One Room Challenge: Sources & Behind the Scenes Fall 2014

Last week at this time we were all a buzz on blog land, Instagram, and Twitter with the room reveals in One Room Challenge hosted by Linda from Calling It Home!

In honor of Follow Friday I’m sharing some of my favorites from this round on Instagram! Make sure you hop on over and follow these talented ladies (left to right): Aquahaus (Celine), Fabulous By Design (Jane Bernard), Design Post Interiors (Beth Barden) and Design Dump (Autumn Clemons)!

Linda gives a good round-up of all the ORC love and features this week. One of my favorites to follow is Centsational Girl who shared two of her ORC favorites (and mine) in her “Best of the Blogosphere” .

Home on The Runway featured one of my absolute favorites and standouts this ORC round from Design DareDevil! Just an amazing transformation and a must see!

You can find more ORC features on Calling It Home here.

This ORC round I completed my daughter Sofia’s Big Girl Room. You can catch the big reveal here!

If you’re just joining the ORC fun you can get caught up on Operation Big Girl Room here:

Week 1 || Week 2 || Week 3|| Week 4 || Week 5 || Week 6

This is what her room looks like today!

Here’s is what inspired her bedroom transformation: Cherry Blossoms. Princess Themed. Chandelier. Birds. Butterflies. Pink. Blue. Green.

For more details on the inspiration check out Week 1 and Week 2.

The Cherry Blossom painting by Oopsy Daisy was the very first thing I purchased for Sofia’s nursery.  It’s a timeless piece of art that has transitioned well from nursery, to toddler room, to big girl room.

The chandelier was a must have to transform this room. The paper chandelier from Pottery Barn Kids (pictured in inspiration board) inspired me to find the shell chandelier from Lowe’s Home Improvement!

I attempted to install the chandelier myself but needed a second pair of hands and someone taller. My husband and I spent several hours trying to figure out the wiring. Thank goodness for YouTube videos that saved the day! However, I’m giving full disclosure here that we need to fix the wires again before using the light because they’re not tight enough when we fasted the chandelier canopy.

By far this dresser in Annie Sloane Chalk Paint is my favorite piece of furniture in her room! Another timeless piece that has transitioned well from nursery to big girl room! Secret number two: Add a few pieces to make the dresser more “big girl”. Remember sometimes less is more! Simply adding the DIY princess jewelry box and updating the photo in the picture frame was all I needed here.

The three drawer whicker dresser from Pier One Imports was probably my best upcycle that added function and design to Sofia’s closest.

The play chandelier from Hobby Lobby was a hit! It took me a few tries to figure out the best way to fasten it onto the play castle tent from Amazon.com but well worth the $12! Another secret is that the pillows are from our kitchen and my daughter Charlotte’s room. When you design a space don’t forget about accessories you already have in your home!

The biggest transformation was her closet. Going from disorganized and cluttered, to a organized play space fit for a princess.

Secret behind transforming this space is organization, utilizing existing pieces to add function and design, and adding small low budget accessories such as the designer hooks to hang her princess dresses and display jars and plates. I kept the tower shelving unit to display all her dress up accessories. You can find the DIY tutorial here along with DIY tutorial on the fabric letters above her bed.

The bookcase didn’t need a lot. I simply added additional canvas storage bins for toys that I found at HomeGoods.

My childhood rocking chair made by my grandfather is a sweet sentiment that also serves as function.

Once black and gold I simply spray painted it Ballet Pink and stenciled her name in green. Truth be told I had done this for her nursery, but hadn’t finished the green detailing. I was going to give it a fresh coat of pink, but like the chippy and vintage look!

Here’s a close up of the fabric letters above Sofia’s bed that I made before she was born. You can see them in her nursery and the DIY tutorial here. These were inspired by Anthropology fabric letters. I considered updating the letters, but can’t part with them yet. I simply added these butterfly decals from Pottery Barn Kids and the canopy to complete the big girl & princess look!

The bed and bedding was the biggest issue for me in this round.

We’ve transitioned her room from just a bedroom to a play room and wanted enough space for both my girls to play. Additionally, my girls are 18 months apart, which means Charlotte will be turning 2 in a few months a possibly sharing a room with her sister.

