Welcome to Week Five of the One Room Challenge! True to form, this online design event, hosted by Linda of Calling it Home and media partner House Beautiful, has gone by in an absolute blur. I couldn’t be more grateful to see things coming together! Here’s a quick look at our progress thus far:

The feature wall, created with panel moulding from Metrie, is almost complete with just a couple more pieces and the baseboards to be installed. It looks fantastic already, and will look so much better with the final coat of Farrow & Ball All White No. 2005 applied!

The idea behind creating a panelled feature wall was not only to elevate the level of sophistication in the IV Suite, but also to create a stunning backdrop for Amber’s educational presentations when the retractable glass wall is opened up between the reception area and the IV Suite. The panelling allows us to forgo artwork on that wall while still creating a very polished finished look, and I couldn’t be happier with it!

Sadly it is not looking like said retractable glass wall will be installed in time for the reveal, but suffice it to say it will bring in an abundance of natural light into the space while still offering privacy thanks to a 3M film we will be applying (a major cost savings over frosted glass).

The Nurse’s Station in the IV Suite is also starting to take shape with the cabinets and modern Top Knobs hardware installed. I love how clean and elegant the hexagon shaped knobs and pulls look on the sleek and glossy cabinets, and the repetition and rhythm of the bar pulls next to the Perlick Refrigerated Drawers looks fantastic.

Due to an unexpected delay in fabrication that was entirely outside of my control, we are quite literally saying our prayers that the quartz will be installed in time for the photo shoot. Cue serious nail biting and deep breathing.

If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know I’m not exaggerating when I say I am a total art addict. Art is such a powerful opportunity to imbue meaning into a space. It helps us tell a story and set the stage for the mood we want to create. That’s why I took a lot of time settling on just the right pieces for the reception area and IV Suite. I wanted to find pieces that spoke to a feeling of hope, and also a representation of a “happy place” or mental escape.

If you’ve done any meditation at all, you know that having a visual place to escape to in your mind can be a powerful tool when working to calm and centre your body, and I wanted the art to offer that kind of visual escape. Amber and I share a love for the beauty and healing powers of Le Scandinave in Collingwood. The property is surrounded by birch trees, so when I landed on this gorgeous print from Minted by Utah photographers Marilyn and Kaleb Nimz called Aspens At Altitude, I knew it would be the perfect welcome for the senses in the reception area.

I think it looks amazing finished in its Framed & Matted crisp black frame and simple white matte. To me, the perspective of the photograph invites a sense of daydreaming, laying on your back and watching the wind gently sway the trees as you unwind to the sounds of nature.

The mood for the IV Suite is slightly different, but it still let’s nature take centre stage. For me, Minted’s Praia da Ursa by photographer Hi Uan Kang Haaga represents a bucket list vacation destination, and one I will be quite happy to escape to in my mind when getting my IV therapy infusions. There are few things more healing and grounding than a walk on the beach, after all, and that natural outcropping of rock is mesmerizing when you consider how it actually came to be! This piece is going to look incredible framed up in a simple black Framed & Matted frame and installed above the stunning Bernhardt Winston Credenza.

With the photo shoot scheduled for Monday, I’m in the home stretch of gathering together styling details. As with all of the decisions I’ve made for Docere, I want the details to tell Amber’s story, even if they do so very subtly. I’ve been searching high and low for reasonably priced quartz geodes and was thrilled to score these three gems at Winners this week!

The two rose quartz tea light candle holders will be perfect for beeswax votives. I adore beeswax candles not only for their incredible smell, but also because they clean the air of toxins. I’m thrilled to have found a way to integrate them in a beautiful way, as white beeswax candles are hard to come by and the yellow ones (while they smell amazing) aren’t so pretty to look at.

The amethyst geode is just beautiful and will make a thoughtful touch either on the coffee table or at the nurse’s station.

While things are definitely starting to take shape, there’s no lack of things yet to be done in the next 5 days!

• All baseboards and cabinetry toe kick to be installed
• Paneling to be completed
• Final painting to be completed
• Chandelier to be installed
• Stone feature walls in reception to be installed (this is a biggie!)
• Sinks, faucets and quartz counters to be installed
• Styling and photo shoot to be done!

Needless to say, we will have our hands full between now and next Thursday, but I couldn’t be more excited to see this space completed and to share it with you.

In the meantime, be sure to head here and here to check out what all of the other ORC design daredevils are up to as there are some incredible projects coming together! I can’t wait to pour over all of them on reveal day next Thursday!

Until then, enjoy your weekend!