So we’re at the halfway point of the One Room Challenge! And I have to tell ya, not much has happened in the last week. The goal was to have the baseboards and other trim painted and caulked. The wallpaper was also to be installed. It’s amazing how things can change in a week. I should mention I’m also having some exterior parts of my home painted and so the powder room was to be included in this work. However, the last 3 days have been cloudy and rainy; which is delaying the paint job. This set off the chain reaction of everything else being pushed back (wallpaper, plumbing)to next week. Sigh. So today’s post is a bit of a detour. Since my powder room literally looks the same as it did last week; I figured now is the perfect time to write all about my experience and emotions that led me up to this point…
As you know this is my first go at the ORC. I’ve sat on the sidelines and watched others dive into this challenge for a couple of years now. The transformations are so fun to watch! As for me, I was terrified to join!! That same adrenaline rush I felt watching others finish their room in 6 weeks is what kept me away from participating. My sole thought was, imagine if I started but wasn’t able to complete the room??
So February rolls around and I know I’m planning to refresh my powder room. I’ve started thinking about design options and realize the ORC starts in April. Hmmm…should I throw caution to the wind and join in as a guest participant? I ponder the thought 5,892,763 more times before convincing myself I can do it; as long as I have an outline of the 6 week process and how I want everything to happen. I sign up. It’s about to go down ya’ll!!
Then this whole pandemic thing happens and completely turns my life along with the rest of world upside down. How in the hell can I work from home, home school and stay sane?? The challenge isn’t even an option thanks to shelter in place. I’m convinced this just isn’t meant to be.
Then in early April, I get an email from ORC stating the challenge is postponed until May 7th and will be 8 weeks instead of 6. Hope is somewhat restored; maybe this pandemic will be a bit more under control? By now I’m in a routine with my new normal that has kept me from choking my husband and abandoning my kids and this home school life. So yes, it is quite possible I will still participate. I just need to adjust my schedule outline now that I have more time. Woohoo!!
From mid April up until now, I’ve been working hard behind the scenes. The first priority was scheduling with subs once the shelter in place was lifted. Fortunately, my neighbor is a contractor and so I talked with her about my plans and she told me to just let her know when I was ready to get on the schedule.
Once that was taken care of, I started figuring out a design direction and began ordering those big ticket items like the vanity, toilet and tile. Ordering through my trade accounts was out of the question due to at least a 6-8 week lead time. So I knew retail was the way to go. There are lead times with retail as well but I knew it would be shorter if the items were in stock versus the delays I would experience with wholesale vendors.
Additionally, I knew there could be a possibility of items coming in damaged (thanks Wayfair) and would need to be re-ordered so I didn’t want to procrastinate with the turn around time on that.
And so here we are folks in Week 4. I’m so happy I gave myself a chance with this! The biggest take away with this has been the planning. Now I know I’m only at the halfway point, but I have an idea of what to expect with the next 4 weeks ahead. That came from me establishing a draft outline of what I thought the 8 weeks would look like and tweaking as I go along. This outline helped me figure out those items I needed to jump on ordering now versus those things I could wait on once the ORC was underway.
Are you thinking about participating in the Fall? I would encourage anyone who is on the fence to absolutely do it!! Figure out the type of project (refresh versus renovation) you’re interested in tackling and then get to planning! A renovation that involves changing the layout of a room is definitely going to require some forethought; especially if the ORC goes back to 6 weeks. But its doable!! I would highly suggest that you get started on it beforehand and be sure to document your design process as you go. The ORC actually encourages this; just as long as you can show your before, durings, and after!
I now realize I was a ball of nerves for no reason about this challenge. I’m having fun along the journey and that’s so important. Stay tuned for Week 5 and I’m hoping you’ll stick around to see the reveal for Week 8.
And…I may or may not drop my name in the hat for the Fall!
