I can't believe it's week three of the One Room Challenge and I've never even mentioned what the heck the ORC is all about! I just assumed you found me through the ORC blog if you don't know me personally. But we all know the saying to assume makes an a$$ of you and me. The ORC is something I've wanted to do for a long time, but was always too nervous to participate in. There are 20 interior design professionals selected to share their journey in a room transformation and also brings together interior design enthusiast and gives them a platform to share and encourage each other to finish their transformations over an 8 week period. So many amazing people participate and it's always been so fun to follow along on the journey.
Anyway, this week is week three and to be honest, I'm losing momentum, but I will press on. I've ordered the wallpaper for the bathroom, still haven't ordered a rug, and am looking for new hardware for the closet doors. The bed frame arrives today, which is really exciting, but I'm not going to have them set it up because, well, I need the rug first. Of course, the rug I really want doesn't come in the size I need, but I'm considering heat-seaming it together. It looks like Home Depot rents the heater, but what if I botch it? Has anyone out there done this??? Here is a picture of the rug from Safavieh Home.
I love how graphic it is because the wallpaper in the bathroom is a small pattern with a lot of detail. If I wuss out on trying to heat seam two together, then here are the other two options I'm considering.
My goal is to make a decision this weekend. Now, on to why the title of this blog post is "This is so satisfying." This week I stripped the paint off and refinished one of the nightstands. I used a heat gun while in our bedroom to see how easy it would come off, and sure enough, it came off and then started smoking so bad that I was sure I was going to catch something on fire. My other dumb move was carrying the nightstand by myself down the steps to the garage (hello lower back pain). Once I started I couldn't stop, the paint was peeling off in nice strips and while I'm sweating and peeling my 5-year-old walks over and says, "Oh my that is so satisfying." He's right, it was. The problem with the heat gun is it didn't pull the paint out of the grain, so I had to get Citrus Stripper to actually finish. For the final stain, I used Zar Modern Walnut. Below are the before, during, and after pictures. I'm pretty proud of myself for my first refinishing project. Now I need to get the other one done this weekend!
I know once items start arriving that I've ordered I'll pick up speed, but man it's hard to stay motivated with the cold weather and rain right now in Kentucky. Besides refinishing the other nightstand over the next seven days I'm also going to make a bolster pillow in the same fabric as the curtain. I've never made one before so fingers crossed I can sew a tube and a circle together! In the meantime, check out all the other fabulous participants on the ORC blog.