My participation in the One Room Challenge is off to a slow start but for good reason! I spent the last couple weeks preparing to host my mom’s surprise 60th birthday party at our house and I couldn’t exactly turn the room upside down. The party went well and I’ve hit the ground running this week by prepping the space for paint and solidifying my furnishing plans.

Paint prep involved removing the snap-in mullions from the windows along with the existing window treatments. I can’t believe how much taller the windows look without the shades cutting them off at the top! I also sanded all of the wood paneling and the pine window frames/sills so that the primer adheres well to those surfaces. This weekend I’ll finally be painting those areas black to simulate the look of steel windows.

A few weeks ago we also sold the outdoor sectional that previously occupied the space and moved our old Ikea Stocksund sofa from our living room into the porch. Between the warmer weather and more comfortable seating, we have already started to enjoy the space more often than we ever did previously. I took a nap in there Sunday afternoon after cleaning up from the party and it was perfectly pleasant. I was so excited to find the perfect quarter-sawn oak table on Facebook Marketplace and plan to surround it with black Windsor chairs, which I will also hopefully be able to source vintage through Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. I would love to be able to enjoy more of our meals in the room as the warmer weather continues.

The furnishings for the room will be a continuation of the color scheme from the rest of our house, which consists of navy, green, and red/pink accents. We already own many of the items you see in the design plan, and I’m taking advantage of some sales to supplement what we already have.

Next week I will be back to showcase our newly painted windows and (fingers crossed) plans for the tongue-and-groove ceiling.