Thursday, April 13, 2017

The $150 ORC: Week 2

How is ORC Week 2 already here?  I remember having the exact same feeling the last time I did a One Room Challenge.  Just as you round out Week 1, pinning like crazy and dreaming about what you want to do to the room, Week 2 enters forcing you to act on all of those ideas that have been bouncing around in your head.  Time to put your money where your mouth is.

I kicked off Week 2 with a vengeance, putting together the Ikea Rasts I'll be using for bedside tables and starting to get them chalk painted.  I really liked the color of paint that I chose in the container, but once it was on the tables and dry, it was way too bright.   I mixed the remaining paint that I had with some other off-white chalk paint I had laying around, and gave them one more coat with the much lighter shade.  They're now the perfect shade of milky blue that I was going for.   I had four of these bin pulls leftover from the first ORC that I did.  I never used them, but I waited too late to return them to Amazon.   So I hit them with a coat of gold spray paint, and installed them on the drawer fronts.  I also ordered two more because I needed a total of six.  Bedside tables done.  BAM.





This Sunday, painted the entire room all by myself, with no tape I might add.   I never want to do that again, but once I started, I just didn't want to stop until I was finished.   I used my trusty Purdy paint brush, which helps to edge without needing tape.  Cuts the prep time down to nothing, which is why I was able to knock it out in a single afternoon.  I chose to use Sherwin Williams Mega Greige for the room, because I had enough left over from painting our dining room a few weeks ago.  It's a tad bit darker that I would have chosen, but I just was determined to use what I had.  It turned out that I had exactly enough paint for the room, like to the point where I was scraping the inside of the can with the brush to touch up some last spots on the wall.  Thank goodness I had enough!

Sherwin Williams Mega Greige

I also picked up new white outlets, switches, and plates for the room.  Since our house was built in the early 90's all of the outlets were that terrible dated ivory color.  Switching these out makes the biggest difference, and for less than $8.00 it didn't break my budget.  You can definitely spend more money on the plates, my personal favorite are these mirrored ones, but since this room won't be used on a daily basis and we're on a tight budget the inexpensive plastic ones are still a major upgrade.

And don't let the electrical work of switching out the outlets intimidate you.  I've changed out almost every outlet and switch in our house now, and as long as you have the right tools its a piece of cake.  You can view this Youtube video for a tutorial on how to do it.  If you've ever paid an electrician to do this, your jaw might hit the floor when you realize how simple it is.


Caroline, the master writer behind Amanda Louise Interiors blog, and a virtual friend that I still have yet to meet IRL, hooked me up with some sheers that she no longer needed.  They're IKEA Matilda sheer curtains, and they're perfect for the big bay window. Major bonus because I budgeted $10 for curtains, which I can now use for something else!  Once we get our blinds in and installed, I'll be putting those up in the windows.



Here's a quick estimation of what I've spent so far:

  • IKEA Rast bedside tables: $70
  • Chalk Paint for tables: $3.50
  • Two additional bin pulls: $7.00
  • New white outlets, switches, and covers: $8.00
TOTAL SPENT: $88.50


Here's what I still need to do:

  • Rearrange furniture in the room, possibly put my vanity in the bay window, possibly get rid of it
  • Hang curtains
  • Figure out a lamp situation
  • Install ceiling fan, let's hope it still works after sitting into our attic for 2 years
  • Hang old window over bed, I picked this up off someone who was about to throw them away
  • Find something cheap to hang over the dresser, possibly a DIY project
  • Find a wreath to hang on the window over the bed, contemplating a DIY cotton wreath


Stay tuned for next week with (hopefully) some exciting progress pictures! 





5 comments:

  1. Oh a cotton wreath would be beautiful! The room is really starting to come together!

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  2. kudos to your friend for gifting the curtains! Loving this ORC on a budget series.

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  3. Love that IKEA Hack! They look so good!

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  4. I can picture the wreath on the window in my head, and I love it! What luck on the paint. Congrats on that. The last time I painted, I wound up having to buy more paint for about 4 sq. ft. of unpainted wall. :-(

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