Today’s the day! It’s finally time for my One Room Challenge Fall 2019 Reveal, or Project Fresh Start. A year and three months of living in our new downsized condo and it is finally decorated. I know you don’t want to read a lot of text and want to get straight to the photos…and I have a lot of them to share. However, I do want to thank Linda Weinstein of Calling it Home blog for dreaming up this six week challenge and Better Homes and Gardens for being the media sponsor. Without this challenge I think we would most likely still be living in an undecorated home.
If you are so inclined you can read about my design process over the past five weeks. Week One// Week Two// Week Three// Week Four//Week Five
BEFORE Photos To refresh your memory
Quick back story: My husband and I downsized in 2017. We lived for a year in a small apartment while searching for a condo close to Boston. We moved in fifteen months ago and did very little while I figured out how we wanted to use the space. For this One Room Challenge, I decorated the dining nook, sitting area and kitchen.
Dining nook:
Plastic office table, outside patio chairs, builder basic chandelier (hung WAY to high).
Sitting area:
Old random mismatched furniture and no rug. Two very healthy plants though!
Kitchen:
No back splash, no personality, and structural changes, were off limits.
Lack of storage:
The clutter of items on the floor speaks for itself. We also had two random counter height stools that were too short for the bar height counter.
Floor Plan
Our condo has a VERY challenging floor plan. The first floor living space is only 19′ x 19′. There is a kitchen, a small sitting area to the right, and a dining nook off the hallway. To complicate things even more, the room is chopped up by traffic path way that must be kept open to back slider.
AFTER Photos
First a couple photos of each area and then lot’s of detail shots will follow. All photos except for some of the detail shots are by interior photographer Emily O’Brien Photography
Dining Nook
I absolutely love our little dining nook now. It has lot’s of personality which it desperately needed since it is really nothing more than a niche in the hallway across from the kitchen. For the dining table, I asked Stacey of Dunes and Duchess to color match the table base to the back splash tiles in the kitchen. I chose a walnut stained top to relate to the floor. When the table was delivered I couldn’t stop looking at it. It blew me away and was even more beautiful than I had imagined.
The statement making chandelier is from sponsor Currey and Company. Again, I wanted something with a wow factor because the space itself is not very remarkable. The chairs are Mally Skok for Dowel Furniture. I first saw these chairs last Spring at High Point Market and instantly fell in love them. Mally’s Botswana tree fabric on the seats and pillows are a perfect companion with the table.
The bench is from Article and I found a gold and white check fabric (discontinued) from Duralee to have it reupholstered in. I like how the bench now relates to the chandelier.
And the ART!! Remember I told you that Annie Damphousse of Housse Studio offered to paint me some custom art work for the nook? She brought over about ten different pieces for me to choose from. I stood there and with every single one she held up, I said, “I love it”. It was so hard to choose but check out the three I finally settled on. I think they are absolutely perfect. Annie also custom designed all the table linens and the two dish towels in the kitchen.
KITCHEN
The new green crackle tiles in the color Basil from Fireclay has freshened up the previous boring all white kitchen. I chose to go with a traditional subway tile shape in a 3″ x 9″ size and stack them for a more updated look. It’s a little hard to tell by the photo but since the tiles are hand made, they have a wide variation in tone. I wasn’t sure I was going to like that but now it’s my favorite part of the kitchen. My beautiful new hardware are the Freestone brushed satin knobs from Emtek. The pulls are the Trail brushed satin also from Emtek. Dish Towels: Annie Damphousse, Housse-Studio. Rug: Dash and Albert Indoor Outdoor
SITTING AREA
Our previously sad sitting area is now a joy to be in. Two custom designed low back swivel chairs accommodate both TV watching and conversation toward the bench on the opposite wall. The wing Chair is from Highland House and the buffett is from Woodbridge Furniture. I wanted something other than art work on that far wall because I didn’t want it to compete with the art on the TV. A living moss wall from Tree Masters (to the trade only) brings in a bit of nature and also carries the green of the back splash tiles and table base to the sitting area side of the room. The fresh moss smells amazing and will supposedly last five to ten years with simply an occasional spritzing of water. A Peacock Blue pillow adds a pop of color to the animal print chair and is from my favorite pillow vendor Arianna Belle. Boston potter Jill Rosenwald created the gold and white vase on the coffee table.
