• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Linda Holt Creative

interior design and photography coaching

  • About
    • Contact
  • Brand Partnership
  • Portfolio
  • decoratingDecorating Services
    • Ask The Expert
    • Color Consultation
    • Decorating Consultation
    • Designer For A Day
  • photographyPhoto Services
    • Iphone Camera Coaching
  • Blog
  • Classes
    • Smartphone Photography for Interior Designers
    • Better IPhone Photography
  • FREEBIES
  • Shop

One Room Challenge Week two: My pied-a-terre

April 11, 2018 by Linda Holt 21 Comments

Here we are at the One Room Challenge Week Two. This Spring the Boston Design Center is a sponsor of the ORC and I was honored to be asked to transform a space for them at the Innovation and Design Building. This large open loft space has a killer view of Boston but is, shall I say, I bit rough around the edges. I am transforming it into my imaginary pied-a-terre.

Last week I began visiting the showrooms to see what they were willing to lend me. I started with showrooms that had a more contemporary vibe which I am envisioning in my “hip city loft”. Not surprisingly, some were more “enthusiastic” than others about lending out their furniture. As of now I have secured a rug, a table, two open bookcases and a sofa chaise. Needless to say I have a LONG way to go.

My One Room Challenge Space

The space itself has undergone a cosmetic improvement. As I mentioned in week one, since this is a commercial building, I am not allowed to alter the walls or ceiling.Originally I thought of tenting the ceiling but the HVAC air vents down so that was a big fat “no”. I was however allowed to paint the floor. That is now complete and boy did it made a huge improvement.

men painting white floor in loft space
One Room Challenge week two

I always tell clients that paint is the biggest bang for the buck and it certainly was in this case. The guys also painted the bright yellow electrical cord on the back brick wall to camouflage it a little. I need to figure out a work around of those cords but I’m thinking a large table and artwork will hide most of it.

painted white floor in loft space
One Room Challenge week 2

The starting Point for my room

I knew from the get go that creating a cohesive space with furnishings loaned from different showrooms was going to be a very big challenge. This is called “piecemeal” decorating and is the most difficult way to complete a room. I decided choosing a rug was the best way to begin. Since the space is large at 31′ x 21′, I needed the biggest rug I could find.

Carpet showroom JD Staron was able to meet the challenge and found me an 18′ x 14′ rug. This rug is the starting point for my color palette as well as something to warm up and soften that raw space. To be honest, it was not what I had initially imagined and upon seeing it I blurted out, “Oh wow! It’s REALLY blue”! I hyperventilated a little bit and then realized it would be fabulous against that bright white floor.

bright blue rug made from recycled silk sari

The cool thing about this rug is that it is hand woven out of recycled silk sarees. After hearing about the labor intensive process to create a rug like this it’s understandable why the process takes up to six months to produce. This is what the dealer emailed me about the process.

”Silk garments are extremely popular in the Asian culture, therefore there is an abundance of these, that once no longer used, go into recycling plants. The mills that produce the recycled sari have their own plants where they send in “pickers” to pick out the similar colors for that particular rug (i.e if you want red rug they will pick out all similar reds from the pile). This then goes into a shredder to turn them back into fiber and eventually spin it.”

Now that I have secured a rug, I can work on creating a design plan. My pied-a-terre will still be light and bright like the inspiration photos I shared last week, but I have switched design direction a bit. This bright blue rug dictates a bolder color palette so my plan is to incorporate more saturated color. I don’t want to give anything away just yet but here is a hint of the direction in which I’m going.

Fabric design plan

Next week I hope (pray) to be able to show you what I have procured for loaned furniture. Today, I’m off to do more “begging”. Wish me luck!!

In case you missed week one you can catch up here: One Room Challenge: Week One

Be sure to see what progress the other featured bloggers have made on The One Room Challenge Week Two and on Thursday the link up bloggers.

Apartment 34 | Beginning in the Middle | Coco & Jack | The English Room | The Gold Hive

Gray Malin | Jenna Sue Design | Jojotastic | Kelly Rogers Int. | Linda Holt | Marcus Design

Michelle Gage | Natasha Habermann | The Painted House | Rambling Renovators

Sacramento Street | Shannon Claire | Sketch 42 | Stephanie Kraus | Style Me Pretty Living

Media Partner House Beautiful | TM by ORC

 In by chance you are new to this series, the One Room Challenge was started by Linda of the blog Calling it Home. Each April and October, twenty featured bloggers have six weeks to completely transform a room of their choosing. Each Wednesday the twenty bloggers update their progress. The following Thursday, hundreds of other bloggers who have linked up to the challenge, share their progress. It’s a wild six weeks filled with challenges but somehow in the end almost everyone finishes in triumph.

Related

Filed Under: Design, One Room Challenge Tagged With: before and after, Boston Design Center, Decorating, Innovation and Design Building, One Room Challenge, One Room Challenge week 2, ORC, room makeover

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Darla Powell says

    April 11, 2018 at 6:37 am

    Love the progress, Linda!

    Reply
  2. kelly says

    April 11, 2018 at 9:17 am

    So exciting! I love the blue rug- even more now because of how it is made. You just flash that pretty smile at those vendors and I’m sure you will do great! 🙂 Have fun and try not to stress too much!

    Reply
    • Linda Holt says

      April 11, 2018 at 11:48 am

      Thank you Kelly! I know blue is your color (like me). It really is a spectacular rug.

