So let me just start today’s post by saying I’m incredibly excited to be participating in the One Room Challenge™! For those of you new to Swoon Worthy, I’m Kimberly, an American expat living in Manchester, England with Wayne, my English boyfriend of 6+ years as well as our two fur babies, Pablo and Meisha (both of the kitty persuasion). I describe my style as “Eclectic Boho Glam”, a mix of styles, bold colour and pattern and lots of gold and brass for a bit of a glamorous touch. Welcome to my little splodge here on the interwebs, Swoon Worthy! I hope you enjoy your visit and decide to stick around to see how this all pans out.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the One Room Challenge™, Linda from Calling it Home chooses 20 different bloggers to all makeover a space in 6 short weeks. This has been going for a few years now and while I’ve always loved watching from the sidelines, this is my first time joining in the fun so I’m really excited and really nervous. It’s so fab to see my logo there with so many great bloggers! Eeek!
So the room I’ve decided to makeover in 6 weeks is…. *drumroll!*… our 2nd bedroom! *cymbals crash!*
I took the plunge and quit my job at the end of last year and have been freelancing ever since. While I absolutely love working from home now and setting my own schedule, I do not love working from the dining room table! I need my own space! So priority number one is to turn this neglected space into my home office. For those of you who have been following me for a while, this is probably not a huge surprise but I promise there’s an update for you guys too so keep reading…
Over the last four and a half years that we’ve lived here, it’s gone from an office for Wayne to a barely-used guest bedroom, to a dumping ground whenever we were working on any other rooms in our house. It’s been on our list of things to do for some time and while some of the ground work has been done (which I’m going to share with you in this post), I knew that this challenge was exactly what we needed to light the proverbial fire and turn it into my future home office.
Here’s where we started…
There was a swirly patterned ceiling, a large cupboard which housed a no-longer-in-use boiler, a wall that was falling apart (you only needed to put two fingers on it and you could feel it move!), a stained and threadbare carpet and a lot of rubbish that needed to just go. It was also wear I ‘stored’ my paintings, hoarded old furniture and kept all our paperwork (which clearly wasn’t very well organised).
And here’s what we’ve completed so far…
The old cupboard was an eyesore in the room, took up too much space and was falling apart and the boiler was not functioning (we have a newer one in the cellar) so that was the first thing to go (notice the very fetching holes in the wall left behind).
The ceiling was the next to be demolished, quickly followed by the internal wall that needed to be rebuilt.
Wayne covered both in new plasterboard…
And then he plastered both ceiling and wall to give it a smooth finish. Next step was scraping all the old lining paper off the walls right back to the original plaster to give us a completely bare slate. It was very very messy.
It’s funny because every time I show old plaster walls, someone will say, ‘Oh it looks so pretty! You should leave it like that!’ and yes, it looks AMAZING – in pictures. The reality is really not so nice so please do trust me when I say that there’s no way we could leave it like that.
Here’s where we’re going…
It’s time for this chaos to be turned into something rather glamorous! There is still loads more to do before we can start on the pretty stuff but this is my moodboard showing where we want to end up…
A grown up sexy space with plenty of storage that’s an actual pleasure to be in rather than an ugly old dilapidated storage room! And I’m finally getting my blush pink room! Whoop! I can not wait to start turning my dreams into reality here and I’m so excited to really get this room turned around very quickly! Ready to join me on this one?
Want to see the rest of my home? Check out my House Tour.
And now, do you want to see what all the other 19 participants are up to? Of course you do! Check them all out below.
Omygahhh! This is def going to be good. Im so excited to see this space come together friend!! Also whats gonna happen to the red chandy? Its pretty fab. Man what a lineup. So many great participants
The red chandy is currently sat in my attic! I was done with that one about 2 months after we put it up lol xxx
Can’t wait to see how you do this one! Never been much of a pink girly myself but you have the knack of removing the saccharine flava from it!! Good luck!
That will be the challenge – making sure it doesn’t look like a sweetie shop in here! lol xxx
I am dying to see this!! Oh. my. goodness. This is going to be amazing Kimberly. xo
Thank you Kristin! xxx
Oh this will be fun! Nice to meet you!
Thank you! Nice to meet you too Kim! xxx
Absolutely DYING over how fabulous this room is going to be! Everything you touch is magical! Can’t wait!!!
Aww thank you Brynne!! xxx
Wow, this is a lot of work. Miss the UK, and seeing how they constructed houses, is always fun. Love your plan.
Thanks darling! I know it’s so different from the US, isn’t it?! Lots of work but definitely worth it ;) xx
Your mood board looks fantastic! Can’t wait to follow along!
