At the risk of sounding cliché…does anyone know where September went?! I can’t believe it’s already the end of the month, and that it’s ONE ROOM CHALLENGE DAY!
I found out about the One Room Challenge (ORC) last spring and made it a goal of mine to join in on the fall event! If you’re new to the ORC, it is a design event that is held every spring and fall. Twenty Featured Designers, as well as anyone who wants to join as a Guest Participant (that’s me!), document the transformation of one room in their home over the course of eight weeks. You can check out the progress of the Featured Designers’ rooms every Wednesday, and Guest Participants share updates every Thursday. I’m so excited to see the ideas that will be shared and spaces that will be created! You should check them out too if you’re ready to feel inspired!
For week 1 today I will be revealing the room I am going to transform…..our Living Room!
If you follow me on Instagram you’ll know that this room is already a work in progress. I started it over the summer, but still have so many major projects left to do! This challenge will be the perfect way to motivate me to complete this room by Thanksgiving!
Here’s a summary of what I have completed prior to the start of the challenge, and the projects that still remain!
Projects Completed:
- Remove existing tile from fireplace surround and hearth
- New window trim
Projects Still to Come:
- New wall color
- New stone or tile fireplace hearth and surround
- Relocate TV to above the fireplace (I know this may be controversial, but you’ll see why!)
- New beadboard paneling, trim, and mantle at the fireplace
- New lighting
- New décor to cozy this space up a bit!
This Living Room is full of projects I’ve never done before, which is a little intimidating but also exciting! I’m going to just take it one step, and one week, at a time! I hope you’ll follow along with me here and in my Instagram stories to see my progress!
On the agenda for this upcoming week- picking up the materials I need to do some reframing and new drywall at our existing fireplace, researching how to add conduit into the wall for our TV, and finally deciding on a stone slab or tile for the surround! I hope you’ll check back next week to see the progress!
We have a builder grade fireplace mantel and very ugly tile surround. What method did you use to remove the mantle? Yours is very similar to ours. Thanks!
Hi Megan! I used a utility knife to score any caulking all the way around our mantel and then used a trim puller + mallet to pry the mantle off the wall. I took the top mantel shelf off first and then the rest of the surround actually came off of the wall in one piece! If you’re interested in seeing more about how I did it, I have a “Fireplace” highlight saved on my Instagram page- the first half is design but then I get into the demo of our mantel and tile. Hope that helps!! Let me know if you have any other questions!