The custom 8′ round rug is from Sylvie and Mira.
The TV art
The TV is one of the new Samsung art TVs. I uploaded a photo that I took last Spring while at the top of the Vessel in NYC.
Above is the original image. I made it into a black and white and boosted the contrast so that it would relate better to both the rug and the back of the swivel chairs.
The best part about the TV is that I can change it out the art work for something new whenever I feel like it. I have no affiliation with Samsung and this is not a sponsored post. I just really love this art feature when having the TV over the fireplace is the only option.
WALL OPPOSITE FROM SITTING AREA: TWO VIEWS
Swivel chairs facing bench
From sponsor Currey and Company are the bench and the black and white table lamp. The two wooden masks are from Umasqu Studio. I discovered this new art source a couple weeks ago while at High Point Market. I was looking for something with presence for that wall and I wanted something I could hang high on the wall to balance the built in pantry. It was down to the wire if the art work would make it into the room because it was delivered to the wrong address. After knocking on many doors and taping notes to neighboring homes I finally located the package.
Swivel chairs facing TV
As already mentioned, the chairs can face any direction which has already proven to be very useful
PANTRY
My beautiful pantry! It took a full year for this storage space to become a reality and I can honestly say it was worth the wait. I gave a lot of thought to the design and my cabinet maker, Mike Gendron of MLG Wood Working did a stellar job of building it. From the very beginning I knew I didn’t want the pantry to look like the kitchen cabinets. My thought was to design something different but not so different that it would dominate the room.
With the help of master decorative painter Pauline Curtiss of Patina Design, we came up with these soft organic water color like stripes. They are gold with just a hint of green. I chose the slim brushed satin Edge Pulls from Emtek to support the stripes but not be the focal point.
Open walk way
Since we have to keep the walk way to the back door clear, it is the perfect spot for Mr. T. Never’s bed. He loves it there and spends a good part of the day looking out onto the back yard. He’s always on alert hoping for a squirrel or bunny to come into view. The rectangular carpet is also from Sylvie and Mira.I chose a pattern to compliment the round rug using the same colors plus gold and blue.
The painting on the far wall is by my friend Pamela Copeman.
More images and vignettes
And now for some alternate views and vignettes.
All table linens by Annie Damphousse, Housse Studio. The holidays are fast approaching and I think some of Annie’s custom linens would make the perfect gift.
I paired her colorful linens with black flatware so that they would really pop. The black and white polka dot napkin rings I have owned forever.
Pillows and chair seat fabric Mally Skok designs
You can get a better view of the variation of the tiles in this shot. The green outlet covers were a lucky online find but they are actually from Home Depot. The original white ones were much too distracting.
Hardware: Emtek
Dish Towels: Annie Damphousse, Housse-Studio.
Pendant Lighting: Regina Andrews. Bar Stools Tronk Design. Besides decorative painting, Patina Designs makes pottery. The plates and napkins on the bar are from her and here is a better look at her pottery.
When my son was little he was obsessed with bugs. The framed walking stick on the buffet has been with us for about 25 years. The dog snake was a Birthday gift from my husband when we were dating.
The moss living wall is from Tree masters
Pillow: Arianna Belle. Coral knobs on buffet, Anthropologie. Lamp and accessories, existing. Drink table: Ballard Designs
Coffee table: Charleston Forge. Rug: Sylvie and Mira custom
My side table that I ordered for the challenge has still not arrived. This glass West Elm one is a temporary substitute borrowed from my studio. The gold iron bench and table lamp are both from Currey and Company. Rug: Sylvie and Mira, custom. Wooden masks: Umasqu Studio. Pillows custom.