Thank you Vel!! xx
sexy it is! Your mood board is incredible and this is going to be a HUGE transformation. Can’t wait to see it all go down!
Thank you! Sexy-a-rama!! That’s the plan ;) xxx
You had me at eclectic boho glam. Beautiful moodboard. I can’t wait to follow along! :)
Hahaha! Thanks so much, here’s to the next 6 weeks, eh? xxx
I’m in! Can’t wait to see what is going to happen here!
Thank you Sherry! You and me both ;) xxx
So excited to see this progress!!! It’s going to be so… wait for it… swoonworthy!
Maria xx
Rah! Rah! Rah! xxx
Oh Kimberly, this is all fabulous, I’m already in love with your room! :)
Thank you Pam! Should be a fun 6 weeks! Eeek! xxx
I have that rug in my house! It’s amazing in person. I cant’ wait to see how this turns out!
It’s SUCH a great rug, isn’t it?! As soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it in the space :D xx
I’m probably being stupid but can’t see the link to that rug! Please can you let me know where it’s from? I’ve been looking for a pink Kilim rug that isn’t £1000 for so frickin long… Thanks!
Hi Sama,
I haven’t revealed all my sources yet but this rug was purchased from Joss & Main:
https://jossandmain.co.uk/invite/SwoonWorthy
I have seen it come up in sales since I’ve purchased it so it’s worth keeping your eye on the site! HTH!
xxx
Good for you for claiming a space for yourself! Looking forward to seeing this vibrant space some together. Looks like a lot of the hard work is behind you already…now for the fun part!
Thanks so much Dana! We have SO much work to do but I have no doubt it’ll be worth the effort ;) xxx
Cannot wait to see it come together. I am sure it will be fabulous with that great plan in place. Let the games begin!
Thanks Holly!! Whoop! 6 weeks: BRING IT! xxx
Yes that room needed a makeover. Love your ideas. Cant wait for it to be finished.
Oh it so needed a makeover! Ack! It was my ‘I’m so embarrassed to show this to guests’ room ;) Thanks so much, me too! xx
I am so happy for you Kimberly! I can’t wait to see the finish product
Thanks so much my dear! xxx
WOW! This is going to be such a transformation! Love your design board! This is going to be GREAT!!
Thank you so much Claire! xx
Ooooohhhh…it’s gonna be good! That rug is my favorite ever – I’ve had it in my entryway for a year now and I still love it as much as the first day we met.
It’s SUCH a great rug, isn’t it! Love it too! xxx
Oh Kimberly. I literally can’t even. It’s going to be so glamorfabulous. I remember you getting that geometric statement wall light fixture and I had heart palpitations. Everything you’ve chosen is so fabulous and paining me right in my heart that we don’t own our place so I can transform it to even a mere shadow of what you’ve done. UGH is it too early for wine?
xx A
Eeeek! I’m so excited to get that light up! Thank you my darling and NO it’s never too early for wine. Pfft. Like you even had to ask. #drunkinteriors xxxx
Glad ‘your space’ is full steam ahead. Exciting. x
Thank you my dear! Totally ready for this next 6 weeks! Ack! xxx
So excited to have found your blog via the ORC! I can already tell that I love your style and I am looking forward to following your progress! I’m a blush pink lover as well! Cheers!
Aww thank you Leslie, so happy you found me! BLUSH PINK FTW!! xxx
Love that rug!! And what is the gold piece?! I can’t wait to see everything!
Thank you Jessica! The gold geometric piece is a wall light – awesome isn’t it?! Can’t wait to get it up ;) xxx
So exciting, can’t wait to see it. Love the blush pink and where is the rug from, I need it??!! X
Aww thank you Carrie! I got it from Joss & Main UK during one of their sales but if you do an image search, you might be able to find more! From the sounds of it, they are pretty popular ;) xx
I got my rug through Home Decorators Collection. It was justly called the Pizzazz Rug. Love it! I also saw it on RugsUSA, but don’t remember what it was called on there
I love your design! I just found you through ORC and am in Love! I was so excited to see the rug as I have it in runner size for my hallway. Gorgeous in person! Love your style and you just gave my confidence a boost by seeing the rug….maybe I DO have ok taste. Lol
It’s such a great rug, isn’t it! I love it too, bet it looks gorgeous as a runner :) Thank you so much for the encouragement, it’s going to be an exciting 6 weeks! xxx
I am so so so excited to watch this room come together! so fun to participate with you!! xo
Hi Kimberly, I’m obviously catching up! I love your vision and can’t wait to see your recent scheming!