It’s the most wonderful time of the year 🎶....well second to my favorite holiday of course.
For me, ever since I found the @oneroomchallenge it had given me something to look forward to. When I first left teaching and started my business, I found it lonely not working with other people throughout the day. With each week I participated in this challenge, I began to look forward to working with, cheering on and befriending other designers and diyers within the ORC community. Some of which I call dear friends.
It’s not a contest, it’s a journey for you to take with others; to challenge yourself and see how much you can accomplish for your home in 8 weeks and beyond. It’s a community that I am forever grateful for finding. It helped me when I was trying to get pregnant, while I was pregnant, post partum and now one year later; on a healthier road and ready to tackle another room in our house and turn it into our home.
My mood board for this year is based on the little girl within me. Our living room is small about 10x12. With its thin rectangular shape, it’s extremely hard to maneuver furniture anywhere else than the spot it was meant for. When we moved in last December I made it feel more homey with our Christmas decorations but have not done too much in making it feel more like us. Sure, I hung picture and baskets, painted an arch and the closet doors, but it still doesn't feel right in my bones. Especially the messy and disorganized closet in there (the only real closet in the house).
You can see the little things I have done to satisfy this itch until now but it's not enough for me to sit down and take a deep breath. Since I was diagnosed with adult ADHD on top of my anxiety and depression, (plot twist) I've been noticing how much movement and rearranging I actually do during the day to satisfy my creative energy. Sometimes, even the million things I do throughout the day to take care of Vienna, Arya and our household, it's still not enough to calm my hyperactivity and anxiety. I need more of an energy output, especially if I can't get to workout.
This week I was able to get one wall painted and, I dedicated my first ORC project to DIY For A Cure week (@diyforacure). I painted and wallpapered the shoe organizer to help spread awareness on childhood cancer. Most of week one was dedicated to helping raise funds for our smallest warriors. You can see the video of Vienna helping me flip the piece here.
So... what will I do to change our living room and make it feel more like the souls that live in it? I plan on ....
Painting the walls in the happiest color I can think of PINK …💕
Refurbishing our under the tv shoe organizer
Creating more organization in the closet
Refurbishing an old sewing machine table as a desk
Stripping and bleaching the antique mirror
Diying our standing lamp
Making a frame for the tv
Replacing door hardware
Refreshing the pillows and blankets
Fixing the closet tracks and doing some sort of treatment on them
And maybe some more ideas along the way...
Seeing it all written down helps me to
Focus on what needs to be done. Does anything other than organization NEED to be done? No, but I'm not satisfied with just need. I like to play dollhouse to make my inner child happy every day. To inspire my daughter to never be complacent and that her mommy can do anything. To show other renters that you can make a home your own.
Here's to another boho style room that’s fit for Barbie… it does have Vienna’s toys in it after all 😉
Follow my Instagram @aurorabyjacqueline and subscribe to my blog; if you haven't already, for more of my orc plan next week. Don't forget to check out all of the other inspirational guest participants and designers. How can you challenge yourself in 8 weeks? ❤️