Well, friends, this is the day. The final post, the big reveal, the nail-biting conclusion of the One Room Challenge, hosted by the lovely Linda and media partner House Beautiful. The 20 featured bloggers ROCKED their projects, and the guest bloggers also really brought their game. You could spend days out here on the interweb, sucked into each project and enjoying the process and completion of all of the participants' spaces - and you should! There's some GREAT stuff going on...
For reasons of fun, camaraderie, a deadline, and accountability, I decided (the day before the challenge started!) to play along and I'm really glad I did! It is the first time I've done the One Room Challenge, and I am glad I chose a room that had a moderate expectation for completion. I am high-fiving all of those folks who took on MAJOR renovations and are posting their reveals today - go you!!!! I didn't aim that high, but I did tackle a project that I had really been wanting to do for a while.
Mini Mister's Room - BEFORE (but after a good cleaning...)

This room was basically just everything from our last house, tossed into the room and shaken up a bit. It might not seem like it here, as these photos were taken at the exact hour of the day when peeks of sunlight could be seen, but this room was DARK. And, while technically functional, there wasn't really any FUN going on in FUNction. Blah.
Things we kept:
1) The bed, which is part of a pair. In our last house they would both have been in his room, but in this house - not so much. The other is in Smallest Assistant's bedroom.
2) The dresser. We all really like that piece. It goes with the bed in finish, but isn't really an exact match.
3) A cozy chair I had picked up over the winter from a consignment shop. It is a nice size for the room, and for his little self.
4) Most of the artwork. I have collected these things over time, but the horse is one from his original bedroom, and we feel a little sentimental about him.
I told you in this post that I had officially exited my comfort zone, and decided to take on a DIY wall treatment that I'd never done before. I am so very glad that I did. I couldn't have done it without my exceptionally handy Superhubs and his pneumatic tools, so he gets major props for pulling this off...

You: What in the helvetica is THAT!?
Me: Upholstery.
You: *SMH*
Me: I KNOW!!!! ISN'T IT COOL!?!?!
Bumpy walls: 10, Steph: 1. Yep. I won once against those wretched textured walls.

It was thousands of dollars cheaper than wallpaper would have been, since we could DIY this one and not pay someone to do the work. It still wasn't CHEAP, as we needed approximately 30 yards of material and then batting, wood, staples, nails, and a SEWING MACHINE (!!!), but man... I really love the outcome. I actually think I love it more than I would have loved the wallpaper. It is soft, absorbs sound, has a similar weave to a grasscloth, but is very washable, should anything unfortunate get on it...
You: What color is it?!
Me: Dark, mossy green.
You: It doesn't match.
Me: Not everything has to MATCH. It just has to GO. And, I didn't like how the matching looked after I had tried that route...
I love contrast and unexpected combinations of color. I'm not always very good at doing this, since most people like to match and matching is, quite frankly, the easiest way to decorate. But, this room inspired me (as most of Miles Redd's rooms have a way of doing.)

A favorite of ALL TIME. With the blue and orange in the rug, and that spectacular sofa in the mix, I was pretty set on green... I got to work and found some heavy-duty fabric at JoAnn's that was just the thing. And even better!? It was on sale for $10 a yard! BOOM!
Anyway, I suppose you're probably scrolling past all of my words at this point, just hoping I'll zip it and get on with the job, but know this: I'll be doing follow-up posts to give some additional details on the walls, in case you are as crazy as I am and want to do it yourself.
So here they are, my amateur photos of the project, as taken from - you guessed it - my phone... This was a tough one for me to photograph, just because of the high contrast between the wall paint and the upholstery. It kept messing with me. Sorry.

And another BEFORE:


Yes, Darth made the cut...



That chair corner still needs a bit of work. I'm looking for more artwork for that wall and for a better side table. (This side of the room was tough to photograph without getting the footboard in the frame... I need some photography classes.)

I took a few photos with the lights all on, just so you can see how much brighter this room is capable of being. The above photo makes it look like the light is blinding. It really isn't. It's quite nice, actually...
And some of the little-boy moments that Superhubs was worried would be missing:

A bedside bin of books for the little bookworm.

A patriotic quilt his Nana made...

An adorable book I bought on ebay, to add to what I found out was an unintentional collection I had already accidentally started.
I mentioned last week that this probably isn't the exact final version of this room. Since I love the thrill of the thrift, I just have to be patient until I find just the thing (the art, the side table, etc.) But, for now, Mini Mister really, truly loves his new room, and he had everything to say about what we displayed and what got put away. I am glad he loves it. There's really nothing better than a happy client. Well, maybe a happy client that pays, but whatever.
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