ORC Weeks #4 & #5

A little update on the progress for the One Room Challenge which is wrapping up next week.

The desk in the office is done and now there is 16 feet of desk to work at. This office by Lori Harrison that was featured in Style at Home was the inspiration for the desk configuration. We had an extra IKEA desk leg that I used to support the corner of the desk like in this photo.

I was a bit apprehensive to get started on the desk construction but once we got started it went together fine. My helper found the studs in the wall and we screwed the 1″ x 2″ ‘s to the wall to act as a support for the pine shelving.

After the desk top was in place I used a hand saw and mitre box to cut other 1″ x 2″ wood to face the front of the desk to not only make it look like the wood is thicker but to also add stability to the desk. Gorilla Glue and painters tape was enough to do this job.

A detail of the corner where the two desks meet. The desk wood was stained with my favourite and easiest stain to use. It’s Saman and is a waterbased Canadian brand.

Now one computer is set up with a hole cut out to put the cord through. There are still a few more things I want to do to complete this room. I have had some set-backs with the floating shelf but hopefully now I have the right drill bit to get going on it.

Earlier this week I was excited to see my post from last week about updating plant pots featured on Apartment Therapy.  They called it a Genius Hack to make Thrifted Pots look more Expensive. I picked up a few more pots yesterday (for $2.50) to add to the collection using this technique.

 

Here’s the link to see the other One Room Challenge Participants before the final reveals next week.

 

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Fall ORC – Week #3

 

Unifying with Paint

This week’s update for the One Room Challenge is about a quick and easy project.

We no longer have our plants or pots so I set out to get new ones for the office. Finding plants was easy but to buy new pots gets pricey and I needed quite a few. Now that we’re starting off fresh in so many ways and I’m continuing to use secondhand as much as possible I went to check out thrift stores for pots.   I decided to unify them with paint and in a grey, imitation cement look. Here’s the before (I’m still looking for a pot for the fern).

I used a chalky finish spray paint (and did a terrible job of it) to have a base for the paint to adhere to.

Then I painted them with a couple of different grey paint samples, Benjamin Moore Willow Creek and Baltic Grey to be specific.

Here’s the finished look. Now that the pots are all the same grey it’s not as busy with lots of colours and the plants take centre stage. Being able to choose secondhand items for their shape rather than colour made it much easier to find the right pieces however I still need to find a couple more!

These will be going on a floating shelf that I’m planning to put up above the desk.

 

Here’s the link to see how the other One Room Challenge projects are going:

 

UPDATE: Thanks Apartment Therapy for featuring this project!

ORC – Final Reveal – Part 2

Here is the final reveal of the planter box and lattice that I built for the One Room Challenge.

In the boxes I planted several types of kale since I know that they grow well in this spot and will provide us with steady greens into September. There are also 4 clematis plants to grow up the lattice and vinca vines to spill down the front of the boxes.

Here’s a reminder of what the fence looked like before. 

Now is the part that I love, watching the vines fill up the lattice and having a constant supply of leafy greens for the next few months.

The Before & After of this project is also on Apartment Therapy.

More photos of what this area looked like before I started and inspiration can be found here:

Week One – One Room Challenge

Photo Instructions on How to Build This:

 

ORC – Week 6 Reveal- Part 1

The 6 weeks of the One Room Challenge are over now and it’s time for the final reveal. My reveal is going to be a two-part post because I’m not quite done building and we were still having frost warnings last week so I’ll be waiting to plant. The planters are currently in place but in the photo above I drew in the lattice since it’s not done yet.

This was some prep work along the fenceline where the raised beds will be going. Since they’re open on the bottom I dug up the grass where the boxes will be sitting.

Constructing the boxes was so smooth and quick but staining them and the lattice strips have taken much longer than I had anticipated.

Here is the  14 feet of raised planters in place in the garden. This space already feels more organized and expansive with the black boxes.

The lattice is coming together and I hope to have it installed within the next 2 weeks. Since it is 8 feet tall I need a hand putting it in place plus there is still more lattice that needs to be stained.

In the meantime, by propping up some wood it gives me an idea of the space will look once the full screen is installed.

The final reveal is now on Apartment Therapy

Before & After: Plants and Privacy, What More Could a Backyard Need?

 

To see how the other One Room Challenges turned out click here for the final reveals. It’s incredible to see how much changed in such a short time.