One Room Challenge | SP 2020 | Week 1

ORC Stairway & Hallway Revamp

*All of this crap is either currently hidden behind the sofa, taking up space beside my desk, or obstructing access to the BBQ out in the garage*.

You see this stairway gallery wall here? Fun and sassy, right? Well, IT EXISTS NO MORE, because I had to take EVERY. LAST. ONE. of these frames down the day before Christmas Eve (yes, you read that right!) when we couldn’t get the humongous new sofa bed/sleeper sofa up the stairs in one piece. (But that’s a decor-debacle story for another time).

Anyway, all this stuff has been sitting behind the living room sofa–and beside my office desk and out in the garage–for the last 5 months. Needless to say, the Spring 2020 One Room Challenge is just the KICK in the PANTS I need to get this shiz sorted out.

*It’s been 6 years and she still calls me Carol! The name’s Sandra, damnit! It’s Sandra!*

(Below is the sad, sad, sad image of what this space looks like now. I’m not crying, you’re crying!)

*This is the current view going up the stairs as you leave the freshly revamped entryway*.

But first… What is THE ONE ROOM CHALLENGE, you ask?

Currently in its 17th season, the ORC is only THE BEST place for interiors-related inspiration, ideas, and encouragement! As a widely anticipated biannual event–every April and October–each round, 20 design influencers are selected as Featured Designers to transform a space.

Also, anyone with a blog or Instagram account can join the challenge as a Guest Participant (me) by linking their own room transformations up during the 6 weeks. This time, because of The Rona, it’s actually 8 weeks, which should give me plenty of time, right? Uhhhh, sure, yeah, let’s go with that. Each Thursday, we report back to the powers that be, flooding the internet and social media with with the latest and greatest news, updates, and quarantine-related trials and tribulations of our room transformations.

So, here’s the transformation plan:

Paint mural on wall
Paint ceilings (stairway and hallway)
Rip out stair carpeting
Paint stairs, base boards/skirting boards, and railing
Install stair runner
Paint 2nd floor hallway
DIY radiator cover revamp (i.e., sand down, repaint, install cane webbing)
Reinstall gallery wall
Take photos to document this fabulousness!
Have a margarita!

So, thank you to Linda Weinstein, the creator/owner of the ORC who started all of this fabulousness, and BETTER HOMES & GARDENS, ORC’s official media partner, for the support and holding us accountable!

You can get more info about the ONE ROOM CHALLENGE, all Featured Designers, and a record-level 200+ Guest Participants (including me) by clicking here.