It's week 4 of the One Room Challenge ™ and let's recap. This year I'm a featured designer (pinch me!) and the pressure is on! We have (had!) eight weeks to completely transform a room. You can see in this post we decided to tackle our neglected loft family room. Our goal was to add storage and family-friendly style! Ok- back to this week...In some ways, time is FLYING. In other ways, it's crawling by as I check FedEx tracking numbers ad nauseam. Guys, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna make it but man is it gonna be a nail-biter! I don't have a tutorial for you this week, but I thought I'd share our progress and pain points instead. Kind of a check-in. So here goes:

Progress:

I painted the family room! What?! After combing through paint decks, spending $100 on samples (I wish I was exaggerating), and painting about 14 DIY color swatches, I chose Benjamin Moore Coriander and I love it so much! My only complaint is that it doesn't quite translate in a photo. It's much more beautiful than in these few pictures I snapped. If you're not the 'go with your gut' or 'get it right on the first try' type when it comes to choosing paint colors, here are my tips for you:

Tips on Choosing a Paint Color

Top Row (left to right): Benjamin Moore Raccoon Hallow, Benjamin Moore Overcast, Benjamin Moore Smokey Ash, Behr Whiskey Barrel, Benjamin Moore Tamarind NOTE: all Ben Moore colors were matched at Home Depot.

Bottom Row: Sherwin Williams Portico, Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige, Farrow and Ball Dead Salmon (color matched at Home Depot at 75% Strength), Sherwin Williams Sandy Ridge, Sherwin Williams Mexican Sand

-sample until your heart's content. Don't put pressure on  yourself to "hurry." I'm under a pretty tight deadline but still took my time. I know people say "it's just paint" but who wants to spend the time and money repainting if they don't have to!

-color match, but with caution. You can watch my 'paint' stories for my thoughts on this but if you don't have a certain brand near you, don't be afraid to color match at your closest store. Just make sure to sample the match; it won't be the exact same as the original color. I love Home Depot, Sherwin Williams, and Ace Hardware. I ended up grabbing my Benjamin Moore Paint from Ace.

-Make or buy BIG color swatches and watch them throughout the day. I simply use a foam brush to paint half a piece of poster board and tape it to a wall. Samplize is also a great option. I have some samples from there on the way and am excited about not having jars of paint leftover for once.

Joe installed the counter and built the shelves; we still need to fill all the holes/crevices and I'll be tasked with painting but man oh man it feels good to have that tricky part almost complete! You can find lots of this process on Instagram in the "media shelves" highlight.

I ordered lots of things. ha. Outfitting a room all at once is no joke. That's not really how my brain (or wallet!) work but if you're curious, some of the fun things I ordered are at the end of the post. Some will go back once I get everything in the space and figure out what works and what doesn't but it's going to be hard to come down from the 'packages all day er day' high, lemme tell ya! 

I also went to Xasmin Interiors (in person!) and got lots of beautiful pillows for the sectional. I can't wait for you to see them!

I found hardware. I paid double what they cost at  Hobby Lobby because they're never in stock and I needed them in my life. 

Snafus

The coffee table arrived and it is not perfect. However, I'm out of time so I'm going to roll with it. I also am in search of a console. Both of these items should have been ordered weeks ago because there's just not time to ship, the stock is low on everything, and one thing builds off of another. It's really frustrating the hell out of me. 

Joe accidentally didn't make the shelves flush with the frame and had to shim each and every one and now one of us (not it!) will have to fill the crevices. I received lots of DMs saying "I love that he called it a learning opportunity instead of a mistake!" and it's true. I'm amazed by this build. Definitely the most intricate thing he's ever done and it looks SO. DANG. GOOD. 

I'll be sharing a DIY shortly with more specifics but let's just say I created a little death trap. oops.

That's it for this week! If you're curious, head to my Instagram for some behind-the-scenes footage of building the shelves!

Let's take a look at our to-do list:

Task List:

Install Vertical Paneling

Hide all the Cords!

Build a Built-in Entertainment System

    - build and hang IKEA boxes

    - build DIY shelves

    - make a countertop

    -add trim to media shelves

    -install semi-handmade doors and toe-kick

    -Fill gaps and add baseboards back

Paint the Built-In/cabinetry

Paint the Room 

DIY game/side table - I started the table! You can see my progress in my highlights!

Choose Art - I'm so close! I have one little decision to make...

Choose Accessories (hardware, pillows, drapes...)- See some of them at the end!

Style and Shoot!

Catch week 1 here, week 2 here, and week 3 here! Make sure to check out the progress of the other featured designers here:

Ariene C. Bethea | At Home With Ashley | Banyan Bridges | Bari J. Ackerman | Brit Arnesen

Brownstone Boys| Cass Makes Home | Dominique Gebru | Gray Space Interiors| Haneen's Haven

Home Ec. | Nile Johnson Design | Pennies for a fortune | Prepford Wife | Rachel Moriarty Interiors

Sachi Lord | Susan Hill Interior Design | This Is Simplicite | Victoria Lee Jones

Media BH&G | TM ORC

Items I've ordered (affiliate links included)