Vintage Modern Schoolhouse Playroom- ORC Week 1

Our design plans for a green, black, and white, vintage schoolhouse themed playroom for the One Room Challenge.

When we made the decision to move into a 90 year old house, we made sure that the house had been well maintained. We love to have projects to do, but we didn't want to take on a complete fixer upper with two young kids. It needed to be structurally sound and safe. This house had already been mostly updated (drywall, electric, plumbing, etc.) and really just needed a little cosmetic love. But there were two rooms in the house that needed A LOT of love. The first floor powder room and the old front porch.

At some point in time, someone closed in the farmhouse's original front porch and turned it into a sunroom-type space. The previous homeowner used the space as an office. It's the perfect size for a home office, but with two little ones, it really would be great to have a dedicated play area. The "porch" is right off of the living room where we spend most of our time, so the kids would be close by if we were hanging out in the living room, and it would make it really easy for us to clean up all of the toys that make their way into the living room at the end of the day. It's really the perfect room to create a special place for our kiddos to play.

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I am SO excited to be tackling this space for the One Room Challenge! We will be converting that old porch room into our sons' playroom! It does need a lot of work in order to be a safe place for our kids to play and to make it more modern... Here's a peek at the space (and a toy explosion 😉)

Yikes!!! 🙈 Here you can see the old painted wooden floor which is in pretty bad shape. You can see the old ceiling tiles. The baseboard heat covers are falling apart. The cafe curtains are cute, but our toddler loves pulling on them. There is no lighting. The A/C floor register is a toddler/toy magnet (who knows what's down there!!). There is an electrical panel. There is an exterior door (and our toddler has learned how to open them). Okay, there are a lot of things we need to address here!!! I have a lot of dreams for this space, but realistically with two under two, we won't be able to do it all. I've narrowed down our task list for the time being, and this is what we hope to accomplish during the six week One Room Challenge:

• Remove ceiling tiles and raise ceiling/add drywall along roof line to make the space feel larger
• Cover original porch floor boards with vinyl plank flooring
• Install new floor moldings
• Install new, safer baseboard heat covers
• Paint the walls and exterior door
• Install new, kid-friendly window treatments
• Install shiplap feature wall
• Add lighting
• Create a toy storage solution (tutorial)
• Install safety features and childproofing measures
• Decorate with a vintage schoolhouse theme

As you saw in the photo above, we clearly need a solution for toy storage. That tall white shelf wasn't working out very well because our toddler preferred to use it as a ladder 😂 Luckily, for last month's Monthly DIY Challenge, I had the opportunity to build my own furniture, so I decided to build a new, shorter shelf to hold plastic milk crates for storage. So we can already check that off the list! 🙌

Aren't you loving that green?! Which brings me to our overall design plan... we are going for an old schoolhouse vibe with a nice shade of green that reminds me of chalkboards, black, white, and wood tones. It will be the perfect combination of stylish and fun! Here's a little sneak peek at my plans!

Vintage Schoolhouse Playroom Moodboard:

Lighting | Shiplap | Chalkboard | Globe

Milk Crates | Rug | School Desk

Penmanship Art | Flooring

If you followed our adventures through the last One Room Challenge, you know we were really working under pressure! Trying to give a bathroom a total makeover just for the sake of selling the house, with a toddler under foot, and a giant pregnant belly, all in just six weeks was no small task!!! But somehow, we made it through. We love a good challenge.

Our kitchen in our old house was our first time participating in the One Room Challenge, and it's still one my favorite makeovers to date! We created a beautiful modern farmhouse kitchen, and we learned so much in the process. One of my favorite things about the One Room Challenge is that we are pushed outside of our comfort zones a little bit, and we almost always get to learn a new skill. We come up with a full design plan from start to finish, and really get to exercise our creativity.

Don't get me wrong, taking on a full room overhaul in just six weeks is stressful too! But it's the kind of stress I don't mind having in my life. The transformation is always worth it. I'm sure this round will come with a new set of challenges as we now have a baby and toddler to "help" us with our projects 😂 but I truly can't wait to sit on the floor with my boys and play with trucks, read books, and learn our colors, shapes, and numbers. The chaos for the next six weeks is going to be so worth it. I hope you'll follow along on our journey to create the perfect playroom from an old front porch! Check back to see our progress next week. And don't forget to stop by Calling It Home to see all of the other spaces in the One Room Challenge!

Thanks to our sponsor!

Big thanks to our sponsor, Blindster. I can't wait to share more about them and the child-safe blinds they carry! Stick around to see them soon!!!

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Modern Farmhouse Kitchen Makeover

Farmhouse Bathroom Makeover