I have been looking forward to this series for a long time now. I’ve had the same bedroom furniture since I moved to Atlanta 10 years ago…so it’s time for a refresh! In case you’re new to the #ORC world, allow me to educate you. The One Room Challenge (ORC) happens every year in April and October. For 5-6 weeks I’ll showcase the steps I’m taking to overhaul my bedroom. I’ll post updates every Wednesday here on the blog and on social media (Instagram will have some extra videos documenting my progress). The big reveal will happen on the final week (that’s week 5) and I’m super excited to see where this process takes us! So let’s dive in!
The Inspiration: I’m mixing two different inspirational pieces in a (hopefully) cohesive way. Chinoiserie ginger jars have always been beautiful accents to me but I never really understood what you did with them. I was flipping through a catalogue one day and saw a table topped with a large cluster of ginger jars in all shapes and sizes. Boom! I was in love. After that I started collecting ginger jars, vases, porcelain pedestals, anything with a chinoiserie pattern. It’s been a fun little treasure hunt. My second piece of inspiration came in the form of a pillow. Anthropologie has a throw pillow by an artist named Paige Gemmel that’s sort of a Palm Beach Chic meets Chinoiserie aesthetic. I started looking for more of her artwork and came across some truly beautiful artwork. I loved that she used all of these bright colors along with animals and flowers together to create this vibrant image.
The Colors: Gemmel uses a similar color palate in a lot of her paintings. I found her blue and pink combos particularly beautiful, and since I already have a natural affinity to both colors, it just seemed like the perfect way to lighten and brighten my room. 10 years ago, when I bought my current bedding, I was in love with the dark, iridescent purple. It was different and rich. Plus, I was fresh out of college and on a budget so it sort of checked all of the boxes. I still really like this bedding so I’m just going to pack it away until I have a second bedroom. Now it’s time for something completely different to accent my chinoiserie inspired theme. I also needed a palate that would play nice with my room’s yellow walls, so there’s that.
Where we’re starting: Luckily, a lot of my current room decor just needs a little bit of a refresh. So this room makeover won’t be breaking the bank. The few things that I’m going to be adding to the room will be sourced through some rigorous bargain shopping. I’ve definitely got a lot of re-organization ahead of me and probably a purge of items I just have no use for anymore is in my immediate future. I tend to be a pack rat so that will probably be my biggest challenge. Wish me luck!
Room decor has never been my strong suit. I don’t tend to have the eye for the details that others do. I’ve been pinterersting and googling inspiration for months now and I’m think I’m ready to start executing my ideas! I’d love to hear your feedback and any ideas you may have as we move through this challenge over the next 5 weeks.
