One Room Challenge: Resources and Behind the Scenes

Now that the One Room Challenge Fall 2014 Big Reveal has come and gone, things are pretty much back to normal here at Casa Vilora Interiors.

I was pretty pleased with how my Small Swanky Sitting Room turned out, and I just wanted to share with you some of my resources, and even some of the blunders that happened behind the scenes.

Incase you missed the big reveal from last Thursday, you can check it out here

This is how the room turned out

View of the other side of the room

It all started with the wool area rug from Surya that I ordered over a year and a half ago. When it arrived it was a lot more gold than it was pictured on their website. In fact, I thought it was a gray/taupe color when I ordered it. I still loved the worn, antiqued look of it and decided to keep it. It stayed rolled up for a long time and when I finally unrolled it, there were two red stains on it. I still haven’t been able to get the stains completely out, but they are somewhat hidden. Surya is a wholesale vendor that only sells to the trade, but online sources such as One Kings Lane and Joss and Main may carry some of their collections

I used the rug’s color scheme to build the room’s color palette and “collected” feel

The paint color is Benjamin Moore Pewter. I changed my mind from the original color because it seemed more blue than gray after all. I like this option alot better

The hutch/bookcase was a piece I purchased about two or three years ago from another wholesaler (Stanley Furniture). I do know that piece is no longer available. Some online retailers also carry Stanley Furniture

The desk was also a piece I bought from Stanley at the same time I bought the hutch. It is actually a flexible piece that can also work as a console or even a dining table. The leaves fold over onto themselves to make it smaller

The loveseat was a recent purchase from Ashley Furniture. As much as I loved the houndstooth pillows it came with, I didn’t use them for this room. It is a nice piece for the price, and is great for an area like my sitting room that won’t get abused by kids.

The bombe chest is a piece that I purchased with my late husband Sacky over 12 years ago (El Dorado Furniture in Florida). When I downsized from a 4300sf to a 2650sf house over a year ago, I sold most of the traditional furnishings that Sacky and I had purchased together. They were just too big for the smaller rooms in this new house. the bombe chest was one of the few pieces I decided to keep, and it has been sitting in the unfinished guest bedroom ever since we moved. I didn’t expect to use it in this room, but I decided to help out my budget and use some of what I already owned. I think it works great.

The small gold-ish chair (actually topaz) is from World Market. it is actually a dining chair but it was the perfect scale for this small room.

The desk chair was also from World Market. (I am not sure if the black is still available but I linked to the blue)

The chandelier was also from World Market. (I think that’s it for World Market) 🙂

The gorgeous fabrics were from the Charles Faudree collection for Vervain and the one fabric at the very top (the geometric) was from Fabricut. Vervain is the really high-end line of Fabricut, so these fabrics were not cheap. I only needed a few yards for the drapery and a yard each for the pillows. I didn’t even end up using the pillow I made from the geometric fabric in the room 🙁 As you all can see, I ended up using the cream leopard even though the blue was my favorite. The drapery hardware (not shown) was from House Parts

The solid amber pillows were also from World Market and I added some greek key trim from Hobby Lobby using fabric glue. That definitely added a more luxurious and custom touch.

The two gold ceramic garden stools were from Imax Corp. They are also a to-the-trade only wholesaler, but some of their pieces are available from online retailers

The London Maps were from Paragon Picture Gallery – another wholesaler

The side table (that is hardly visible) is from Target

The architectural frames next to the sofa are also pieces I purchased with Sacky over 12 or so years ago. They were from a company called Bombay. They closed down their brick and mortar stores, but I believe they still have an online presence.

The juju hat was a DIY craft project. I will be doing a tutorial here on the blog very soon. I actually need more feathers to finish it. 🙁

The fauxdermy (animal heads) are from ZGallerie

The lamp is from HomeGoods (it was pretty scratched and soiled but I had to have it. I scored 10% off because it was dinged up)

The faux florals are from NDI and from what I already owned

The accessories I already owned for the most part….some are DIY projects like the urchins, some are from Home Goods and Hobby Lobby. The Aphrodite bust is from Museum Store Company. The lucky dragons are from eBay. The desk accessories were spray painted white (they were once bathroom accessories), so are a few pieces in the bookcase. All the books and magazines I already owned except for a set of Illustrated World History Books (24 volumes) that I scored for $20 at Katy Budget Books. I am still pretty proud about that one 🙂

The sheepskin rug/throw is from Ikea.

The pair of small pillows with the damask print is from Imax Corp.

The blue ginger jars are pieces that I already owned (They were a gift from a client) 🙂

I think I have everything covered in the room. If I have missed anything that you are curious about, feel free to email me

I will be covering some of my DIY projects in future posts, so check back for more.

Alot of crazy stuff happened during this 6 week challenge

The London Maps were a beast to hang, and I almost broke one of them. It literally fell off the wall. I was up until past midnight hanging them. Now no one is allowed to even breathe on them until I can get my handy man to redo them. Lol
Some of my DIY projects were a flop. I tried spray painting a box for the bookcase and it just did not turn out so good
I didn’t order enough feathers for my juju hat….even after 3 separate orders. I still need to order a few more packs to finish it.
The drapery hardware arrived a bit late and I literally had to finish hanging it myself. My installer hung the brackets for me days before the rod arrived; which is the hard part. While trying to get the rod up on the wall, I almost knocked off one of my priceless architectural frames off the wall. Good thing my daughter was standing right there and caught it just in time. Whewwww! 🙂
Two of the fauxdermy arrived damaged. I literally had to glue them
One of the ceramic stools arrived damaged, so a new one had to be sent.
Towards the end it was a major time crunch and I had to forego a few things that I wanted – like a desk lamp and a fiddle leaf fig tree for the corner near the desk.

As a Decorator, we always have to be creative and work with what we have, and I did just that in this room. I didn’t have an unlimited budget, so I incorporated alot of my own pieces, my DIY projects and new pieces for a beautiful, collected feel

Welcome To My Small Swanky Sitting Room

I have already spent some quality time in this room. It is just so cozy and inviting. Not that I needed anymore inspiration, but I am so ready to finish up some other rooms in my home.

I will totally be doing the Spring 2015 installment of the One Room Challenge…..I am just not sure which room it will be yet.

maybe I’ll have you guys vote next time!

Thanks to you all for following my progress over the last 6 weeks and for your positive feedback. Thanks to Michael Stolte for the great shots of the room. Thanks to Mary my seamstress for always being there for me. And thanks to my kids for putting up with my craziness (and for not eating popcorn in my new room. Lol)

Wishing You Beauty and Inspiration!