No room for bookcases so I stacked some of my design books on the floor and perched some of my favorite accessories on top. The lady’s head painting is by Pamela Copeman Art.
Wing Chair: Highland House. Pillow: Arianna Belle
The new pantry counter is now our coffee station.This frees up a lot of kitchen counter space.The art work is by Laurie Leavitt. I’ve known Laurie since I was five years old. We grew up across the street from one another and I own several pieces of her art. This one of the pears has always been one of my favorites and I am so happy it has a place of honor in my home.
Below is a close up of the decorative stripes to give you a better view.
Now to enjoy the finished space.
So there you have it, my One Room Challenge was a full year in the “thinking about it stage”. Then five weeks of mostly awaiting around for furniture to be delivered, followed by another week of lost packages, and set backs. In the end though, as always, things worked out.
I am grateful to so many people who helped me complete this challenge but I want to give a special shout out to my friend Gail. She was my sounding board for weeks (months) as I made my way through this challenge.
Lastly, a thank you to my very patient husband who lived for a year in a very sparsely decorated home while I thought about how I wanted our new little home to look and feel. He also hung the pendant lighting and massive chandelier, switched out all the kitchen hardware and installed all the green light switch outlets and plates.
There are so many great reveals to check out between the featured designers and the guest designers. Now that I’m done, I know what I’ll be doing this weekend. Lot’s and lot’s of reading!
so beautiful- that little nook is my favorite part!
Thanks Cassie, I think my favorite as well!
Linda… I can’t get over it. It is all so thoughtfully done and BEAUTIFUL! I am going to have to think a long time about my favorite detail… but the shimmer on those backsplash tiles is sticking out right now.. they are gorgeous!
If ever there were a master of mixing color and pattern to create a happy and functional home, it is you.
I love it. Congratulations!
Thank you so much Leslie. Your comment means a lot to me!
Beautiful, stunning swivel chairs and chandelier!
Love, love, love everything! And love how you have a little bit of NYC there as well. Beautifully done.
Thank you so much Marina!
Beautiful (as expected)! I love your choice of green as your accent colour. It will always look fresh! And that table is truly a showpiece!
WOW Linda!!! Congratulations!! There are SO many details I will have to review your post several times to soak it all in.
What I’m so impressed with is how you took an awkward space and designed it to meet your needs and love of color and texture too.
Brilliant solutions! Love the swivel chairs and so many more details.
Excellent job. Doesn’t it feel great that despite all the mishaps you have a space to enjoy for years to come?
Beautiful! Xo
Oh wow! I love every inch of your space!
Linda, you have such talent in pulling a room together. This just goes to show that smaller spaces can certainly pack a punch! From the swivel chairs, to the dining table, to the bench. And the pantry….it’s just divine!
Congratulations on all of your hard work!
Thank you so much Sheri! It was a lot of work but ultimately worth it.
It is spectacular!!! You are so talented Linda! The cohesive beauty and attention to detail is so warm, joyful and welcoming. Just like you! You told your story beautifully. I love it and love you my friend! Cheers!!!!!! Xoxo
Michelle, you are such a kind and generous friend. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 😘
Love, love, love. Truly spectacular. I can’t choose a favorite thing – maybe the custom built pantry – as I love it all.
Catherine, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!
Such a beautiful place you created Linda! I love how you have so much texture and pattern, yet it’s all so harmonious and soothing. Brava!
Thank you so much a Linda!
Wow! It’s beautiful Linda! So many thoughtful details. Truly spectacular!
Thank you leslie! I so appreciate the comment!
I love it Linda! Your home looks light and airy and happy. It’s obvious you really took your time to plan every thoughtful detail. Enjoy!!
Your comment means so much to me, thank you Elle!
This is so well done Linda! I love the colors, and the way you mixed interest. The scale is so good too for the space.
Thank you Angela. I really struggled with the scale. I’ve never had to design for such a tight and awkward space. It seems to work nicely for us now.
