ORC Fall ‘21 Part One: Here We Go Again
I've never had a dining room.
At least not since I moved out on my own. I've mostly lived in studio and one-bedroom apartments - my last place was 450 sq feet (42 sq meters for literally everyone else besides my American readers). A dining room was the easiest thing to give up because I could always eat standing up at the kitchen counter or on my couch. Such is small apartment living. But with this new place, I have a dining room.
Because I am so unused to having a dining room, I didn't know what to do with the space. I didn't have dining furniture and the other rooms had more priority. So the room became a defacto garage and crafting room. That was fine when I was still settling in but as the rest of the apartment comes together, the room is becoming an eyesore. In fact, you may have noticed the unpacked boxes and clutter in the mirror reflection of my last ORC.
Or maybe you didn't. Forget I mentioned it. Let’s move on.
Even though I am a die-hard introvert, I do like entertaining guests in my home. Mostly because I need help eating whatever tray of food I cooked up but also because I don’t like leaving my house. Up until now, all of my get-togethers have always been on my rooftop. Given that I live in the Northeastern part of the U.S., that severely limits when I can entertain throughout the year. In addition, because of the Panic! at the Disco, I want a place that I can gather with my pod. That's why for my Fall One Room Challenge, I will be making over my dining room!
Project Goals
My biggest goal for this room is to create a storage and organization system to hold my excess items from my kitchen. I love to cook and have amassed tons of tools and appliances in addition to random ingredients. Despite adding open shelving to my kitchen, I still do not have enough space for my items, and cooking has become a bit of a hassle because I have a hard time finding things. By moving the lesser-used items (i.e. crockpot, kitchen aid, baking ingredients) to the dining room, I'll declutter my kitchen allowing space to actually cook.
I also want to carry on the eclectic and coastal feel of my living room. This is the only room in my apartment that does not have a window. It, therefore, is the darkest room in my home. I initially thought about leaning into a moody feel for this room but decided against it. The dining room has three entryways, none of which have doors. Since you can still see into both my bright kitchen and dining room, I was worried that instead of achieving a moody look I would end up having a gloomy look.
Finally, my goal for this project is to help encourage you all. I wanted to showcase a simple transformation that (unlike my last ORC) doesn’t require learning how to do electrical wiring. This ORC will be a simple transformation with only a few simple DIYs. So for all my renters and my crafting impaired - this project is for you!
Dining Room Before
And now for everyone’s favorite part: The Before. This is what my room looks like now:
Is that a giant amphora? Yes. Yes, it is. I was not kidding when I said I used this as a de facto garage. I’ve got a lot of work to do.
Project Design
This is my inspiration board for this project. Y’all know I love fun colors, patterns, and textures. I also love mixing vintage pieces with new buys and finds from my travels. However, since the dining room opens up into my living room and kitchen it’s important that the rooms flow and talk to each other.
To help with that, I am carrying over the black, white, and brass color palette. To help differentiate the space, I am bringing in a pastel green.
To-Do List
Paint
Hang Wallpaper
Build and Organize Storage
Hang Curtains
Source or Create Wall Art
Follow Along
Ready to watch me transform this dining room? Come back next week to see how I use paint to brighten up this space. For daily updates, follow along on my Instagram where I’ll share clips on my stories. To see the designs of the other ORC participants, bookmark this page where we’ll share our progress every Wednesday and Thursday!
