One Room Challenge Week 4: Upgrading from builder basic

It’s crunch time now at the One Room Challenge week 4. I am at the point where I can’t tell if I’m in okay shape or in serious trouble. I had several setbacks this past week but almost everything is back on track. Two items I ordered were shipped to our old apartment. Luckily the new tenants are very nice and cooperative. I left a note on their door explaining my situation and they brought the boxes to the apartment leasing office and I picked them up on Saturday. The second set back is that the new hardware I wanted for the master bath won’t fit (more on that coming up).

The good news. I finally found someone to install the crown molding. My cabinet maker took pity on me when after half a dozen calls, no one was willing to do the job for me. Correction, several people said they would do it but not until December or “early in 2019”. He is coming on Friday to install it. I am not a construction DYI kind of girl so I had sleepless nights over the stress of not knowing how the molding would get installed. Here is an update of where I am currently at the One Room Challenge week four.

Master Bedroom

The rug is being delivered today so we cleared everything out. When I look at this image, my heart races a bit because everything needs to be in and styled within the next week and a half. At the moment I am waiting on several key pieces to arrive. I’m cutting it close because two items are scheduled to arrive the day before my scheduled photo shoot. That’s the reason why I might be in serious trouble.

The positive news is that the wallpaper is up, the room is painted and my two walnut and steel bookcases are in place from Article. They are perfect for the reading nook at the far end of the room. It’s taken so much restraint to not load them up with books and start styling. I know they’ll have to be moved when the molding goes up so I have to be patient.

Over the weekend I finished painting the crown molding from ORC sponsor Metrie. I painted it Simply White by Benjamin Moore which is the color of the existing molding in the main spaces.

The molding pieces arrive from Metrie primed. If the wallpaper hadn’t already been installed I would have painted it after the installation. That’s the ideal scenario but since my wallpaper person was only available before I could get the molding up I had no other choice. As it is, I will still need to fill the nail holes and touch up. That won’t be nearly as messy though as painting it all while trying to keep the paint off the wallpaper.

You can see in this photo below why I really need the crown molding. The lines where the ceiling meets the wall and the wallpaper meets the ceiling are not very attractive. I know the molding is going to make a huge difference.

Master Closet

We finished off the closet cabinet installation this past weekend. The satin nickle hardware from Schuab elevates it to feel like a high end closet. My husband also installed the semi flush gold fixture from Cyrstorama. The closet is so beautiful and functional now. I keep standing in the doorway, admiring it. The one thing I am trying to decide (if there is time) is what to do with the back of the shelving. I’d love your opinion. Should I leave it as is? paint it? wallpaper? I feel like it needs something but maybe after I style the shelves with pretty things it won’t be an issue.

 

Master Bathroom

If you remember back to week one, the master bathroom is actually very nice. However, we had no say in choosing the fixtures and most of them are not to our taste. I knew last Spring (even before I was asked to be in the ORC) that I would change out the lights, cabinet hardware and fixtures. These are all relatively easy updates that don’t cost a fortune, yet are a big bang for the buck. Once I saw that three of my favorite hardware and plumbing vendors; Schuab, Emtek and Hansgrohe were ORC sponsors, I was thrilled.

Faucets

The current faucets are the exact same ones we had in the apartment. They are too traditional for my tastes but also, I would not pair satin nickel with marble. Nickel is a warmer metal than chrome and has a slight yellow undertone. Against the cooler blue gray of the marble counter top it looks dull, almost dirty. Actually, after posting this photo I see it IS dirty!

 

This beauty is what I will replacing the existing faucets with. The Metropol from Hansgrohe.

 

This is going to look so great against the marble and I love the clean sleek lines.

Shower head

My husband has been complaining about the shower head since we moved in. He likes a bigger spray area, ideally a rain shower head. I am fine with a smaller head but the problem is, I like a detachable  head. It’s very challenging trying to clean the shower by “aiming” the head at the area to be washed and rinsed.

