One Room Challenge Week 2 – A Dining Room Makeover

Hey Friends,

Welcome to Week 2 of the One Room Challenge (ORC). If you are stopping by for the first time, my project is my Dinning Room Makeover. In Week 1, I shared my plans with the mood board below.

This is my second time of participating in One Room Challenge. I completed a Tween Room Makeover last Spring for our oldest. You can catch up on all the the feature designers and guest participants on the One Room Challenge blog. This week will include project updates and tips on how to plan a successful DIY project.

My major projects for the One Room Challenge include installing beams and adding trim to the wall. I decided to start with the beams and move on to the walls once complete.

Week 1 || Week 2|| Week 3|| Week 4|| Week 5|| Week 6|| Week 7|| Week 8

Beam Project:

My first step was measuring to make sure that I got the right amount of supplies necessary. Based on the measurements, 6 beams seemed to be an optimal choice. Five would also work but given the time frame and current climate, adding a beam right where the light fixture goes to add symmetry would be a daunting task without professional help. As such 6 beams was the way to go. I drew up a mock plan and headed to the store to get lumber for the project.

The project requires 24 planks of wood in 1X6X12ft and 1X8X12ft. I will do a separate post to detail my process in the future.

Once home, the next step was to condition the wood with a pre-stain conditioner, this allows for the stain to be applied evenly on the wood without creating splotches. This took about and hour and a half and another hour for dry time.

Then came time for the stain, I chose the color below to match closely with the floors in our home. It took a bit of trial and error to get the right stain.

I applied 2 coats of stain allowing some dry time in between both coats. I let it dry for about 24 hours.

 

It was time for cutting. Even though the lumber is 12ft, it is almost not an exact measurement, as such I need to get all planks to be 12 ft exactly.

I was hoping to start putting the beams together and preparing the wall for installation but ran into a snag with the spacing on my beams. I had to go back to the drawing board to figure other alternatives. I will share more details in a future post.

I’ve shared in prior posts, blogging and DIYing are a true hobby as I work as a tax consultant full time. Most of my time devoted to projects fall on the weekends and some evenings. As such planning is a huge must for me. Below are some tips that are helpful when planning a project.

 

Planning a Successful DIY project:

1. Write down your goals

   It is important to have a good idea of what you want the end project to look like. As such it is helpful to put an inspiration board together to understand what is achievable in your space.

2. Research:

   Once you have your inspiration together, do research to understand what it takes to achieve your end project.

3. Draw up a timeline:

   Figure out how long project will take and budget out your time to meet your goals. If it will go on for several weeks, I recommend breaking it down into weekly goals and always reassess

4. Budget:

   It is highly recommended to have a budget and try as much as possible to stick to it. There can be issues that arise that are out of your control, however, try to keep what is in your control within your budget.

5. Plan for things outside your control:

   Important to plan for things outside of your control, such weather or a known power outage. This will help you stay on task with your project

Plans for Week 3:

My plan this week is to prep the ceiling and start installation. If everything goes well, I might be able to finish.

 

I’m excited with the progress and look forward to updating you on my progress next week. As always thank you for stopping by.