We are tackling the One Room Challenge!!
The One Room Challenge is a bi-annual event that features 20 featured designers and many guest participants who makeover a room in six weeks. The event is hosted by Linda Weinstein of Calling It Home and Better Homes and Gardens.
By the way, if you’re here from ORC, welcome to KS Design Company! We are a mother-daughter team based in Kansas. KS Design Company is a brand-new venture for us. We are excited, motivated, nervous, basically all the emotions.
My mom and I have talked about joining the One Room Challenge for a while now. We have admired from afar—both featured designers and guest participants. The wealth of inspiration feels like a treat when it rolls around every six months.
Don’t let all that daydreaming fool you. Have we been preparing for the One Room Challenge? Have we started this renovation? That would be a resounding no. So, we will be doing the renovation in real time #livingontheedge.
We have decided to tackle my living room. I feel butterflies-in-the-stomach giddy thinking about the end result. My family spends the bulk of our time in this room, and the room has stayed relatively the same since we moved in eight years ago. There is nothing wrong with how the room currently is, but the room is longing for a fresh look (it told me).
Here are the main goals for the room:
FUNCTIONAL (All caps is no accident. I am shouting it). If I was designing the room for aesthetic only, the sky would be the limit. But, my family has to do life in this space, including my toddler and 60-lb. dog.
Casual. We are decidedly un-fancy people. I hope the room is a place people feel welcome, where they can lounge and have good conversation.
Eclectic. By this, I just want to incorporate different styles, not just stay in a single design lane. I appreciate when a room feels layered and has pieces that blend together.
This is the room in its current state.
The room has some good bones: the beautiful original hardwood floors, the big picture window, a fireplace. There will be some challenges though.
Stay tuned to see how we tackle these obstacles:
Toy storage. No playroom in our little Cape Cod home, so it is natural for my one-year-old to play in the living room. Space is of high value though, so we are going to have to get creative. Or live a more minimalist life style.
Seating. The seating needs to be maximized. Currently, four people can very comfortably hang out and that’s just not quite enough. I would love to squeeze in a couple more, but I am also competing with weird floor vent.
Lighting. Do you see all the big windows in the room? Normally, the equation is:
big windows + sun = lots of awesome natural light.
What throws a wrench into our equation? Giant trees in the front yard. Thus, about 3/4 of the year, when the trees have foliage, the room is actually pretty dark.
Next week, we will go into the big picture design. In the meantime, make sure to check out the 20 featured designers and the other guest participants over at the One Room Challenge site.
XO, Kylie
