Signing up...a foreward warning.
OK, I signed up. Legit, I'm scared, I'm excited, but, overall I'm looking forward to the challenge. My biggest point of stress is the techy aspects of ORC. I'm not technically savvy. My wheelhouse of confidence is storying in IG. Even that, my skill set is pretty crude haha. Oh well, why not add a blog on top of that. Even as I type right now, I'm not really sure if this will post properly...or how to go about the look of this blog, the consistency.
But, with all things in life...learning develops skill. I'll get there. And, I'm not going to sweat the small details of what this blog looks like. My thoughts will be here, pictures of the process and eventually the reveal. My mind is trained in the scientific process. Besides my house obsession, I'm a big science nerd...so, I usually like to have a methodical way to lay out my thought process. (Most of the time... Although, a bunch of my friends would say my mind is like a clusterfuck of thoughts that swirl around and sometimes spew out my mouth like word vomit. Who says we can't be many things at once?)
The Observation
My niece's room. She's ten. She's pretty cool and is a total creative. She is whip smart, loves to paint, and is super thoughtful. Especially in her way of including my four year old in a lot of the things she does. My daughter June's favourite person in the world is her Ate Gia (I am Filipino, we use descriptor pronouns for older family member's as a sign of respect. For an older brother or cousin, we would say "Kuya"). I detailed in an IG post recently about Gia's reaction to when she first saw June's new green bedroom. Her exact words:
I love how June's room looks like and adult's room. But, if you look at the details, you realize a kid lives here. I wish I could have this for my bedroom..."
My niece's bedroom is pretty much what you would expect from most kid's her age. A lot of stuff, a favourite color, hand me down furniture (That bed actually was my bedframe from my teens!) She loves to collect figurines, books, art supplies...organization is going to be a key factor in this room overhaul.
Ask A Question:
How can I make this room better?
Organization: like I said up top...key factor. I will be DIY'ing a wall of shelves next to her closet. We will corral all of her favourite things in a sensical way and (I will find a way) to make it beautiful.
The Offer of Style: Creating cohesion, figuring out a color scheme and mood that is calming, serene, and hits the main want that Gia asked for. When you look at this room, it will look grown up. But, when you look at the details, it will be fun, creative and something that a 10 year old could grow up in and grow into.
Create a Hypothesis:
Creating Zones in this bedroom will add better function to this space:
1. A study/homework desk will be going under corner windows. I'll build a custom L shaped desk that will also act as her bedside table.
2. Floor hangout spot. Kid's her age spend a lot of time working on stuff on the floor. I'm going to ensure there is floor space by being mindful of shelving height and furniture placement. Also, will be on the hunt for a rug that will bring the room together.
3. A place to showcase her art. I will be making a peg board to go on the wall next to her bed.
4. A spot to get ready. She's at the age where clothes and personal style are becoming more important. I will be making an area where she will have a full length mirror and outfit of the day hanging space near her doorway.
5. Clothing storage. I am going to leave her to tackle her closet, but, I will be refinishing a dresser that will better fit the space. And we will work on a system that she will hopefully take ownership of. Then she will know where her stuff is...which is a huge part of parenting woes I can personally relate to.
Analyze the Data
Shit, I have a lot to do. Also, needing to balance time working on their space while keeping up with my family of two young girls. Haha. My parent's and Gia's parent's all live on the same street. (Remember how I mentioned that I am Filipino? This is a common occurence in the Filipino culture...living close to family. It doesn't happen all the time. But, it does happen often. I chaulk it up to the positive reinforcement of my parent's showing their love by doing stuff for us kids. And my parent's love us. They say it rarely. But, they show us daily. Not everyone can say their Dad shows up at their house with bacon most mornings...)
The Conclusion
So, the nap time hustle will be strong over the next 8 weeks. But, I'm looking forward to it. I thrive in times like this. I'm going to pull this tween bedroom together in a thoughtful and cohesive way. All while keeping the budget as low as possible by using much of what she has, buying secondhand and a bunch of DIYs. Gia basically said, I want you to do whatever you want. Like, how cool is this kid?! She is giving over full control and trust to me. I at the very least asked her what color's she wanted included in this room...to which she answered blue and purple. (F. Wasn't actually expecting that. So, I'll need to put some consideration into colors that are outside of my wheelhouse...haha)
Below was my first (ok second) attempt at a moodboard. The first one I had up top. I needed to switch this one around to add the ORC symbol:
Can you see it? Do you get the vibe? It's okay if you don't. This is just the jumping off point. I'm looking forward to seeing how this jump pans out...You trust me as much as Gia does, right? Hopefully, you stick around! Most of my daily progress will be storied on IG. Although, with every post, I'm getting the hang of this blogging. So, maybe I will blog more than my first and last ORC week. Maybe. Haha.
Also, don't forget to follow along with all the other Fall ORC participants here!
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