      Reply
  3. Emily says

    April 11, 2018 at 9:22 am

    Linda I love that white floor with the blue rug!!! I really cannot wait to see where you go with this!!!

    Reply
    • Linda Holt says

      April 11, 2018 at 11:47 am

      Thanks Emily! Working hard to get everything done before our shoot!

      Reply
  4. joanna // jojotastic says

    April 11, 2018 at 1:14 pm

    those colors and textures are SO juicy!

    Reply
  5. Angela Taylor says

    April 11, 2018 at 3:23 pm

    Way to go Linda! Love that blue rug and background story. I am envisioning it in my D/R:)
    This is so exciting, and I wish I were on the east coast as that is where it is all happening! Best of luck with your search for what you need to complete your room.

    Reply
  6. Claire says

    April 11, 2018 at 4:01 pm

    Can’t wait to see what you do with this space. LOVE that rug! Go get ’em lady!!

    Reply
  7. Carla Aston says

    April 11, 2018 at 5:07 pm

    Love the rug and that you were able to paint the floor. You’ve got a great start!

    Reply
    • Linda Holt says

      April 11, 2018 at 5:43 pm

      Thank you Carla!

      Reply
  8. Mary @ I Like it Lovely says

    April 11, 2018 at 5:28 pm

    That’s an amazing rug and the story behind it is wonderful. How cool!

    Reply
  9. Michelle Cortizo says

    April 11, 2018 at 9:39 pm

    It’s going to be great!! Your joy comes through with everything you do! XO

    Reply
  10. Veronica Domurat says

    April 12, 2018 at 10:34 pm

    Can’t wait to see the final product and imagine along with you your artsy friends hanging out there. What a fantastic space.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Hello & Welcome!


I am Linda Holt and for as long I can remember I have had two passions, photography and decorating. This blog is about those two passions.

Search my blog

Browse by Category

Recent Posts

  • Revealing what’s in my Smartphone photography kit
  • Best NYC Christmas photo spots
  • Macro photography with the iphone
  • Emerging Furniture Trends from High Point Market Fall 2022
  • High Point Market Insider’s Tour Spring 2023
  • Where to get the best photos on Nantucket Island
  • Signature Kitchen Suite True to Food Tour in Napa
  • Emerging design trends from High Point Market Spring 2022
  • The latest color trends from High Point Market Spring 2022
  • Seven mistakes that ruin your smartphone photos

LET’S GET SOCIAL

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @LINDAHOLTCREATIVE

For those out there that believe you have to have For those out there that believe you have to have an expensive digital camera to call yourself a photographer.  #nottrue  #smartphonephotography #iphonography #androidography #photographytip
Testimonial Thursday. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Testimonial Thursday.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Deborah aka @thepillowgoddess has the Android version of my smartphone photography class. I was so happy to receive this testimonial and hear she has learned things about her camera she didn’t know existed. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Interested in what you will learn in my Smartphone class? 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1. Hidden camera features: iPhone, Samsung or Pixel option
2. Composition 
3. Mastering interior Lighting
4. Best practices for photographing Flat lays and table tops
5. Better Selfies and group photos
6. Interior photography 
7. Editing
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Full details in the link in my bio above. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#stonehamphotographer #bostonphotographer #smartphonephotography #phototips #cellphonephoto #iphoneteacher #iphoneography #androidphotography #phototipsandtricks #travelphotography #realestatephotography #publicspeaker
Have you downloaded my free guide “Five Steps to Have you downloaded my free guide “Five Steps to Follow before the Shoot”? If not, link in profile.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Tag me or DM me with any of your interior photo questions. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
 #stonehamphotographer #bostonphotographer #smartphonephotography #phototips #cellphonephoto #iphoneteacher #iphoneography #interiorphotography #phototipsandtricks #travelphotography #realestatephotography #publicspeaker
Thankfully, I can confidently say I am not 😉
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Truthfully though, vintage items and antiques add a sense of history, and give a house a soul. If it is an antique with a story…even better! 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
 #decorating #interiordecorating #stonehamma #bostonma #colorconsultant #newhomeowner #decoratingconsultation #downsizing #decor #colorhelp #decoratingcoach
As a color lover, it really struck me that KBIS, a As a color lover, it really struck me that KBIS, aka The Kitchen and Bath Industry Show, showed so much black and white. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This beautiful bath was from the New American home. It was right on trend with being black and white.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Want to see more photos from my trip to KBIS as well as more trends? Check out this weeks blog post.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Link in bio above ⬆️ 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#designhounds #newamericanhome2022 #KBIS #KBIS2022 #kitchen #bath #trends #stylespotter #homerenovations #luxkitchen #luxbath #luxappliances #luxuryhome #colortrends
Most people assume a bright sunny day is the best Most people assume a bright sunny day is the best lighting when heading out for a day of photography. Wrong!! 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
A bright sunny day has harsh lighting and usually not the best time to shoot. You will struggle with hot spots, dark shadows and washed out colors. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Instead, head out on overcast days, foggy days, early mornings or late afternoon. You will be rewarded with soft, beautiful lighting, just like in this image of Boston. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
 #stonehamphotographer #bostonphotographer #smartphonephotography #phototips #cellphonephoto #iphoneteacher #iphoneography #mobilonly #phototipsandtricks #travelphotography #realestatephotography #publicspeaker

Copyright © 2023 LINDA HOLT CREATIVE · Designed by Fancy Girl Design Studio