One Room Challenge Week One -Living Room and Eating Area

I had so much fun participating in the One Room Challenge (ORC) last fall, that i knew i wanted to participate again in the spring version.  This time around I’m making over the living room and the eating area of our kitchen.  I want to continue the Rustic Scandinavian design I used in the Dining Room make over.  You can read all about the Dining Room Makeover from last time here.

Here’s what the room looks like now.  It was decorated by us when we moved into this house about 11 years ago now.  It’s pretty neutral and has served us well, but it’s time for an update.

The room really has great bones -9ft ceilings, hardwood floors, and great light.

It’s time for some new furniture.  We’ve had this couch and chair set since we got married, and we’re coming up on our 16 year anniversary next week. They’ve lasted pretty well.

Over on the other side of the room, is the fireplace.

I always intended to give it a little makeover, but never got around to it, so now is the time.

And attached to the living room is the kitchen eating area.  With replacing the green furniture in the living room, it’s time to say goodbye to the matching green walls in the kitchen too.  This area will get an update with a new light, and new accessories too.  I’m thinking about refinishing the kitchen table too.  It’s a family antique I found in my Grandma’s barn long, long ago.  I love it, but it does sometimes look a little orange-ish, especially in photos on the blog.  I do a lot of photo’s here because the light is great, so I’m thinking about refinishing it.  I had quite the time refinishing my dining room table for the last one room challenge -you can read all about it here.  It was a steep learning curve, but I think I’ve got the hang of it now.  Hopefully I’ll have enough time during the six weeks to tackle this table.

Here’s some of the inspiration for the rooms.

And here’s the mood board for the living room.  This should give you a sense of where I’m headed.

I’ve got big plans to replace the couch, chair and ottoman, and maybe the rug too. The living room and kitchen will be painted JoJo White Wash by Para, to match the dining room, and tie the whole main floor together.   I’m thinking about planking one wall in the living room to add a little texture for this very white colour scheme -but I haven’t totally decided yet.  I’m excited to add in lots of natural elements like sheep’s skin rugs, wood, antlers, and plants.  I’m also planing to add in lots of cozy texture with chunky knits, wood planks, a shag rug, and some macrame.  I’ll be stream lining things a little by getting rid of the shelf unit.  I’m also planning to finally give the fireplace a little makeover -by removing the wood decal from the front and painting out the brass.  I’m thinking about painting it white, but we’ll see how it looks when the walls are painted.  I’m thinking about painting the tv unit too.  I can’t wait for this space to become lighter and brighter.

I love the Rustic Scandinavian look for it’s neutral bright white and mix of modern with rustic pieces.  I think the design will be very easy to live with.  Having said that, I’m a little tiny bit nervous about white everything with two kids and a dog, but I’m thinking that just like the dining room, slip covers are the key to living with an all white scheme -I guess we’ll find out. 😉

And so the adventure begins.  In six weeks I’ll be revealing the final living room and eating area, along with all the other One Room Challenge guest participants.  And each week along the way, I’ll be checking in with an update on my progress, and joining in with all the participants -so be sure to check out all their rooms here.

With a Rustic Scandinavian Living Room and Eating Area make over, life really is a party!