One Room Challenge: The Morning Room

Hey there! Remember me? Sorry for the blogging absence, but I'm back! Nothing brings me out of a blogging hiatus like the One Room Challenge!

If you are unfamiliar with the idea, basically, it was dreamed up by Linda from Calling It Home, as a way to motivate herself & others to finish a room in their homes in six weeks time. Every Wednesday, Linda has invited 20 blogging & designing professionals to give updates on their spaces. Then, on Thursday, everyone else can join in the challenge in the form of a link party. This is always just the kick I need to get my spaces in order! Here are the three other spaces I have completed, all thanks to the One Room Challenge:

Shared kids' bathroom before:

 

...and after:

See the reveal here.

 The family room before: 

 

...and 6 weeks later:

See the full reveal here.

My daughter's bedroom before:

 

...and after:

See the reveal here.

You may have noticed from the photos above that my style tends to gravitate towards neutral spaces with pops of cheerful colors & a mix of modern & traditional elements. Almost all of the public spaces on our main floor meet these requirements, with the exception of two- the kitchen & the morning room. We are not quite ready to take on a kitchen renovation, so I have decided to make some changes in the morning room for this challenge. Let's take a look at it's current state:

 

Not 100% awful, but there is only one item in the space I would qualify as modern (the light) & there are NO pops of cheerful colors.

 

Obviously, these are older pictures as evidenced by the family room in the background, & there have been a few slight changes over the year (painted picture frames, new vase for the table, & a new secretary). But, the fact remains, this room needs help.  It really does look like such a sad space in our home with the lack of cheerful pops of color.

So, here are my plans to liven this room up on a seriously tight budget...

The Plans

1. The paint color (Toasted Almond by Olympic) & light will stay the same. Everything else will change in some way.

2. Replace the small "buffet" with a white Ikea Malm dresser.

3. Add trim around the windows. (We are still trying to figure out how to frame an arched window. Any ideas?)

4. Replace the curtains with the ones above, which are neutral, but bring in a fun pattern. (Hopefully I like these because I ordered them over labor day & still haven't opened the box!)

5. Re-finish the table in a darker stain to minimize the "orange-y oak" look.

6. Replace the chairs with two different styles. (I just picked up the side chairs yesterday. They are different than the ones above & are going to need a lot of love!)

7. Give the secretary a makeover in the form of black paint.

8. I still plan on keeping the cake eating pictures, but plan on DIY-ing some food art to fill up more wall space.

9. New lamps & accessories to provide cheerful pops of color.

So, what do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts... and while you're here, be sure to check out my home tour.

Don't forget to snoop on all the other One Room Challenge Guest Participants here!

 

Also sharing here: