One Room Challenge: Week 5

Please note! The above photo is NOT the paint color. It’s the primer for dark colors and it’s more of a “what not to do” photo. See below for full explanation.

As you know, One Room Challenge has been extended an extra week and we couldn’t be happier for the extra time! We realized that we might have been a little ambitious when it came to our design plan, but go big or go home! We’ve completed all the moldings and paneling and it looks pretty amazing! See our tutorial here from Week 4. Of course, it takes a bit of time to complete the whole process from cutting, to installation, to caulking, but it will save you loads! Not to mention the difference it makes in a room: wall paneling completely transformed the space. The room seems so much larger and regal. Though, it’s not too difficult to improve from where we started!

I didn’t think it could get any better… until we started painting! One Room Challenge: Week 5 means paint! Initially, we were leaning towards wallpaper (check out our inspiration here from Week 2) but opted to go with a high-impact paint color. Thankfully Farrow & Ball came to our rescue with their stunning paint colors! You can see some of the ones we tested out below. Which one would you choose?

We decided on these three for the flooring. I can’t wait to show you our flooring plans. It’s going to be so so rad! (EDIT: here’s how it came out! And here’s how to make it!)

We sampled a lot of colors to make sure. You just got to check it all out in various lights throughout the day to make sure it’s really what you want!

Ok, and here’s the dark-colored primer for our wall. Now, when I say primer, I mean really primer, as in NOT finished in the least. This was done with simple brushes as opposed to rollers because of a little miscommunication and hence, the splotchy effect. Though texture is fun sometimes, we are definitely not going for a textured effect. We have since sanded it down and are getting to work prepping for our re-do. Yes, you could call this our “pinterest fail” but all good things start with a rough patch, no?!

You can also get a glimpse of the progress we’re making with our new lighting. We took down the awful fluorescent lights and had someone come in to install for the recessed lighting and ceiling fan. Personally, I don’t love ceiling fans, but because our air conditioning is so hit and miss, they’re kind of essential and we’re stoked to get them in here. We’ll be talking more about lighting later though so stay tuned.

Our studio has a variety of surfaces that need painting, so we needed options to cover our bases. Walls, ceiling, floor, brick, and wood, each require a special type of paint. Farrow & Ball has a special primer for wall and ceiling, wooden floors, and masonry and plaster. In addition, there are different primers for white and light tones than for dark tones. Who knew?! However, we’ve had our fair share of painting experience at Lars, and we know just how important good quality paint and a good quality paint job is.

We are painting the walls and ceiling with Oval Room Blue. It is a moody, calming blue, great for an office space. We’re using the Estate Emulsion finish, which is Farrow & Ball’s signature. The floor, on the other hand, is a bit more adventurous! We are using three colors to create an eye-catching, geometric pattern: Whimborne White, Pitch Black, and Teresa’s Green. Think a painted version of tile! The floor has an eggshell finish, which will hold up much better under high traffic.

Paint has real power to transform a space and is one of the easiest ways to create change fast. We can’t wait to show you the full reveal, it’s going to be good! Here’s a sneak peek below. Head over here for the full reveal!