We made it! I honestly feel like we could rename the One Room Challenge “Survivor: Designer Edition.” Crowbarring your own space in alongside client work and completing it start-to-finish in 6 weeks? Well, as my lovely friend Lisa Canning said last week, it feels a bit like having a baby. While you’re giving birth you’re like “Why am I doing this again?” and when it’s all done you’re totally blissed out on the afterglow. Here’s to the bliss, friends, ’cause this baby is OUT!

I’m so thrilled with how everything came together in the end. The balance of dark and light, cool and warm, and the mixed layers of texture make this room both sophisticated and inviting – the essence of liveable luxury. The gorgeous Zena Holloway Angel print from Citizen Atelier is absolutely breathtaking in her pride of place, flawlessly finished with a Framed & Matted gallery frame. I find her truly mesmerizing! I love how the metalic silver linen drapery from Kravet frames her with a radiant glow.
Gratefully, the CB2 Crane Floor Lamps {see above} arrived at the 11th hour, and I love them. Lighting game is on fleek. I decided to repurpose a pair of end tables I already had and I think the caged brass bases create just the right airy feel next to the luxe Kravet black velvet tufted sofas. They also play beautifully off of the custom rift-cut oak coffee table which I love pretty hard.
I added a custom solid wood helix on the other side of the room to balance the wood tones and the warm against the cool of the black velvet {see below}, and I’m thrilled to finally have a piece that I’ve designed for clients over the years in my own home. I’m a lover of wood in its natural glory, and this piece {though you can’t see it very well} is pure poetry with it’s mind-bendingly torqued shape. I’ll be sure to post a shot of it on Instagram this week so you can get a better look.
I am thrilled with how the Thibaut ikat wallpaper turned out, especially given that we successfully installed it ourselves! It’s the perfect warm and textured backdrop for the art, like the gorgeous David Graham White piece you see above. 
I’m also thrilled at how the canvas-stretched mural from Anewall turned out when resined with Art Resin. If you missed the tutorial on how to do this yourself last week, you can check it out here!

In the hands of my amazing furniture maker, the Metrie mouldings definitely transformed our fireplace surround and mantel into a thing of elegance and beauty. Add to that the custom herringbone mosaic tile from Creekside Tile and a black curved fireplace screen from Anvil & Co and it’s a pretty huge transformation from the before.

I’m quietly delighted with how the shelf styling turned out. For me, styling a bookcase is a labour of love that is as much about curating your story as it is about making things pretty. I tend to add, tweak, edit and repeat until I get something I’m happy with, and I was zhushing this bookcase in little bits as we worked on the room over the last few weeks to get it just right.

The subtle yet sophisticated brushed brass Lewis Dolin pulls from Upper Canada Specialty Hardware are the perfect finishing touch on the cabinet doors of the built-ins.

To say I’m happy about the transformation of my desk area would be a major understatement. I actually LIKE sitting at my desk now. Just like with the laundry room, I’m reminded once again of the power of good design to transform our quality of life. I love my DIY modern pin board with Kelly Wearstler-esque nailhead detail. The radiant Kravet Contract reptile pattern velvet mixed with the faceted antique brass nail heads offers an elegant canvas on which to pin fabric memos and inspiration images, though I confess I may leave it clean for awhile so I can enjoy it in all its modern simplicity.

The trio of art above the desk – framed in gorgeous Framed & Matted gallery frames – fuels my sense of wanderlust and quite simply makes me happy. The two pieces on the left – limited edition prints from Minted – work brilliantly with Amy Friend’s emotional and moving Babushka {Blue}.

I like a bright work area {and I’m somewhat obsessed with symmetry} so I framed out the desk area with a pair of acrylic and brass column lamps from West Elm and love them. They’re timeless classics that I can repurpose in any room of the house should I choose to do so.

As you can see, the great debate on what colour to paint the gorgeous faux bamboo mahogany chairs from 55 Downing St. ended up with a “no paint” solution! My Brazillian walnut floors have a lot of variation in them, and I am a fan of mixing wood tones for a more interesting space. Add to that the madcap dash to the finish line of this design dare, and not painting them turned out to be the perfect solution! I really do love them, especially finished with the Kravet dove grey mohair seats and Bermingham & Co. lumbar cushions. Check out my Instagram for a straight-on shot of the chairs side by side from yesterday’s feed.

As a pair {perched atop the super warm and cozy lambswool rug} they face into the family room for a beautifully balanced floor plan, and one of them easily pulls away to sit at the desk when I’m working. It’s an elegant, flexible solution to a room with more than one function! It is practical and pretty without looking utilitarian. Perfection.

I can’t believe it, but that’s it! I’m grateful and delighted to have this room completed and can say that my family is already connecting more and feeling inspired by the dramatic transformation of this luxe family room makeover. 
Huge thanks to Ashley Capp for being such a delight to work with on the photography, and to the one and only Linda from Calling It Home for corralling all the designers daring enough to dive into this adrenaline-fueled biannual design event!
SOURCES
Black Velvet Tufted Shelter Arm Sofas – Kravet | Ikat Wallpaper – Thibaut | Shelf + desk – Custom | Rolling Desk Drawers – IKEA | Pin board fabric – Kravet | All frames – Framed & Matted | Desk lamps – West Elm | Wall Art – Citizen Atelier, Art Interiors, David Graham White, Minted, Anewall, Art Resin | Crystal Docahedron, Coral Mounted on Lucite, Geode Mounted on Lucite, Gold Stretching Greyhound, Michael Aram gold candlesticks – Elte | Leather Bound Books – Vintage | Sepia Sketch in Bookcase – Purchased on the streets of Paris | Lewis Dolin Brushed Brass Pulls – Upper Canada Specialty Hardware | Glass Cloche, Glass + Brass Box – Indigo | Sea Urchin – Paxton Gate SF | Silver Hurricane – Ralph Lauren available through Elte | Faux Coral – House Warmings | Tibetan Fur Pillows – Fibre by Auskin | Python Print Fabric – Kravet | Herringbone Faux Fur Fabric {on blanket} – Kravet | Ombre Chevron Fabric on Bench – Cassaro | Reupholstery of Bench – Switch Studio | Paint – PARA Paints | Silver Linen Drapery Fabric – Kravet | Sewing of Drapery + Pillows – Hollie Cooper | Hexagon Pencil Cups – CB2 | Lucite + Rose Gold Kate Spade Tape Dispensers + Stapler – Indigo | Brass Wallhanging File Holders – CB2 | Voluspa Candle – Indigo | Sheepskin rug – Costco | Mouldings for Fireplace Surround + Mantel – Metrie | Custom Nero Marquina Herringbone Mosaic – Creekside Tile | Curved Black Fireplace Screen – Anvil & Co. | Rift Cut Oak Coffe Table + Helix End Table – Custom through The Curated House by Sarah Walker | Silver Tray – Heirloom | Vintage Opera Glasses – Heirloom | Coffee Table Books – Indigo |

Be sure to check out the stellar work of these designer daredevils. There are some incredible finished spaces to be seen as a part of this year’s One Room Challenge, my favourites being those by Design Manifest and Kimberly Whitman. But that said, they’re all gorgeous!!

Apartment 34 | Arianna Belle | Because It’s Awesome | Coco+Kelley | Christine Dovey | Design Darling | Design Indulgence | Design Manifest | The English Room | Vanessa Francis | Hi Sugarplum | Honey We’re Home |Jojotastic | The Pink Clutch | The Pink Pagoda | Simplified Bee | Style Your Senses | A Thoughtful Place |Kimberly Whitman | The Zhush | Guest Participants

Until next time, darlings!

xx
s.