gamble with a bright color like this and I could NOT be more thrilled with it! Not too orange, not to pink. I need another day each week to visit everyone’s awesome progress! Such a fun occasion! 🙂
beautiful! love the blue walls
THanks, Megan! I’m THRILLED by my new blue walls! It’s nerve racking to go dark, but they are perfection!
I adore the direction that your room is headed towards! You did SO much better than I did in my room this week. I would love for you to share this post at Thoughts of Home on Thursday. I think my readers would really enjoy it!
Good luck and see you next week!
Thanks so much! I’ll take all the luck I can get. 🙂 xx
That blue wall color is stunning! Sounds like you’re off to a great start.
Thanks, Jennifer! The blue is better than I’d hoped… BIG relief! 🙂
That is a fabulous blue! I can’t wait to see more.
Thanks so much!! Fingers crossed it will all come together!!!
Looks awesome! That paint looks so good and I love that color!!!!! I can’t wait to see more, this dining room is going to look fabulous.
Lauren | Lovely Décor
xx
THanks so much, Lauren! It’s the first dark room I’ve done and I love it! Having so much fun seeing all the great rooms for ORC!
off to a great start! love the melon buffet! and the curtains!
Thanks so much, Lianna! Such a great excuse to get this room dealt with! 🙂
Good morning! Your room is looking great. I love the blue paint against the white trim. It’s going to be wonderful. That fabric is so pretty too. I’m wondering where I could the fabric in my house. 🙂
We’d love for you to join us at Thoughts of Home on Thursday this week.
THanks, Stacey! Lacefield’s my favorite! I have lots of their fabric around the house… where there’s a will there’s a way. Ha!