Hello everyone! As long as I’ve been a blogger, I never participated in the infamous One Room Challenge. I’ve been a renter for the past eight years and while I have decorated our different apartments, this is the first time I have a home of my own. That means I have the freedom to paint, do flooring, make repairs and truly customize without worrying about a landlord. Our new home is located in a beautiful National Forest setting in Southern California and I am excited to be transforming our toddler son’s bedroom into a cozy and whimsical bedroom retreat.
What is the One Room Challenge you ask? It is a biannual event where bloggers and designers share their decor projects and progress for one space over a period of eight weeks. Everyone shares links to their blog or Instagram posts and cheers each other on to complete the room. There are dozens of participants that commit to sharing each week in a blog link round up on the ORC website. There, you can find all different types of home projects and cheer people on or get inspiration for your own spaces. Every Thursday bloggers will post and share their updates so be sure to follow along!
The Magical Attic Bedroom
The attic bedroom in our cottage was a very unique space for the previous owner. He hand-painted the ceiling and added tons of detail and trim. It was pretty impressive, but just not my style and not what I envisioned for a children’s bedroom. We’ve chosen to reset the room and repair the walls and floors so that it is a safe happy space for Milo, our two-year-old, and any other kids that visit us. I still want to maintain the whimsy of the old space, but make it cleaner, brighter and more inviting to a child. Our surroundings are a huge inspiration. The forest has given me so many ideas for decorating the cottage. We’re surrounded by cedar and pine trees, a wild cottage garden with lots of shrubs, flowers, herbs and our newly added veggies. There are so many types of birds and the squirrels love exploring our yard. My goal is to translate this whimsical fairytale forest into the attic bedroom. I am going to be searching for a lot of design elements that help tell this story.
For children’s spaces, I have a love of French and Scandinavian design. Soft wood accents, muted creamy colors and simplicity are my favorite aspects of these styles. I love wooden toys that have fewer toxins for Milo especially since he is a cancer survivor. I try to avoid plastics and heavily manufactured products in his space (and really throughout our home) as best I can.
The Goal
I have gathered so much inspiration for his room from Pinterest, magazines, his favorite toys and of course nature. Buying a home is an expensive process and we have a lot of projects going on and some we’ll need to outsource. That said, I am doing this on a tight budget by finding ways to transform the space and put money into the highest priorities. I plan to spend the most on quality mattresses and bedding while using paint to transform the look. My dream is to incorporate wallpaper because it has the power to add so much whimsy and help tell the story of the room. Wallpaper is pricey so I am also considering trying my hand at painting a mural or maybe hiring an artist to create one. Here are a few spaces that I’ve really enjoyed pulling ideas from for the attic bedroom.
We’ve started completing the repairs and painting process. I will share more about that process next week since there’s a bit of detail to explain. We ultimately chose to renovate the room ourselves instead of hiring a contractor because we felt the scope of the repairs was something we could handle on our own. It gives us more budget to put back into the decor and create a welcoming space for Milo.
I am in the process of sourcing all the decor for his room. We’ve already found a pair of vintage twin beds that need a little restoring but are in good shape! We plan to work with a carpenter to help fix the early 20th century beds. I’m looking for organic bedding, rugs, lighting and a creative window covering solution for the arched Moroccan inspired doors. I’ve already started collecting toys, baskets and other little accessories to decorate the room. I plan to do more vintage hunting and luckily we have a lot of great little antique shops here on the mountain.
Again be sure to follow along every week! I’ll share progress on my Instagram, @planningpretty as well. I’ve got eight weeks to figure this room out and make it special for our little Milo. Wish me luck!
