I decided to take the plunge!! I am joining the amazing talents behind the One Room Challenge as a ” GUEST PARTICIPANT.” It is pretty remarkable that Linda of Calling it Home extends this invitation to bloggers like myself. We can link up our own projects, as well as be inspired by her handpicked design bloggers. It is especially exciting this time because House Beautiful will be the sponsor. How could I pass it up? I couldn’t, so here I am. I have plans to revamp my living room anyway so this should be a good nudge.

How does this whole thing work?

The idea is to take on a room and give it a makeover in 6 short weeks. That is intimidating to say the least. I usually take too long to start and finish projects, more like 6 months or 6 years. Each Thursday you share a progress report. This may be just the push I need to stay motivated and dive in.

I will say this right from the start, I am not going to stress. Whatever gets done in 6 weeks is what gets done. I am going to have fun with it and accept life as it happens. If I have painted walls by the end of it and new white curtains, I will call it a victory!!

I am choosing my living room. It is a small space and it is the only living space that we have. I absolutely hate how it is in its current state. There are so many things about my house from a design stand point that are really…..not good! Instead of loathing them, I am just going to do the best with what I have. Time, energy and funds included in that.

When I am done with it, I want it to be the “Glamily Room” that I envision. This phrase was coined by House Beautiful as one of the top design trends for 2016.

So my vision is a stylish room that is still cozy, practical and family friendly. Which pretty much sums up the concept of a “Glamily Room.”

I just made my first design board which was really fun!! It is addicting!! I can’t afford a single thing on here, but it is a pretty good idea of my plan.

MY PLANS:

• First up will be paint. I already bought black paint (Black heron by Valspar) and my husband is chickening out. I will start with one wall as an accent and go from there. The other 2 walls will be white if they are not black. As much as I would like to say that I am going to shiplap a wall or stencil, I think that just paint will be enough to ask for now.
• I am thinking a sectional. You can read why HERE This may or may not happen before the challenge is over. We shall see how it goes. I am definitely going to start looking around though.
• I also want an ottoman to kick our heels up on. I want leather for the practicality of it. I would love a leather sofa but the fabric will be more inviting and that is what I am going for. I think that the two will contrast nicely.
• White drapes are a must. IKEA will be my go to place for those as I need 96″ length and I don’t want to spend a fortune. Bummer!! A trip to IKEA. Wink, wink. I already have rods that I still love. Those are staying.
• The gallery wall of gold mirrors is my vision for the huge wall behind the sofa. I already have all of those sizes depicted. I won’t even have to buy any, just paint some of the frames gold. Gold looks amazing against dark or light walls and it will bounce the light around the room. It will certainly make photographing it without an awkward selfie involved a real challenge though.
• A hanging white lamp shade over the sectional is one idea for lighting.
• Decisions on the rug, lighting and tables will all come later.

Disclaimer: I reserve the right to change my mind at the drop of a hat. I’m a woman, it’s totally legal. Really I am just crazy indecisive!!!!!

What is that??? You want at least one hideous picture before you can let it rest??

Ok, you twisted my arm. But just one!!SO….for a little perspective I was standing in my dining room area as I took this. The kitchen is to my right, which you can see HERE and I have shared my dining room on Instagram

This is our only living space. Do you feel sorry for me? Yes, that is the front entry. Yes, that is my TV on the same wall. I can’t fix it but I can make it look and function a lot better.

Next week I will share more before pictures and explanations along with some inspiration pics. I will also have a definite to-do list after some more brainstorming.

You deserve Starbucks for making it through that!!! Thank you!

See you next Thursday.

Follow me on Instagram where I will share progress pics along the way.

To see all of the other guest participants follow this link to Calling It Home