It’s that time of year again.

Kicking off this fall season of the One Room Challenge with a big project that must be completed on time! For those that may not know, the One Room Challenge, or ORC is an 8-week event that brings together designers, DIYers, decorators, and homeowners as we renovate a space in our home. It’s not a competition, but a community of encouragers. It’s a way to help keep all of us motivated to finish that “home project” instead of letting it linger for months on end.

The One Room Challenge is hosted by Better Homes and Gardens beginning on September 29 and ending November 19th with our final room reveals. You can follow along with all the participants on the ORC’s Blog where weekly updates will be shared every Wednesday and Thursday.

THE PROJECT

Mike’s home office has been a hot topic for quite some time now. When the pandemic hit and we were focused to stay home, it became abundantly clear this room design and the furniture in it were not suitable for the needs it needed to fill.

The room is dark and closed-in. Though I adore Benjamin Moore’s Van Deusen Blue, this room is in desperate need of a paint upgrade with lighter and brighter walls. Mike often hosts Zoom Calls and films Videos for his business in this office, so the need for light is a must.

There is a major lack of storage which is apparent by the number of boxes resting in corners and the crowded desk. We purchased this furniture when we built our home seven years ago, and at the time it fit our needs perfectly. However, as our family grew, the business grew, and Mike started working from home more consistently, the need for ample storage being apparent.

A proper desk with room to spread out is the last necessity for this project. Sure the desk Mike has now is beautiful and has an expansive desktop, but the section of the desk designed to sit at is constrictive. He isn’t able to swivel or turn in his seat or reach the papers resting on the outskirts of this tabletop. The desk also only provides use for one. A large open-styled tabletop will replace this writer’s desk to allow for movement, room to spread out paperwork, and the ability for a second user to sit across the table.

THE INSPIRATION

There are drones of dreamy office spaces on Pinterest and Instagram so the inspiration was not in short supply. However, we were looking for something that was suitable for two people as well as ample storage.

The layout of this office space designed by Lygia Harkins Interiors caught my eye. The stretch of built-in storage with custom cabinetry and the perpendicular desktop was exactly what I was searching for.

The custom cabinetry with built-in filing cabinets and closed bookcases along with the gallery lighting and space to display a family gallery drew me to this design by Kelsy of Kelsy Leigh Design Co.

Finally, this office space designed by Remedy Design Firm displayed the perfect color scheme for our home office. The crisp white walls to bounce light and the two-toned cabinetry were exactly what I was looking for to achieve the masculine new southern style.

THE PLAN

Over the course of 8 weeks, I’ll be transforming our outdated dark office into a bright creative space for Mike to consistently work from home.

Here is the breakdown of each week’s progress to keep us on schedule and complete our home office renovation on time:

• WEEK ONE- Clean out as much as possible, prime and paint the walls in BM White Dove, remove baseboardsand begin building base cabinets
• WEEK TWO & THREE- Cabinet Build to include, base cabinets with pull out drawers and filing cabinet inserts, upper bookcases, top bridge, and counter/tabletop installed
• WEEK FOUR- trim out built-ins, build and install cabinetry doors
• WEEK FIVE- Wood fill, Caulk, Prime, Sand
• WEEK SIX- Paint, Sand, Paint again
• WEEK SEVEN- Lighting installed, hardware installed, tarp quote framed and mounted, wall hooks installed
• WEEK EIGHT- Decorate & Reveal

This will be the biggest project to date and I’m am excited, but also nervous since it is so large and time-sensitive. Follow along each week as I give an updated detailed progress post here on the blog or a daily ORC check-in through stories on Instagram!

Until next time!

XO-Kristel