One Room Challenge, Urban Chic She Den – We’re Talking Furniture!

Not sure how it happened, but it did! It’s Week 4 of the One Room Challenge !! If you missed the first 3 weeks, you can catch up here… Week 1 ,  Week 2 , Week 3.  🙂 Thanks again to Linda at Calling it Home and House Beautiful for sponsoring such a great Design event!!!

Are you all taking notes, planning a new space for yourself and hopefully one for me? 😉 As a reminder, I’m trying to make this a fun, learning experience. Each week I’m taking you step by step through the process of a whole room makeover. My goal is to help you understand the process, get you on your way and see how well you know me by selecting what you think I chose for each area of the room. The items I chose are in each week’s post! This week we are moving on to the big stuff…Furniture!

So now that your room or design has a purpose, a color scheme, a style…what next? Well now come the big decisions. The ones that can’t easily be painted over, or perhaps changed in a few months. I’m talking furniture.

Remember this inspo pic from Week 1.

While the pillows and artwork are inexpensive changes, the daybed/settee probably cost a pretty penny and is something you would want to keep for a while.  So it’s important to choose your furniture wisely.

Here are a few things I like to keep in mind when shopping:

1. Is the piece timeless or will it at least be a style that I can live with for a few years?
2. Is the material or pattern neutral enough to go with the new space if I change accessories or paint color?
3. Is it functional, sturdy and comfortable?
4. Does it make me smile when I look at it? Some furniture can be all of the above but it can also be boring. Buy something you want to look at daily and makes you happy!

So with these points in mind, I had to find items that would work in my She Den a.k.a. office, craft room, and music room.

Shop Your Home First

Don’t miss that point! Read it again…Shop Your Home First!! I always do this whether it’s for me or a client. Take a walk around your home and see if there are pieces you already own that can be reused or repurposed. This is a great way to save money and shake things up a bit.

How do you like this cabinet? It just so happens I have one, passed down from my grandmother who lived in NY and had great style! It’s a vintage Dorothy Draper chest and it is one piece that will never be given away. I remember seeing it as a child in her apartment and always loved it…now it’s with me and I treasure it. This piece is definitely going to be in my She Den. Not only does it have a great look, lots of storage, but it’s extremely sentimental. 😉

Another piece that had to stay was the piano. While my parents have the piano I grew up playing, this one was a yard sale find. It’s not an antique or anything special, but it does the trick and our kids love playing it.

Pictures like these make me think about what I can do with what I have. Hmmm…

Have you ever painted a piano? I know some have. Maybe I’ll give it a try! Well, I guess you’ll have to wait and see the reveal. 🙂

Since this room is going to serve as my office as well, I needed seating, a desk space, and more storage. Ultimately I wanted an area that my girls could use as well so a large desk space and multiple chairs were a must.

I worked with my friends at Bed, Bath & Beyond for these pieces. If you saw my New Look For the New Year post you know that Bed, Bath & Beyond sells way more than just bedding and bath items. Here are some of my top choices for seating.

 

I wanted something comfortable and stylish. Do you have a favorite? Which one do you think I chose?

Here are some of my favorite options for a desk area. Again, all these items can be found at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

I had to look at the space and consider the pieces that were already in the room and figure which shape would work best. Round, square, rectangle??? Then I had to decide on style and color. I made my decision and I LOVE it! Which one do you think I chose? Which one would you choose?

The best thing I did was sign up for Beyond+. I get 20% off and free shipping for a whole year with Bed, Bath & Beyond!!

Previously, I had a huge outdated armoire in the room completely full of decor items and “Stuff.” I got rid of the piece and everything in it opening up a space between 2 windows. Since I had a limited amount of space, I had to configure some new storage options.

Because I had to configure this piece to a special size, I went to IKEA. I have a confession… I hate, dread, and will do anything to avoid putting furniture together. While my mind is a constant creative flow of ideas, it is stumped when it comes to reading diagrams or being mechanical! 🙂 No joke! So this was a challenge, but I can proudly say, I did it…I put the storage unit together and it’s still standing!!! My sweet girls helped me and Mr. BeesNBurlap came in for one final touch at the end.  But I met the boxes of a million pieces head on and was proud I did it!

Since this space was previously my Decor Storage/Hoarding Room, I still needed some storage to keep the pieces I didn’t sell and wanted to hold onto, whether for me or for clients. This storage cabinet exceeded my expectations. 🙂 Can’t wait to show you!

So there you go. We’ve tackled all the major points in a room makeover. By now, you should feel more confident in starting a project like this! How are you doing in designing MY space? Are you keeping up? Choosing what you think an Urban Chic She Den should look like? Again, if you’re creating a board of items I’d love to see what you’ve come up with. Send me a DM on Instagram, or an email here and I’ll share your ideas on my Instagram Stories.

As a reminder, you can see all my images from these posts so far with my shortlists and possibilities on my ORC She Den Pinterest Board. Also, revisit Week 1 , Week 2  and Week 3 if you missed them!

I’m excited to be working with some of my favorite sponsors on this project… Bed, Bath & Beyond, Lamps Plus, Rugs USA , Joss & Main and Milton & King. I’ll also be sharing some small shops and artists with you along the way.

I hope you follow along with me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and here on the Blog to see the progress each week. I can’t wait to see what you design for yourself…and what you choose for me, at the end. Be sure to see what all the other Guest Participants are doing as well by visiting the One Room Challenge official site.

See you soon!