Since I had to remeasure the turns on the steps and send the material back to our stairway runner peeps to sew the edging on, it was necessary to go ahead and do the second stairway now. It did set me back time-wise, but it was a necessary move since I want everything to look uniform.
So, I’m not going to meet the ORC deadline, but I’m glad about doing it this way, because it all gets done at the same time.
It’s OH SO close to being done, but I’m not going to rush it.
I’ll keep doing updates to this post to keep you all informed of my progress!
In the meantime, here’s where we’re at with the hallway…
The hallway is looking pretty great!
While I’m continuing on all of that, go check out all the fabulous REVEALS from all the One Room Challenge Featured Designers here and Guest Participants (like me) here!
Week 7 is not the week to run into a snafu, but such is life. I’m just rolling with it, though.
Recapping from last week: Our stair runner guru from Stair Runners Direct sent me these sexy little Salvador sisal stripe stair runners, so I couldn’t wait to play around with it.
Isn’t that dark blue edging the perfect color to pull the entire space together?! It’s a bold, vibrant, extravaganza of color, prints, and textures!
Wouldn’t ya know it, though. I had to go and pick out the hardest pattern to try and match up on winding stairs, especially when your carpet guru isn’t local and can’t come to the house to measure directly with the material on hand.
If you look at the arrows on the pics below, you can see those winding stairs aren’t quite a match on the edges. So, the Stair Runner Direct people being the wonderful human beings that they are, offered to send me the uncut material directly this week so that I can cut it myself while installing the straight part of the stairway.
So, once I’m done getting the perfect cutouts, I’ll send them the materials so that they can sew on the dark blue edging. No biggie, though. It’ll just be 2 stairs that won’t be finished while I wait for that to happen.
So close, but not quite a match on the edges.
Plus, with all the Covid-related warehouse/shipping delays, I’m waiting on my super-fantabulous Ourika Berber-style Runner from La Redoute Interieurs. Fingers crossed it makes it before reveal time!
So, we’re back to this:
Tearing out carpeting
Priming
Painting
Installing stair runner
While I’m scrambling to catch up on all of that, go check out all the One Room Challenge Featured Designers here and Guest Participants (like me) here!
As for getting my walls done during week 5, let’s just say “disaster” would be an understatement. But since I’m all about putting it ALL out there for you guys–the good, the bad, AND the ugly–the photos below will give you an idea of last week’s shenanigans. I definitely don’t make things easy for myself. LOL
I was looking to transition some colors from the lower stairway to the upper stairway in a fun, bright way, but after playing around with multiple colors and designs, I wasn’t feeling it anymore. It all distracted too much from the blue palm wallpaper in the guest bedroom, which is my pride and joy. Plus, all that orangey-red was giving me an eye twitch!
So, I was reminded of that old U.S. Navy design principle, “KEEP IT STUPID SIMPLE,” and painted the entire stairway and hallway in those fabulous Valspar Glistening Aqua and white stripes. Much better, right?
These are the outtakes…YIKES!!!
Speaking of changing my mind, I was going to have the same runner for both stairways as well as the hallway that joined the two, but now this whole situation was just turning into a STRIPE-A-PALOOZA, which I wasn’t feeling anymore either. So, back to hours, and hours, and hours, and hours of online shopping I go!
The hallway needed a good color mix–along with some graphic and textural intrigue–to tie the stairway, hallway, guest bedroom, and living room (my next ORC revamp) together, and this super-fantabulous Ourika Berber-style Runner from La Redoute Interieurs was love at first sight! (I Photoshopped the rug into this image from ORC Week 3 to see how it would look, and I’m not ashamed to admit I’m all GIDDY about it!) Hopefully this little honey will get here before reveal week, though.
Speaking of super-fantabulous, here’s a closeup of those sexy little Salvador sisal stripe stair runners from Stair Runners Direct. I chose a dark blue edging to give the other colors that extra pop!
Needless to say, this week it’s gonna be ALL ‘BOUT THE STAIRS:
Tearing out carpeting
Priming
Painting
Installing stair runner
While I’m doing all that, go check out all the One Room Challenge Featured Designers here and Guest Participants (like me) here!
Wall Colors + Stair Runner Templates (the stuff nightmares are made of)
These are the DULUX wall colors I (FINALLY) decided on
You know that feeling of excitement when you’re ready to paint a wall? Yeah, I thought I did too, but that feeling of excitement rapidly faded into the murky deep abyss of this stairway below and was replaced with pure exasperation — and a few choice expletives!
After I got done caulking the baseboards (which look fabulous now!), I had to go back and re-spackle the ENTIRE bottom edge of the wall — from the top of the stairs ALL THE WAY DOWN to the bottom of the stairs — because there were some gouges left in the drywall (meaning: I left them behind after I got overzealous with the caulk scraper last week while removing the old, cracked caulk).
Anywho, moving on….
So to derive SOME joy out of this week of tedious tasks, I decided to at least measure out my stripey-muralish wall and slap on as much blue painter’s tape as I could, so that it looks like I actually DID SOMETHING!
You see that magnolia-colored area where the wall meets the baseboard? THAT’s where I had to RE-SPACKLE!
Here’s a closer view of the stripey wall AND the bottom wall areas I had to go back and spackle
The transition from my fabulous tropical palm leaf stencil wall to the wide stripey wall
I first measured out 3 huge stripes (then erased them, because they were overwhelmingly IN.YOUR.FACE!), then 5 (and erased them too), then decided that 7 stripes was the lucky number!
