It’s insanity time! And by insanity I mean it’s One Room Challenge time. For those of you unfamiliar with what I’m talking about, twice a year Linda from Calling It Home challenges design bloggers to completely make over a space in 5 weeks.
Now you may be thinking to yourself, completing a room in 5 weeks doesn’t sound that bad? Oh but it is! Don’t get me wrong, it’s exhilarating and fun but it’s a TON of work. The weeks fly by and us DIY’ers work ourselves into a DIY delirium but in the end the results are worth it. You should try it!
For this ORC round I will be doing my son Josh’s bedroom. Since moving into this house Josh has been waiting patiently (most of the time) to have his bedroom painted and decorated. Last spring when I designed a special room for his brother as part of the One Room Challenge I assured him he would be next. He was really great about watching his brother get his room done first and now it’s Josh’s turn. Josh, your day has finally come, let the make-over begin!
The Bedroom Before Pictures
Believe it or not, this room actually looked worse but I picked up the floor and pushed in the dresser drawers before snapping this photo yesterday.
As you can see it’s a blank box with a lot of junk. Everything in here is going. The desk will be the first to go since it’s sized for a 3rd grader and my son is now almost 13, taller than me and wears size 11 shoe. Seeing him trying to sit at that desk is a pretty funny sight. To replace it, I have an old art table that I’m going to try to salvage for him. The lockers and bunk beds are going too.
I will be changing out the dresser with a midcentury modern dresser that I intend to paint in some fun way. I’m not sure exactly what that will be but when I figure it out, I will show you.
I hope to replace the tiny bookcase with something mid century modern as well. I need to start checking out the thrift stores to see what I can find.
Pop Art Mood Board
For the new bedroom I’m going with a modern pop art theme. Josh is really good at football, Xbox and art. A football theme room is always nice but it’s done a lot. He would probably love an Xbox theme room but fat chance that is happening. So that leaves the art theme. The challenge will be to create the room in a cool teen way and not a hot mess color circus way. I think you know what I mean. In addition to the potential bad color kaleidoscope that could happen, I need to find a way to make my many ideas cohesive with each other. It will be a challenge but I’m going to give it a try. Here is the inspiration design Board I put together.
The Plan
• Clear out the room and find a home for the bunk beds
• Paint the ceiling white (currently it is saltine cracker yellow)
• Paint and outline all the walls
• Possibly paint a mural
• Possibly paint a comic speech bubble wall
• Repair and paint a dresser
• Repair and paint an art desk
• Find a chair for the art desk
• Add new lighting
• Add new accessories
• Build a new bed frame
• Build or repurpose and book case
• Design and paint two art pieces of
• Build a frame for the canvases
• Build shelves
• Create/ build white boards for the wall
• Find new bedding
• Purchase a new mattress set
• Beg my dear old Dad to help me on a few of these builds ( pretty please Dad, you will be my most favorite Dad I have ever had)
• Daily remind the son that he owes me bigtime (I’m looking forward to this task)
Let the madness begin!!
Just a quick note of raw honesty… As I read through this list I’m getting some anxiety. My biggest challenge is always time but as of recently I’ve had an extra challenge. My husband became seriously ill this summer and spent most of the summer in the hospital. Yesterday he went back into the hospital. I’ve gone back and forth on whether I should be taking on a decorating project with all that is going on with my family. With all that, I’m extra concerned about having enough time to dedicate to the projects that need to be accomplished.
When I told my husband I was going to pass on the room this fall, I was surprised to hear him say he wanted me to proceed with the One Room Challenge. He told me he thought not doing the room was a bad idea. After thinking about it, I can understand where he is coming from. For one, Josh has been waiting for this room for over a year and I’ve promised him several times I would get it done. For Josh, I need to make this happen. Along with Josh, I think my family needs life to go on like it usually would. We’ve had some very tough days and my family longs for life to go back to normal. Oddly enough, crazy projects and mom’s wild hair ideas are our “normal”. So life needs to continue and I need to put on my big girl pants and press on. I don’t know what tomorrow looks like but for today, I’m going to paint myself a smile and keep going!
Happy Creating,
Pop Art Bedroom Week 1 / Week2 / Week3 / Week4 / Week 5 / WEEK 6 Reveal!!!!
Check out a few of my other One Room Challenges, Shark Teen Bedroom & DIY Dining Room Makeover
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I’ve been working on my daughter’s room little by little shifting her to a style she loves. She’d outgrown her room this year she’s a freshman. Good luck with your makeover. Thanks for sharing at the #InspirationSpotlight party.
Thank you so much. Good luck your daughters room too!
Hugs,
Jenny
Jenny, so glad that you decided to do it. I have not been as sick as John, and my heart and prayers are with you all, but knowing that I was holding my family back was really hard on me. I hated feeling left out, but seeing everyone else stalled in time was worse.
I love your plans, the room last year was out of this world. I love that you have such creative ideas and I can’t wait to see where this is going. I am sitting on the edge of my chair in anticipation. I sure wish I was closer, I’d do grunt work!
And Jenny, you got this! <3
I feel that moving forward is a great idea. Sometimes, doing little, or in this case, big projects can help keep your mine of things you cannot change, but are still there for your family. Especially, for your husband while he recovery. Just don’t forget to take care of yourself too.
Cannot wait to see the end results of Josh room. I know it will be beautiful . I am sure he will be even more appreciative that you did his room, when you have so much on your plate already. You are a ROCKING mom/wife.
I love this theme and can’t wait to see how it turns out. Even if you do not get it done in the time frame, I am sure it will be worth it!
This looks like it’s going to be such a fun space, and hey, when a family need arises, you do what you can. If it takes longer than 5 weeks, I’ll still follow along and see the reveal when it happens. Praying for you and your family.
Hi Jenny! First of all, I’m so sorry to hear that your hubby isn’t well – I hope for a speedy stay in the hospital and that he can get home to you soon. Second, I can’t wait to see what it looks like when it’s done! PLEASE come back and share the results of your one room challenge at Share the Wealth Sunday Link up! (And thank you for visiting this week.) Oh and – “He would probably love an Xbox theme room but fat chance that is happening.” Best. Mom-Line. Ever.
Thank you so much for the encouragement!! I really appreciate that! I will for sure share it when it’s done. Hugs, Jenny
I can’t wait to see this fantastic room when it’s finished, Jen. Just like Lynn said, do it as you can and don’t feel too pressured with everything else going on for you.
i love the idea of pop-art in a boys room, It’s so much fun and the color ideas are endless.
Hey Jen, I do think this will be therapeutic for you and your family and hey…there’s no law that says it has to be finished in 6 weeks. It’ll get done when it gets done, so don’t let that time frame put any additional pressure on you. Just try to enjoy the process. I can’t wait to see what it looks like!
Many hugs and positive thoughts coming your way.
Hugs, Lynn