It’s beautiful! Loving all of it! You are masterful! 💛
Thank you so much Jennifer!
I can barely contain myself over this makeover. You are amazing. It’s all so perfect. Obviously taking the year to think about how it all should fit together worked to your best advantage! I love it all, Linda!!
Thank you so much Christine. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the challenge we would still be living in a sad, undecorated space. I’m happy I pushed myself to do it and I am so appreciative of your comment. Now I’m waiting for your reveal!
It sounds like you are an Obliger…so you need external accountability to get certain things done, especially for ourselves. Nothing wrong with that (most people are obligers). Find out more at https://quiz.gretchenrubin.com/. This is not an ad, I just think it is super cool to what motivates us. 🙂
Wowzers Linda! Can I come stay with you for even a weekend? haha. What a fresh and beautiful space! The scale and function of everything is on point and the colors are so serene. I love those swivel chairs! And the painted door inserts are to die for! As always, beautiful job. Thanks to you, I am sending my order in for a couple of those masks from High Point. They are fabulous.
Veronica, You have an open invite to visit me whenever you feel like making a trip to Boston! I would be honored to host you…seriously, any time! The masks are great. Such a fun find from Market. I’d love to see what you do with them!
I think I’ve looked at thousands of kitchens… and yours by far, is my favorite! It is beautiful and thoughtfully, artfully constructed. But it is also so very personal. I think that’s what I love the most about your spaces; they are tasteful and curated and uniquely You. I’ll be coming back often to look at these photos to enjoy and be inspired. I’d love to know what the counter top material is and the color. Thanks for sharing and BRAVO.
Wow! Thank you Minda for such a nice comment! I don’t know the name of the counter top because it is whatever the builder put in. I do know it’s quartz but that’s about it. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
You did a fantastic job with the space! Very creative and thoughtful!
Thank you so much Terri!
Wow! So impressed with all the details and customization, Linda! That table base really brings such a nice color statement there. You did a beautiful job!
Coming from one of my design hero’s, I am over joyed at your comment. Thank you Carla!
What a transformation! I was so happy to find you among the guest participants again and just wanted to let you know that you’re actually my favourite ORC designer ever. Of all of them!
I’ve been so impressed with both your earlier participations and this project is just as amazing. Your designs are always so elegant and still they are super functional and also soft and inviting – a perfect mix.
I also love the way you share the process during these challenges, so thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into these posts. Wishing you all the best and hoping I will get the opportunity to follow you through new ORCs in the future. Warm greetings from a very happy reader in Sweden!
Wow Cecilia! Thank you so much. This is my favorite comment so far. I am truly honored and grateful for your support. 💕
Linda, you are truly a gifted designer, and an inspiration to us all. I hope we get to meet one day!
You are so kind a Kathleen, thank you!
Wow, Linda! This is SPECTACULAR! I love every. single. detail! I can’t even pick a favorite…the rugs, the pillows, the lighting , the furnishings, the backsplash, the pantry, the artwork, the linens…even the photo you uploaded to the TV! All of it perfect! The devil is in the details and you’ve knocked it out of the park with your attention to each one of them!
Thank you so much Janet! I so appreciate your nice comment.
Linda. Linda. Linda.
Your work never ceases to amaze and delight. Every part of this project is interesting and elegantly engaging.
You’ll always be my #designcrush
Oh my sweet friend. You will always be my human crush!
Such a beautiful outcome Linda! You did an amazing job, congrats!
Thank you so much Maria!
One of my most anticipated reveals and it is stunning! The furniture choices, rugs, accessories, and layout are genius. Thank you so much for sharing your journey with your followers Linda. Absolutely gorgeous!
Thank you so very much Shandra! I greatly appreciate your kind comment.
Wowza!! Beauty abounds in this perfect space. Every selection is spot on and I especially love the green table base. Genius. Bravo to you Linda.
Thank you so very much Laura. I so appreciate the comment.
