We are finishing up Week 7 of The One Room Challenge and heading into the homestretch. I have to say I am on the right track to finishing on time (which I wasn't one hundred percent sure I would be). In the words of @houseofesperanza, I am part of the "95% club." Those of you who do DIY projects at home know that a project may never really be truly finished. I have seen so many inspirational posts from my fellow guest participants and the Featured Designers, I can't wait until I am done next week and can really dive in and share more transformations of each beautiful space. I wish I could give credit to each and every person who worked tirelessly to create and transform their spaces because they deserve every ounce of recognition whether they finish the room or not. To design a space in your home is breathing new life into it.
The magic that flows from your thoughts of dreaming up the plans to executing them is such a process. I get frustrated when things don't go as planned. I need to stop, think, reframe, readjust and keep pushing forward. Now that I think of it, why can't I just adapt to this mentality in every aspect of my life?! I am able to do this for a client or during my own project, why wouldn't I be able to do this when I feel anxious of suffer from self-doubt?! This week especially showed an example of this mentality. I wasn't able to do much for the one room challenge the last few days except hang the new light fixture, since I was focusing on a client's project. I had a table and four chairs to strip, sand, prime and paint as well as finishing up the bedroom. The Behr paint and primer spray paint I had used started to crack on the second pass when I was working on the base of the table. I was getting annoyed at the extra steps I took to re-sand using fine grit sandpaper and then prime again before I distressed it with vintage wax. But I remembered that nothing good comes easy. The extra love and care I show to others' beloved furniture is essential to my business and the integrity of my work.
Needless to say that when we finally got the new chandelier in the mail, I was so excited for a distraction in my frustrating day, and boy was it a beauty! The gorgeous vintage style details, and the intricate and delicate boho beading were so beautiful. I couldn't believe I found it on amazon for only $119 dollars. After a long day's work, my husband helped me hang the new light. The look on my face says it all, I was apprehensive that the hook I took down that held the boho macrame hanger had made too wide of a hole for the new light hardware. He was convinced it was fine, but my nerves were shot Originally I had found a different light fixture that mounted to the ceiling but needed hardwiring from an electrician. Since we are renting and could not mess with electrical, I wanted to try the magic light trick and put in a tap light that was controlled by a remote to have a faux chandelier look for less. Brian had suggested we get this one instead. He reminded me we didn't have any overhead light in the room except for one wall sconce and nightstand lamps since we closed off the light behind the giant antique armoire. The light fixture we chose instead has an electrical cord that strings across the ceiling and plugs into the outlet. This gives actual light in our dark moody green room, which we knew we wanted when we eventually have a child and need see what we are doing.
When I screwed in the new hardware and put on the light I was in love. I will admit that I dreamt of the chandelier falling on me while I slept that night. While we worked on the light, Arya laid on the bed clearly unafraid of danger. She needs to be in the middle of every project, every folding of the laundry, every discussion, every disagreement and every night while we sleep. She's even next to me while I type this blog post. It's a memory I will forever hold with me. The disgruntled look on my face was also due in part to the short chain that came with the light. The chain was not long enough to wrap around the cord that stretched from the middle of the room to behind the velvet curtains. I did not want the cord to hang behind the tv on the adjacent wall. There was already a plastic electrical cord holder that ran down below the tv into the outlet that I painted green to blend in with the wall. Since we rent, we weren't able to run the tv wires through the wall below the mounted tv. Needless to say we aren't getting our security deposit back when we move from all the projects we have done, which is fine by us ;) .
The last of the projects before tidying up loose ends this week was the most plaguing to me. Since the chain on the fixture was so short, I needed to buy an extension chain to wrap around the cord that was draped along the ceiling. Brian had the great idea of hiding the cord behind the window curtains, but I still needed the chain to draw my eye away from the cord and look cohesive with the light. I put a poll on instagram to see what I should do. I knew in my heart what I wanted, so the poll was really just to see others' opinions. I know I need to trust my own gut instinct, I have done so all my life, and will continue to encourage myself to believe in me and not what others say they think I should do or who I should be. This is why I chose this life for myself isn't it? My gripe was that the chains I found on amazon did not have any color to match the chandelier chain. I was toying with the idea of spray painting the existing chain white to blend in with the ceiling and spray the cheaper nickel extension chain as well. The other option was buying the gold chain to match the theme in the room and using rub n buff on the metal parts of the chandelier and chain to transform the chandelier to a more vintage inspired, antique gold. I was being lazy and didn't want to do the work, and I was a little afraid to ruin the beautiful light. But Nothing good ever comes easy right? I decided to buy the gold chain and go with option b. I am excited to try it this week and put up the finishing touches our bedroom needed before the challenge is over. I know in my heart I chose the right option. It is my room after all right? I'm the one who is laying down and looking at the chandelier with hearts in my eyes <3 <3.
I can't wait to see how the light fixture comes out. Week 8 is right around the corner and instead of rushing towards the finish line, I am taking my time, taking the extra days past the post day and waiting until the right minute to finish and share my transformation. I don't want to be like everyone else. I want to be me. The email I received from the ORC reminded me to utilize that extra time and not rush. I hope everyone does the same because beauty takes time. Even if it's only 95%.
xoxo- Jacqueline