Then we had NIGHTMARE #2:Making stair runner templates
And since I don’t like making things easy for myself, I decided to go ahead and order stair runners for the 1st floor stairway AS WELL AS the stairway leading from the 2nd to the 3rd floor. So, that meant making 3 separate sets of templates! (NOTE: this 2nd stairway would be FAR TOO AMBITIOUS to include as part of the 8-week ORC, but I don’t want to go back next year and find out that the rug maker no longer produces the stairway runner I chose, because that would be MY KINDA LUCK! So, I’ll be completing this section later in the summer, at my leisure, with wine).
Anyway, you may be asking yourself, “Why is she making three separate sets of templates?! Aren’t the angles pretty much the same?”
Well, a logical person would certainly THINK SO! But whoever was responsible for putting in these stairs must’ve missed a few weeks of trig class, because the angles on these stairs were a HOT MESS!
Let’s just say the sum of 3 angles = 180 degrees of pure crap! So, it took me several hours to make each template from scratch, because of varying hypontenuses (hypotenusi? hypotenusen? whatever the plural of that word is). So, this is what I eventually ended up with. They’re all packaged up and sent off to the fabulous Nicola at Stair Runners Direct so she can work her magic.
1st set of stair runner templates … so far, so good
2nd set of templates (which I thought should be the same size as the 1st set), but that would be TOO EASY!!!
3rd set of templates … MORE angles of varying sizes!!!
So, that’s my crazy week in a nutshell.
And since crossing things off a list makes EVERYBODY feel better (read: MUCH LESS likely to throw out some choice expletives), here’s what I got accomplished this week in list form:
Re-spackled the ENTIRE LENGTH of the wall
Painted the wall Dulux White (it’ll be the base color for the stripey-muralish design)
Taped off the wall stripes (after rendering, erasing, rendering, erasing, and rendering again)
Chose my remaining Dulux wall-mural(ish) colors
Made the (god*%#ned) templates for the stair runners
And the ceiling paint came in this week (in much less time than the original estimated 30-day timeframe, I might add), so I’m definitely WINNING AT LIFE from here on out!
So, I’m all set for the weekend.
Meanwhile, go check out all the One Room Challenge Featured Designers here and Guest Participants (like me) here!
Well, this week was loads of fun! While I was waiting for the stair runner samples to arrive (Covid-related postal delays, I’m guessing), the fabulous cane webbing I ordered from Naturtrend DID come in, though. So, I decided to tackle the Facebook Marketplace radiator cover project this week. Just look at this beautiful AFTER shot!
Here’s the BEFORE view…
I got it for £5 from Facebook Marketplace
It was painted in matt magnolia wall paint! LOL
Anyway, this project required me to don my Covid mask and venture out to my local hardware stores (Screwfix and B&Q) to get:
My favorite Zinsser primer (you know the one … the Zinsser All-Purpose Oil Base, White-Tintable, Cover Stain, Interior & Exterior, Primer-Sealer, Stain Killer that works with both oil and acrylic paints …that one).
Valspar acrylic-base wood paint in Blue Dusk (a heavenly, warm-toned, inky, dark tealish-blue).
While I was there, I looked for some more Dulux Light + Space matt ceiling paint in First Frost (because wouldn’t ya know it, the 2.5L can we used for the entryway and the guest bedroom ran out before Big P could finish painting the stairway/hallway ceiling).
And of course, B&Q doesn’t carry that line right now/(anymore?), so I’ve just ordered it from Homebase, which states the order will be delivered within 30 days. Here’s hoping it arrives BEFORE ORC reveal day! Bahahahahaha!
Here’s me social distancing at B&Q, but what’s up with that chin?! LOL
In the meantime...
The stair runner samples from Stair Runners Direct arrived later in the week and I got a chance to play with ALL of them during my lunch break. It didn’t take me long to decide on thesaucy Salvador Sisal Stripe Stair Runner, because, look at those vivacious pinks, oranges, yellows, and reds!
Big P dubbed this situation pre-school finger painting hour. Whatevs! (**eye roll**)
Anywho, I’m going with the Salvador sisal stripe stair runner
Yep, looks SPECTACULAR in the hallway next to my new radiator cover, too!
And BOOM!!! It works FANTABULOUSLY with the wallpaper in the guest bedroom, too! (It’ll be in the hallway right outside this room, so that was an important factor in the decision-making process).
Right, I’m off to paint my stairway walls in a mural-ish way this weekend. WISH ME LUCK!!
Meanwhile, go check out all the One Room Challenge Featured Designers here and Guest Participants (like me) here!
From looking at this entryway photo above, I bet you didn’t think there’d be a burning eye sore just to the right of it, did you?! Well, the image below puts that idea swiftly to rest, doesn’t it?
And just so you understand the true gravity of the situation, looky up yonder.
The stairway of shame!
Anywho, this week I’ve tackled some pretty major stuff. #notsomuch
But I did, however…
Spackle a million nail holes from my previous, maximalist gallery wall and sand down the walls
Scrape off oodles and oodles and oodles of caulk between the wall and baseboards
Select and order samples of these stunning stripey stair runners, which should arrive in the next couple of days
I call them razzle-dazzle RIO,
spectacular SALVADOR,
and fabulous FITZROY…
Meanwhile, I found out that my local hardware store is starting to provide post-lockdown paint mixing services again, so I don’t have to continue trying to conjure up my own paint colors for the wall! (Believe me, I’d hug those wonderful bastards if I could!)
So, tomorrow morning at 7:30, I’m heading down there, mask and hand sanitizer on, and hopefully won’t have to stand in the 2-meters-apart queue for too long before the diuretic effect of my morning coffee kicks in — or my social-distancing stress level rises. Wish me luck!!
But at least I’ll be able to check this off the list:
Select paint pot samples for the stairway and 2nd floor hall walls
In the meantime, a big 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 hundreds of Guest Participants (including me) by clicking here.
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
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.
