Spring 2021 One Room Challenge

Welcome back to Week 3 of the Spring 2021 One Room Challenge! Follow along as I give my Game Day Porch a Makeover over the next few weeks!

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Any purchase you make through one of my links allows me to earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Let me just say that I’m glad to have made it to week 5 of the ORC and I’ve not thrown in the towel yet! So close…I think I can, I think I can!

The main objective this week was simply to get our bench/couches built. Let me tell you, this little project didn’t come without its hiccups.

For weeks, months really, I’ve had the plan picked out that we would use to construct these 2 benches. I took a screenshot of the supply list last Friday so we could buy the lumber we needed. Saturday morning, I went to pull up the website the plan was on and it was gone! Vanished! Well, not vanished, but no longer functioning properly.

I get it! I’m a website owner and I know that credit cards expire; hosting services go down; people decide no longer to maintain their websites. All of that! I totally get it! The timing for whatever happened to the website I’ve been stalking and studying for weeks going down was obviously not ideal!

On to plan B…Since we had already taken the time to purchase lumber, we tried to find a new plan that we could utilize what we already purchased. The thought of going back to the lumber section to pick out more wood sounded like a nightmare. If you want to know one of the real reasons why I don’t do more wood projects, it’s the process of finding good wood at the local big box stores. I hate it!

If I’m there alone, I inevitably need to break open a new set of wood that is tied together with the strongest plastic wrap ever. Of course, I don’t have a knife in my purse. Then there’s the process of picking up piece after piece to find the straight boards. Once those are picked out, it’s clean-up time for all the bad pieces that didn’t make the cut!

Then it’s pushing the oversized load cart through the store because if I made it out of my house to the store, I’m not just going to get lumber. Off I go across the store, knocking into end caps and displays to get to the paint or plants or sandpaper. Surely I’m not alone in this angst?

Back to this building process. Once I printed out a new plan – this one from Angela Marie Made – we had to figure out how to substitute the wood we had bought for plan A to make it fit plan B.

My husband has been a trooper through this. He’s no Chip Gaines or Jerry Bailey, my dad who can do just about anything you ask him to build or repair! He’s aware of his skill level. He’s stubborn enough to do lots of trial and error. And we’re both smart enough to know when to walk out of the room when our opinions or visions differ!

Our finished product isn’t perfect, but I’m not trying to sell these. I just want a place to sit on my back porch! They are definitely the fruits of our combined labor. Once we pile pillows and the crib mattress on them, all of the imperfections are mostly covered up!

Isn’t the first finished one pretty? I was afraid this grey paint was going to be too purple, but now that it’s dry, I love it! It’s just right for the 50 shades of grey and teal aesthetic we’ve achieved!

The real test for these will be the not-so-small children who gather on the porch quite frequently. I’m already nervous about my white pillows. I knew these were probably not the best choice, but it’s about the only risk I’m willing to take. They’re so cute!

Coming up this week, we’ll be finishing up the second bench/couch – I clearly don’t know what to call this thing!! I’ve got a few decor pieces to hang, construct and paint. I also need to figure out the measurements on the curtains I’m planning to hang. I have a few little detail pieces ordered that I’m praying show up before the challenge ends.