Welcome to all ye newcomers and fellow ORC designers here! Be sure to check out my intro to our Primary Bedroom Suite project here. Week 2 of the One Room Challenge is donezo, and it doesn’t feel all that gratifying yet, if I’m honest, since so much has been just sourcing finishes and organizing things.
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Week 2 Recap
No big changes this week, it’s been more a lot of puzzling out a good color scheme so I’m not spending $100 on paint samples, ordering wallpaper in an alternate color, and troubleshooting the closet. OH, okay one big change that has been a bit of a distraction is considering whether to just go ahead and get the shower re-done after all, since we’ll be fully vaccinated next week. If the timeline works with our contractor and my grand plans, we’re probably doing it! I’m trying not to get excited though, because it’s all very hypothetical due to logistic considerations as of yet.
I didn’t share my actual to-do list for this project in last week’s intro. Here’s what was achieved this week, and what needs doing going forward.
Week 2 Tasks Completed:
Closet
- Purge walk-in closet (~60% done) AND also stay on top of laundry (mostly)
- Bag up donations (please tell me you know someone who needs 75 plastic hangers)
- Re-arrange clothes & shelves to determine if new ones are needed
- Ordered new wallpaper samples in lighter color
Bathroom
- Shopped for new hardware options
- Narrowed down colors for walls/trim
- Threw in major scope creep of looking into re-doing leaky shower
- Re-considered approximately everything, including current countertop
Water Closet
- Nothing really. Okay I cleaned the toilet.*
- Considered adding tiny sink to corner for pool access
Primary Bedroom
- Sort of narrowed down colors for walls/trim
*I do clean toilets regularly. If by some oversight I neglect to include this in every weekly update, please do not assume I have not cleaned the toilet.
The overall tasks list is down below an update on how the closet is progressing…
Primary Bedroom Walk-in Closet Progress
These are sturdy built-ins that are plain and although stark white, are in really good condition so I have no plans for a drastic reno in here. They were here when we moved in, and we said to each other with misty eyes we’d never have storage problems in this closet. Turns out we’re the problem! Scroll on for some embarrassing before and afters.
The only real change I made in here since moving in was hanging the zebra artwork and a curtain on a telescoping rod to hide the disaster in the back corner shelves.
The closet was set up for the clothes to hang on the right when we moved in, and it always drove me crazy how our clothes hung out over the drawers. The previous owners had a vanity staging area of sorts on the left side of the closet with deeper drawers. Finally a light bulb went off and I realized the rods are meant to go on the opposite side, and my closet dreams started to come true.
My plan after that milestone was to buy additional shelves assuming we had a pre-fab standard spaced setup (HILARIOUS). I spent far too much time googling shelf boards from different closet systems before using some critical thinking and realizing I can use the top shelf boards as additional shelves without compromising the structure since the units have a top bracing support behind every section (see the bottom right picture in the gallery). So I’ve started that process, and plan to get a longer plank to top the units.
Definitely better, but there are some fundamental issues we have to tackle before the aesthetics, ie more stuff than space HA. The handbag and shoe situation is a work in progress. We have no linen closet in the suite – actually no other closet, so I am also working on figuring out a solution for our bath and pool towels.
BEFORE: during a half-hearted initial purge Spring 2020 that I swear felt whole-hearted 
BEFORE: a hot mess (do we still say that in 2021?) 
BEFORE: clothes hanging on shallow side of closet, ineffective shoe storage 
PROGRESS: Curtain hung to hide back corner shelves and laundry area; testing scale for wallpaper 
PROGRESS: Hanging clothes moved to deeper built-ins made an even more dramatic improvement than expected 
PROGRESS: By adjusting shelving we have storage for most of our shoes
Overall Project Tasks and Scope
Here’s a breakdown of my to-do list via images of my overall project To-Do list on Trello – when you see the number of tasks you’ll understand why it’s photos instead of typed HA.
I use Trello to organize blog posts and any projects I’m undertaking with many tasks. This isn’t a sponsored plug, I’ve just been using it for quite a few years now and can vouch for the organizational power it provides. Things have gotten fancier and there’re some nice features in their paid plans, but I’ve stuck to the free software, mobile and desktop apps thus far.
Upcoming in Week 3
We need to figure out the viability of the shower and order tile samples, wall paint samples, finalize and order the wallpaper selection, and make decisions and start ordering finishes and decor. I have a couple small DIYs I also need to get supplies for. Hopefully I’ll have the closet layout wrapped up in week 3, and be able to cross off a few smaller tasks while I await supplies.
C’est tout for now, see you next week!
Maura
