Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The One Room Challenge...Week Three!


19 Design Oriented Bloggers...Six Weeks to Redesign One Room...

Welcome! If you want to begin at the beginning please click here.

This is the week I dealt with the elephant in the room...(aka)...the baby grand piano! The piano is the reason this whole redesign began. It just takes up too much design "real estate" for a family in which nobody has any interest in playing!

 So after much inquiry we learned a lot about old pianos....nobody wants them!! We couldn't even give this beauty away...we ended up having to pay to have someone remove it from the premises....and it took hours to disassemble....(it is amazing the look of horror I get from people when I tell them that I did this- but literally old pianos are a dime a dozen- the same as other old instruments- just prettier)


I did save the piano legs though for an interesting new piece of furniture I am constructing
(since I am a sentimental old fool and practical) which I will discuss next week.

Once the piano was out of the room I had my next order of business...


The radiator and it's current painted tin cover stretch about five feet at the front of the room. I love the radiant heat..just not the space that radiators claim in a room and the typical radiator covers just leave me cold! (couldn't resist the pun ;)


Here is what I did in my dining room to cover the exact same radiator....and since I don't like things matchy matchy....and I didn't want to invest much...the creative wheels had to get into gear...



Remember that antique console table that used to sit behind my couch (see below...from a picture taken during the holidays)....I had a thought...would it fit over the radiator? My husband said "no way"...I said, "let's try"...and guess who was right...?


 Me of course!

Then, after it fit perfectly and I danced a jig around the room at 10 p.m. at night (while my husband gave me that..."am I done here yet?" look) I began to see a problem...how would I fix the open bottom where I could still see the radiator...hmmm....
curtains, a wood panel to match the current console....or how about adding a little Moroccan flair? My girlfriend suggested this kind of thing...



As much as I loved all these tin panels they wouldn't work because you could still see through them when the console was in place over the radiator

 So I went on a little hunt and found the perfect wood Moroccan designed panel that was custom ordered for a client at a local hardware store...who then changed their mind! YES! Love when stuff like that happens....here is my all around "handy & talented man" Jim working his magic on the install. This panel luckily was not see through (although it looks like it is in this picture because the light is shining through it)...I stained it the color of the existing piece.



I will wait to show you the final result in all it's glory until Week Six..The Final Reveal!

What else have I been up to? After I received my sea grass rug sample...I ordered a large one for the living room and others so that most of the rugs on my main floor are now back to sea grass...always a classic that works!



Also this week an electrician installed power in my ceiling and a new ceiling medallion so that "mama can bring her new bling home"...more on that next week!


Just for something a little fun...look what I found at the flea market that I am SO putting into this space! A marble side table....for $45.00.


Please click here for Week Four.....In the meantime....

Please visit my blogging buddies to see what spaces they are working on.....

29 comments:

  1. Youre making terrific progress! Oh I could use the gorgeous marble side table! Smart thinking and great choices, Emily.
    Nancy
    Powellbrowerhome.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love that you have an old house with annoying radiators in the way just like I do! I love how you covered it! The table I have in my post today was actually built to go over the radiators in the living room. Our couch is blocking them now so I snagged the table for another use!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice to have it in case you move your couch- right? :)

      Delete
  3. Great table! Love the price! I can't wait to see the rad cover! Great progress!

    ReplyDelete
  4. 1 - I LOVE THAT CEILING MEDALLION

    2 - ingenious idea for covering the radiator -- i LOVE IT

    3 - you got so much done this week! just tackling the piano was surely hard enough

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Bethany- it is coming together..tonight I was painting until 10 p.m. since I was testing colors today!

      Delete
  5. Wow, are you on a roll! It is shaping up spectacularly. Why do husbands even bother arguing? When my grandmother passed away, my parents wanted to ship her baby grand to me. The shipping costs were crazy...and the piano was not worth it. I know your room will feel huge without it. Can't wait to see how you recycled the legs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Linda! I should have taken a pass on the piano years ago because we paid those crazy shipping costs...at the time I thought I might have pianists in my house...but like their Mother...not into piano lessons!

      Delete
  6. Nice console re-vamp! I love that Moroccan screen you chose...way better! You are killing me with the marble table!! I love it..great score Emily!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great idea on the console table. Can't wait to see how it works out in the final reveal! And that marble table for $45...nice!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is slowly coming together...thanks Lauren!

      Delete
  8. I don't know which I like more the new radiator cover, ceiling medallion, or marble table. I want seagrass so badly but no one in my area seems to know what it is. They ask me if that's the name of the color...ugh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seagrass is my favorite floor covering...I try other things and I always go back to that being the best!

      Delete
  9. wow, I'd love to find a free baby grand!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have seen these quatrefoil covers recently at the HD. I am obsessed with your usage!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. they are pretty cool and fun to work with aren't they?

      Delete
  11. Love that Moroccan radiator cover, it looks fab. Also swooning over that little marble table, it's so dainty and pretty!

    Looking forward to see your room's progress next week!

    By the way, I am hosting a fabulous giveaway! Come by and enter for a chance to win $100 credit towards a beautiful personalized canvas, if you like!

    http://www.mixandchic.com/2012/07/product-review-and-giveaway-reflections.html

    This is a giveaway you don't want to miss!

    Jessie
    www.mixandchic.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love what you're doing with the room and that little marble table is gorgeous! Great find! I found you on Emily A. Clark Interiors' post and am now following. Stop by some time soon and say Hi....

    ciao!

    ReplyDelete
  13. That radiator cover is amazing. I really love everything you're doing in the room. Can't wait to see more!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm seeing all kinds of jute, sisal etc in magazines and now your blog...I can't sell my husband on them as area rugs, cause they are too rough on his feet (we walk around barefoot usually). Am I looking at the same rug as you have? No one in your family has a problem with the coarseness?

    I did find a woven chenille rug at Target recently, but its doesn't come in 8x10...I think I'll head to a rug place next!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I personally LOVE seagrass because it doesn't stain like sisal if it gets wet. My husband has the same complaint about the roughness but I layer over the seagrass with hides and sheepskin to keep it soft in the colder months. I like the mini "pedicure" when walking on seagrass especially in the Summer...everyone got used to it quickly! Home Decorators Catalog and Pottery Barn have good selection/sizes of Seagrass Rugs...Good Luck! Thanks for visiting!

      Delete