One Room Challenge Fall 2023 – Week One

It’s here!

The One Room Challenge is back, and I am joining as a guest participant once again to makeover a space in our home. For the Fall 2023 One Room Challenge, I will be updating my seven-year-old daughter’s bedroom! Who is excited to see this room come together over the next eight weeks?

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I’m New – What’s the One Room Challenge?

If you’ve been around for our Screened Porch Project or the Formal-Dining-Room-Turned-Family-Space Project, then feel free to skip this section.

The One Room Challenge (also called the ORC) is an eight-week design challenge to update one space in your home. From 2012 to now, twice a year, DIY’ers and professional designers use this challenge as a catalyst to complete a project, share design inspiration, and foster community among the design community. Since 2022, the ORC has partnered with Apartment Therapy to feature as many participants as possible, as well as connect brands to challenge participants for collaboration opportunities.

The mission statement of the One Room Challenge: “The One Room challenge® will provide participants with a supportive, enthusiastic forum in which to share the process of transforming a room. The ORC is not a competition, but rather a celebration of creativity, inspiration, and original ideas.”

More on how to follow along after I introduce you to this fall’s project!

The Before – Her Current Bedroom

The Project

It feels like I blinked, and my baby girl has hit the tween years. Her bedroom has seen a few small updates here and there (crib to twin bed; seafoam green walls to beige) but remains largely unchanged from when we brought her home as a brand-new baby.

Over the next eight weeks, we will create a space that she is excited about – that means lots of input from Abby herself. Instead of giving her free reign, I’ll be doing the behind-the-scenes research, and then giving her a series of choices, from which she will make the final call.

Abby has already made some preliminary picks that are different from what I would have chosen. Honestly, I’m excited to “let go” and see her create a space that she loves!

The Design Inspiration

Ready for the project list for this space? Here’s our list of to-do’s for Abby’s bedroom update:

+ Refresh the space with wallpaper and new paint on the walls, trim, and ceiling

+ Replace the existing ceiling fan with a sleeker, more cohesive style.

+ Upgrade from a twin-sized bed to a full or queen-size – this means a new mattress and bed frame.

+ Create a proper reading nook with a small, but comfy seating option and a storage option for her books

+ Replace the existing desk with a more usable option – the current desk is too small and seating is uncomfortable.

+ Switch the tall Ikea dresser out for something more kid-friendly.

+ Additional design elements – new rug, wall mirror, art on the walls, and curtains.

Follow Along

The best part about the One Room Challenge is the community and support of all the participants.

Be sure to visit the One Room Challenge Blog for each participant’s weekly updates.

I’ll be sharing behind-the-scenes on my Instagram – be sure to follow along at @ellen_wags !