To solve our shower head problem, Hansgrohe has the perfect solution. We’ll be installing a Chroma SAM shower pole with both a Croma showerhead 220 and Croma select S handshower. My husband will be happy to have his rain head and I will be happy to have a hand shower for easier cleaning of the tile. I can’t wait to get these installed.

Hardware

Changing out the cabinet hardware has surprisingly been a huge headache. I clearly remember standing in front of the limited hardware choices on “selection day” and not liking any of them. After not being able to make a decision I pointed to what we have now. I knew I would change them out so I decided I didn’t care. Listen up because this is a valuable lesson if you are going to be replacing existing hardware. 

Replacement cabinet pulls are measured from C to C. That means Center to Center. In other words, from where the holes are in the handle, not the length of the handle. That I knew. I have no idea where our existing hardware is from but the C to C size is not standard.

The majority of cabinet hardware comes in even lengths like 3″, 4″ or 5″ C to C. Occasionally it varies like 4.5″ or 5.5″ but NO ONE has our size. Our current hardware is a very odd 3-5/8th” C to C. I spent hours looking at every single handle listed on BOTH Schuab and Emtek’s website and there was not a single 3-5/8th” pull.

Amy, who was my contact for both companies was stymied. She suggested I get a handle with a broad cap so that it would cover new drill holes. She sent me a sample of a base that would work. I love the handle but the thought of “drill new holes”, makes me nervous. This will be my husband’s project. At first he said “no big deal”. Now he is covering himself by stressing how precise the drilling must be and asks if I’m okay if the handle is a little “off”.  WAIT…What? NO, I’m not okay!

These are the handles from Schuab that we are going to give a try. They are the Lumiere 4″ pulls in Lucite and polished chrome. They are beautiful so fingers crossed my husband can attach these without destroying the cabinet front.

Towel racks

Since I am updating the hardware I decided to update the towel bar and towel ring as well. I know it’s a small detail but our current towel bar is driving me crazy. It is too small at only 20″ long to hold two bath towels. The towels are always bunched up and they never fully dry out between showers. I ordered a long 30″ towel bar from Emtek as well as a matching towel ring. 

As silly as it sounds, I’m super excited about a new towel bar and ring. Both will be in chrome finish along with a matching toilet paper holder.

Lighting

The bathroom scones are something else I was anxious to swap out.They are a nondescript builder basic sconce and we have the same lights in both bathrooms. I donated them to Habitat for humanity and they were happy to have them.

I wanted something “different” and looked for something long or rectangular shape without a bare bulb pointing down. While looking for the master closet light I happened upon this vanity light from Crystorama. It is the Palla antique silver 4 light vanity light.

Oh…my…gosh, it is absolutely beautiful. It looks so pretty with the marble and the glass discs sparkle up on the wall and onto the ceiling. My one concern before I ordered it was that it wouldn’t be enough light. It’s actually perfect. With four lights in each scone there is plenty of light, even for putting on my makeup.

Door Knobs

You probably think I am the biggest snob to complain about the door knobs but honestly, they are the ugliest knobs out there. Again, they are builder grade satin nickel and look so dated for a new build.

I have coveted Emtek’s high quality door knobs for quite some time now. It might surprise you but I ended up choosing the satin nickel finish. It was tempting to follow the trend and pick a satin brass or matte black but as a one time stager, I am always thinking resale. I want all the door knobs, at least the finishes, to match. What will be different is the shape. I picked a more modern updated round knob with a rectangular back plate. These are such a huge upgrade from our current knobs.

Next up for week five is that everything needs to be installed. I also need to nail down art work, bedding and accessories. Yikes, like I said before, I can’t tell if I’m in good shape or seriously behind. Be sure to check out the other featured designers on their progress and the link up participants tomorrow.

If for some reason you are just discovering the One Room Challenge you can catch up on my previous weeks progress with the links below.

My room: One Room Challenge Week One

The plan: One Room Challenge Week Two

Progress: One Room Challenge week Three