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Another week down and this challenge is not for the faint of heart, but I’m loving it. If you’re just tuning in, I’ve joined the One Room Challenge which is a design challenge where you pick one room in your house to renovate and/or makeover. I have eight weeks to finish a room in my house and every Wednesday I upload the link to this blog post on the One Room Challenge website as well as my Instagram @lesliekarendesign. You’ll be able to see everybody’s progress as well as tons of inspiration for every room in your house and even some outdoor spaces. This is Week 5 and if you want to see Weeks 1-4, I have the links at the bottom of this post.

After I touched up the recessed lighting covers, I bought a six pack of bigger LED Light Bulbs so it would fill up the hole more. I still want to adjust the light covers so the lightbulb is perfectly centered because I’m anal like that. I need some more springs that hold the covers. I’ll show you what these springs look like next week.

Next, I got my shipment of outlet covers from Amazon. They’re in antique brass and they just add a special touch. Those cream covers just weren’t hittin’. This is the Duplex Wall Plate below.

Here’s the One Toggle Cover.

Next, I got out my Citristrip Gel again. I ran out, so I had to get more as well as sandpaper pads, but that’s the nature of the game. I forgot to tell y’all about my orbital sander. It is the bomb and if you’re in need of one, I highly recommend the Ryobi Orbital Sander and 80 & 120 Grit Sanding Pads. The only thing is, it doesn’t fit under the top shelf of the nightstand, so I’m going to get a smaller sander for that part. These nightstands are taking so much more time than I thought, ugh. It’s because I’m trying to be extra careful so I won’t go through the wood veneer.

I’m stripping what I’m using as the mantle for the fireplace. In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that this is the headboard from my high school through college water bed. Bom chicka bom bom. I knew I was keeping it all these years for something. I put plastic wrap over it to make the citristrip really get into the stain and it sat overnight, but I think I need it to sit longer. If I’m having too much trouble, I might have to end up painting it. With DIY, you always have to have a Plan B, C, D, etc.

I’m so excited about the Electric Fireplace Insert I ordered. It has all the bells and whistles like log and crystal display modes, a choice of heat or no heat and heat levels, 12 flame colors, 5 brightness options and a remote control. Shipping was delayed, but it’ll get here in the next couple of days so I’ll show you what it looks like in next week’s post.

Here are my 6’ 2×4’s just patiently waiting for the fireplace to arrive. I didn’t want to start building the surround until I actually had the fireplace even though it had the dimensions on the website. You just never know.

I went to order the tile for the fireplace and it was on backorder so I panicked. I ended up finding a similar tile in a rectangle instead of the squares, but I think it’ll work. Let me know what you think.

Here’s what I wanted.

Here’s what I ended up ordering, the Apollo Tile in Antiek Green. Looks the same right? I’m going to lay them vertically.

I’ve narrowed down the upholstery material for the headboard, the loveseat and the pillows. The main ones are the loveseat and the headboard since I’m starting those this week.

So this week is a big one and  I’ll have some projects finished finally. On the schedule is the nightstand refinishing, build the fireplace surround, decide what to do about the fireplace mantle, build the headboard and at least start the reupholstery for the loveseat. Sounds like a lot doesn’t it? I’ve kinda sorta cleared my schedule this week so if I keep my eye on the prize and keep my head down,  I think I can do it. Wish me luck!

See ya next time.

Week 1   ||        Week 2   ||        Week 3   II        Week 4   II        Week 5   ||        Week 6   ||        Week 7   ||        Week 8   ||