Oh My! Spectacular design Linda, you have that magic touch for sure. So much interest everywhere you look. Love moss art, what a fab feature. I could go on and on about every single design element. It’s all just stunning!
Thank you so much Angela! The best thing about the moss is the smell. I walk into the room and it smells like the forest!
You did a spectacular job, Linda. It is not only a functional space, but full of lively color and interest. I, especially, love how you incorporated the panty and made it a special looking piece of furniture – love it all!
Thank you Vivian! I so appreciate the nice comment coming from an expert designer like you.
Bravo Linda – what a beautiful space!!! The details are perfect. I’m so happy for you to have a magazine worthy custom designed space for yourselves!!! You deserve it. Xo
Thank you so much Nancy!!
Brava Linda! Your home is stunning, I love the color and texture. You have shown how to live in a smaller space without giving up design and beauty. Congratulations!
Thank you so much Holly. That was my intention all along.
What a pure talent you are my friend. Your vision never ceases to amaze! Awesome job, now can I come over for coffee???
Thank you…come on over!!
Love everything! Love the pantry area, the tile, the new table! and chairs, everything! You truly have a gift for designing beautiful spaces. Each piece is so beautiful! Love your accessories too. My superstar friend! So happy for you. Now relax for a few days! xoxo
You are so kind Kelly. Thank you my friend!
That is amazing transformation…truly! Your use of space, color, pattern….everything is beautiful. I think one of my favorite parts of this makeover is that it’s the size of home that many of us can relate to. It’s doesn’t have to be a large space to pack in a lot of style and function. Love it!
Thanks Paula, It is so much harder and takes so much more planning and thought with a smaller space. There is always a solution though in the end.
Linda, this is so beautiful! I’m in love with every detail! So fresh and fun. Love the space planning of the awkward living area.
Thank you so much Suzy. The space was awkward indeed!
Really wonderful, Linda. You always come up with something so creative & unique and LIVABLE! And I can’t help but love every single bit of green you use. Enjoy your new space! 😉
Thank so much Amy. I didn’t know you were a lover of green like me!
So much character and thoughtfulness! Those are two of the most important things for me in a space.
Thank you Keira. Since everything was new I tried to give it as much character as possible by my choice of fabrics and colors.
Linda, Linda, Linda!!!! This is so YOU!
It’s absolutely perfect! You must be thrilled, I’m so happy for you.
Thank you so much Jil. I am so happy it’s done and now we can move on to other things…like enjoying our new town.
One word! BRILLIANT!!!
Congratulation, Linda!!
Thank you!!
What a fabulous space and transformation! Love all the colour and it is so bright and happy. The backsplash tiles are beautiful.
Thank so much a Sarah. I was so hesitant to pull the trigger on those green tiles but I am so happy I did.
Gorgeous! I absolutely love the tile and the chandelier — and all of it!
Thank you Angela! A couple of my favorite elements as well!
As I looked at every detail my mouth dropped more and more open.. It’s an absolutely gorgeous home. The fabrics and colors are so earthy and soothing – I can’t imagine ever leaving home. This is one stunning makeover.
Thank you so much Jamala for such a nice comment!
The nook furniture caught my eye, but once I started reading this post, it just got better and better! I love that you designed a small space that can be used in more than one way, and everywhere I look there is something eye-catching to look at more closely. I am so impressed. This makeover will stay with me. You’ve taught me very useful styling tools. Thank you.
Such a nice comment. Thank you so much Stacy!
This is so beautiful! I love every detail and have marked too many things to look at time and time again. I want to redo my Miami Beach condo and I think for the first time in years I have found inspiration through you. I need more color and fun.
Beautiful! Is the dining table a vintage piece you had painted? It’s so nice to see how a little imagination can transform a small space.
Hi Margaret, No, the table was custom designed with that that green as the base color. I would definitely do that to a vintage piece though!
LOVE all the gorgeous detailing and ingenious functional use of space – especially the swivel chairs! Congratulations and thank you for sharing your brilliant design. Truly inspiring.