So Week 5 of the One Room Challenge—Breakfast Nook on a Budget—was not very productive for the Miller’s being that it was Halloween week and our daughter’s 10th birthday. My plan was to have my beach wall art printed and reframed in the gold bamboo frames I found at a thrift store and complete my chinoiserie plate collage wall. Neither are done. Hopefully we have a very productive week because I’m not going to lie…A LOT needs to happen for a very little amount of money to turn this mess into something beautiful.
You can catch up on the story of our Breakfast Nook on a Budget One Room Challenge here – Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4
Basically all we’ve done this week is move this burl wood piece out of the breakfast nook area to make way for the chinoiserie plate collage wall. I bought this burl wood chest months ago, before I even decided to sign up for the One Room Challenge. It really is a gorgeous piece and I was hoping it would work in this room but it is all wrong for the space. So, Mike Miller had to move it out of the room, which he was super excited about, but first I had to enlist some helpers to help me move all of my decor items out of the chest. This chest has become my little storage place over the last few months and is filled with vases and florals and all sorts of decor items that I’m constantly moving around and changing. All of it had to be moved out before we could move the chest.
The burl wood piece found a temporary home right around the corner in the living room until I can figure out exactly where I want it. I think it might work in the guest room but I’m not completely sure yet. Until then it’s going to be in our living for just a bit.
Like I said, I planned to have my plate collage completely done and on the wall this week but I just couldn’t bring myself to start hanging the plates because I’m feeling really indecisive. I would REALLY love some feed back if you guys don’t mind. I have laid out several different arrangements and I can’t decide if I like just the blue and white plates or if I like the arrangements that have some of the other plates mixed in. Please leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts because I’ve got to get this plate collage wall done ASAP.
Option #1
Option #2
Option #3
Option #4
OK so let’s talk budget for a minute because one of the number one things people have mentioned to me is that they are curious to know if I do it under budget or not. First of all, let me say that I have only shopped from items I had already thrifted and was storing in my warehouse or garage, and I’m not counting any cost that I spent on those items before I started the ORC. I am only counting what I have spent from the day I signed up to do the ORC. So with that being said, as of today the only thing I have spent is this:
- $130 on fabric
- $17 on clear coat
- $300 on chair refinishing
TOTAL – $447. So basically, I have $53 to finish the room. WOW. That’s gonna be tough because I still have to order the art and I need accessories.
Here is what I have repurposed from around my house for the budget makeover:
- Stole my Elodie Rug from my study to move to the breakfast nook
- Stole my kids Ikea table from their homework room to move into the breakfast nook. Here it is pictured in it’s previous home and next week you will see how I have repurposed it for our breakfast nook.
- The West Elm Chandelier we already had and didn’t have to buy.
- The bamboo frames I bought at a thrift store in Branson this summer and am re-purposing.
So…basically the only thing I have bought for the room so far is the fabric and then I blew my budget for accessorizing with choosing to have the chairs professionally stripped. I’ll stand by that decision though. After the 4 hours of hell I spent trying to strip this chair by myself during Week One, it was either call in the pros or lose my mind. So, I spent almost my entire budget on having the chairs stripped and buying the fabric which leads me heading into week 6 with $53 left in my budget.
If you missed our post last week, here is how the chairs turned out after the Miller’s got done with them. You know whenever I am feeling overwhelmed with what I have to accomplish I just look at these pretty chairs and feel all happy inside. The before and after of these chairs is pretty awesome to look at!
So in closing, here is a reminder of my inspiration board from week 2
Since I’m not going to be able to buy a lot of these beautiful accessories, I’ve been doing some more shopping around the house to see what I already have that I can use. Here are some things I already have that might have potential in the space. It’s not much but I have some plans to hit some of my favorite thrift stores too. I might not have much left in the budget but I’m going to come up with something that packs a punch!
I know Oscar. I feel completely overwhelmed when I look at the mess we have to tackle this week too, but don’t worry. We will get through it together. Remember, I went into this saying the theme was simplicity and budget. WE GOT THIS. Hopefully.
Don’t forget to subscribe if you don’t want to miss updates from my blog and you can also follow along on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest. Also see all the other amazing ORC transformations from other bloggers here. Next week is the BIG REVEAL you guys. Hope you will follow along to see us reveal our Breakfast Nook on a Budget!