Using the daybed from my inspiration board I decided to transform her toddler bed into a daybed. I loved the Pottery Barn Kids bedding, but due to the time of year full sets were unavailable. Easy solution was to use her current sheets and Harper Quilt with her name from Pottery Barn Kids and mix and match it with other bedding we already owned. Adding a few new pillows such as the pink bolster pillow from HomeGoods gave it a great refresh. Hoping to have another update for you this spring, so please check back!

The canopy was a must have to add the princes aka “princess castle” element for Sofia’s bed. As much as Sofia loves it she also loves pulling it down, which is driving me crazy!

This wall needed something to pull it together. The bookcase use to sit up against the wall before we moved the play kitchen by Kids Kraft into her room.

Simply adding wood and canvas wall art from Hobby Lobby, a DIY memory board of Sofia’s treasures and favorite things, and butterfly decals from Pottery Barn Kids completed the look.

Loving how the gallery wall looks! Simply rearranging items and adding a few more such as Sofia’s own Starry Night masterpiece completed this look.

The lighting was great one morning right before we rushed off to school. In the moment of trying to capture the room there was an impromptu tea party! Unfortunately, that was the only day the week of the reveal that I had good lighting and many of my photos are darker than I had wanted.

However, I did complete every item on my To Do List!

My punch/to do list for Sofia’s Big Girl Room:

• Update the over all look of the room to match her age
• More toy storage (her room has become the toy zone/play room in our home)
• Update the photos (I still have baby/1-year-old photos displayed)
• Replace/install overhead lighting with chandelier –
• Purchase chandelier
• Add a princesses castle element for play
• Print current photos to replace baby/1-year-old photos
• Purchase white canopy and set up
• Purchase wall art
• DIY princess jewelry box
• DIY butterfly garland for canopy
• Update bedding
• Make her bed into a big girl day bed
• Finish reorganizing her closet (It’s constantly the storage area for push toys/cars etc.)
• Add finishing touches to closet like hooks and décor
• Finish DIY memory display box for Sofia’s treasure’s
• Hang Butterfly decals
• Find additional wall art
• Hang wall art

Here’s a photo from my first ORC last spring, which started my love affair with the room designer challenge! You can check out all the details in my Master Bedroom reveal here.

Thanks to ORC I now have two more complete rooms in our home!

That’s a wrap for ORC Fall 2014! Don’t forget to check out the other designers and bloggers on Calling It Home!

Sarah

Credits and Sources

Design and Styling – Sarah Sofia Productions

Photography – Sarah Sofia Productions

Shell Chandelier – Lowe’s Home Improvement

Canopy – Amazon.com

Princess Castle – Amazon.com

Faux pink chandelier in princess castle – Hobby Lobby

Designer hooks in closet – Hobby Lobby

Bird clipboard wall art display – Hobby Lobby

Canvas and wood wall art above play kitchen – Hobby Lobby

Memory box display – Hobby Lobby

Dresser and mirror – Old World New Home

Paint – Sherwin Williams Meander Blue 6484

Baskets in white bookshelf – HomeGoods

Pink and white polka dot pail and basket – Pottery Barn Kids

Bedding – Pottery Barn Kids, HomeGoods

Flower night stand – Pottery Barn Kids

Pink and green herringbone weave rug – Pottery Barn Kids

Decorative boxes in closet – Michael’s

Butterfly and Penelope bird wall decals – Pottery Barn Kids

Blue wall bird cage – Hobby Lobby

White bird cage – Michael’s

Cherry Blossom canvas painting –  Oopsy Daisy

Faux crystal lamp with pink polka dot lamp shade on nightstand – Babies R Us

Silver picture frames – Pottery Barn Kids

Floral arrangement – Target

DIY princess jewelry box kit – Melissa & Doug

Penelope French Fabric Board – 3 Buttons N2 Bows

Chalkboard table and chair – Southern Marketplace

Ribbon wreath – Sarah Sofia Productions

Fabric letters – Sarah Sofia Productions

Closet tower shelves – Sarah Sofia Productions

Upcycled six drawer whicker piece – Sarah Sofia Productions

White picture frames on gallery wall – Michael’s

Small round mirror on gallery wall – Hobby Lobby

Owl bookend – Hobby Lobby

Piggy bank – gift

Green and blue plastic plates in closet – Target

Glass jar with lid in closet –Ikea

Glass jar in closet – HomeGoods

Mirror in closet – Already owned

Hangers and blue canvas organize system – BuyBuyBaby

Silver bird bookends on dresser – Pottery Barn Kids

Pink bolster pillow – HomeGoods