Spring 2021 One Room Challenge

I’m doing something that I’ve always wanted to do – I’m joining the One Room Challenge as a Guest Participant! What?!?

If you’re not familiar with the One Room Challenge (ORC), you can read more about it here. So for the next 8 weeks, I’ll be updating you as I do a little refresh/redesign on one room of my house! Talk about accountability! I’m already behind and the challenge hasn’t even officially begun.

My One Room Challenge Room:

For my one room, I’m choosing our “Game Day Porch.”

Let me give you a little back story. There’s always a back story!

We signed a 2-year lease on the house we’re occupying – completely sight unseen. We aren’t typically this adventurous, but we had no choice! My husband, who is active duty Army, and our family received Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Orders for Fort Benning, GA in February 2020. We decided while discussing all of the different places the Army could send us that if the Army chose Fort Benning that we would live across the border in Auburn, AL. War Eagle!

We had big plans to come down to drive around and look at rental possibilities. However, we all know what happened in March of 2020! Also, the week the world shut down, we had a contract on our house in Huntsville, AL, and felt some pressure to go ahead and secure housing in Auburn. Since in-person tours weren’t an option, we scoured the internet for options.

We narrowed it down to two houses. After weighing the pros and cons of the two houses, ironically built by the same builder, we chose this house. We left the “Yellow Cottage” to reside in the “Doo Doo Brown Cookie Cutter!”

Before we moved in, I knew we were going to have a great covered porch. The builder advertises them as “Game Day Porches.” Auburn is a college town and football is a big deal here. I told my husband the one place I wanted to really spend money on for this house was the porch!

I could just envision all the time we would spend with our friends (ha!) and family watching games and roasting marshmallows! Things change…

In all honesty, I cried the first time I saw this house in person. We drove by it at night, as we drove into town the night before the moving truck was to arrive. I didn’t sleep much that night trying to figure out how on earth we could get out of this lease. The streets felt narrow. There were cars everywhere. The driveway is on a steep slope. The yard at this house was an eyesore and, quite honestly, pretty embarrassing! (See our backyard below).

I’ve focused more attention on making the inside cozy and livable, totally neglecting the outside because the yard situation is sooooo bad! When this challenge came along, I decided it was time to give the porch some TLC!

My One Room Challenge Plan:

If you’ve been around here long, you know I shared this Black and Teal Patio Decor about a month ago. The design board will serve as the springboard for the whole design.

Here is my very ambitious plan:

Give the porch a good cleaning
Hang curtains/drapes
Build a porch bed
Build or purchase 2 – 4 comfy chairs
Anchor the furniture with a rug
Style a bar cart for outdoor refreshments and s’more making
Create a piece of art for the fireplace mantle
Accessorize with plants and pillows
Invite real-life people over to enjoy the porch with us
Keep my kids and their friends from destroying the porch!

Now listen, I’m gonna be turning the corner at the end of this challenge squealing the tires on 2 wheels! That’s just how I roll. My organizing client load is pretty full at the moment and we have a good bit going on for the next few weekends! I’m committed to getting this done, though!

Buckle your seatbelt. This is sure to be a wild ride! You may want to pray for my family. I get a little cray-cray when I’m busting up against deadlines. Which reminds me, I’ve gotta finish my state taxes!

You can view more ORC spaces on the ORC Guest Participants Blog Page!