ORC Week 4: The Claws Come Out

What. A. Week.

I think it was this Spring when someone over at the One Room Challenge blog mentioned week four being the most challenging. Last round it wasn’t so bad. This one? Totally different story.

If you are new here from the One Room Challenge site, welcome! I’m Michelle – I bring DIY to life here on Breaking Down the Box! For this One Room Challenge, I am transforming our master bedroom – taking it from an afterthought to a gorgeous, Country-French escape. Read more about our progress below:

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

Last week, I brought to you the a-m-a-z-i-n-g scrap wood storage bed, which was the focus of the first three weeks of the challenge. This week, I bring to you (with a hefty glass of wine)…

… breakdowns!

A remodel, in general, can result in a lot of additional stress for a family. Whether it is the lack of attention the rest of the house is getting, the hit on the finances or the redirection of energy away from your spouse to ensure you are meeting your deadlines – emotions are running high.

When you attach a deadline to that remodel… amp it up to 10!

We had, what we will call.. a moment.

When I am working on my builds, I get REALLY sucked into them. Like… really sucked in. I love it. I have a hard time stopping.

So, these past few weeks, I have dropped the ball on a lot of things around the house – more-so than usual. During our moment the other night, it was made abundantly clear that there needed to be a shift in the balance in order to make sure everyone stayed happy and the challenge was able to continue on in peace (more or less).

So, what does that mean?

It means it will be even more interesting to finish this thing out. Budgets have been reigned in. Time limits are being implemented.

• There will be minimal expense moving forward. If I’m going to find side tables, they will basically need to be free.
• Time is going to be divided up differently. Working hours will be split half and half – at least one half to income producing work and the other half to the projects.
• Evenings will be a little less social – that is, backing off of social media from 5-9 p.m. at least.
• Kitchens will be cleaned!

There has been progress though.

Despite this week becoming a huge storm, I did make some significant progress with that chair. I am currently in the process of upholstering the back cushion – my sewing adventure has been interesting to say the least.

Plus, the fabric I am going to use for the back of the chair came in – here’s a sneak peek (saving the final product for the reveal!):

In addition, I had some really exciting news come through!

Graham & Brown has graciously joined in on my One Room Challenge by becoming a paint sponsor! Their paint colors are so gorgeous, I really wanted to re-paint the walls. But, see moment above. That would not have been a smart choice.

So, I asked them about providing the paint for my furniture. Remember the old set of Bassett furniture I snagged on Facebook Marketplace?

It’s gorgeous, but not nearly light enough for the look I’m going for. Graham & Brown features over 380 shades in a variety of finishes. The coolest part – which I unfortunately won’t have the pleasure of doing – is that they offer perfect wallpaper pairings with their paint.

Yes.

They take their signature wallpapers and pair them up with four different complementary shades to make paint choice a no brainer! Especially if you are like me – mostly into building but pretending to decorate.

I am really excited about using their Matt Emulsion in Ava White for my furniture pieces and look forward to a re-balanced week 5 and 6.

Pray that we can figure everything out for the big reveal on November 7th!

To keep up with the drama and progress of these projects – follow along with me on Instagram at @breaking_down_the_box.

Next week, I’m aiming to check a few more things off the list – including the barn door, chair upholstery and a few decor items! See you next week friends!