Here we are folks, Week 3 of the One Room Challenge. And this is the week where many dreams can be crushed as plans are executed and snafu's start popping up like weeds after a rainstorm. How's that Debbie Downer introduction for you?? Well I have good news to share as most of my plans are turning out pretty well. If you are justing popping by for the first time, you can get yourself up to speed by checking out Week 1 and Week 2 of the One Room Challenge. And Tricia is also making over her master bedroom as part of the One Room Challenge so be sure to check out her Week 1 and Week 2 reports. Last week I showed a major change in my dining room simply by painting the walls and the ceiling black. And I think we can all agree that my dining room now looks at least 5 lbs lighter because of the slimming effects of that black paint!
Before
After
This week I got to work on the large piece of art that will be going over the midcentury sideboard. The plan was to have a vintage photograph that I used Art Resin to bring a shiny, glass-like finish to the piece. I got this idea from the last round of the One Room Challenge in this amazing room by The Curated House. First step was finding a piece of art that I liked for the room. I decided on this vintage surfer picture which I ordered from Anewall. To save on shipping costs I purchased the canvas unstretched and then took it to a local art shop to have it stretched onto canvas bars. Next step was to cover the entire piece with Art Resin.I'm not going to go into all the details of how to use Art Resin as they have great tutorial videos on their website. But Tricia did stop by while I was working on the first coat of resin and snapped some pictures of me using a torch to get the air bubbles out of the resin.
My experience with the product was pretty good for a first try. I did have to do two coats of the resin to get a smooth finish. And there are still some spots that aren't perfect but overall I was really happy with this product. My only advice would be to start out on a small piece for your first try with the product. Jumping to a really large canvas like I did made it a bit more difficult to keep the piece level and spread an even coat across the whole piece. It is hard to photograph the glass-like finish this resin gives a piece of art but you can see the glare from it in the second picture below:
I still plan on framing this piece in a large wood floating frame and it will hang on the wall as opposed to sitting on top of the sideboard. I think the shiny finish on this piece will be a great juxtaposition against the flat black walls.
And not to leave you with just a peak of the artwork, I took some pictures of the vintage rug that will be anchoring this space! I love the deep colors of this rug but since it is old there are faded spots adding character to the rug.
Love. Love. Love. this rug! Just the piece I was looking for, and took a long time to find! Friday the dining table is scheduled to be delivered and my sconces are on their way as well. At this moment I think the room will be finished in time to perhaps even host a meal in the space before the reveal! Of course now that I said that something catastrophic will happen ;). Here's the t0-do list which didn't get much crossed off this week, but most of the items are on their way.
Paint walls blackNew lights above tableFix hole on the ceiling- New sconces
- Large artwork over buffet
- New dining table
- New dining chairs
Vintage rug for under table- Accessories
- Mirror for room
- Style the room and photograph
Make sure to check in on the 20 designers and linking participants. And come back tomorrow to see what Tricia got done this week- which I think is a whole lot more than I got done!
