One Room Challenge | Week 2 | Initial Design Ideas for Virtual Living Room, Bar, & Library

For this round of the One Room Challenge, we’re faced with designing a virtual space, bringing y’all along while we process the design. Us featured designers are partnering with High Point Market to give you some insight into how designers have vast access to “to-the-trade” sources, bringing you gorgeous, unique home furnishings that you usually can’t buy retail. Learn more about this round of the One Room Challenge in the week 1 intro post.

Learn more about me and my services and stay tuned to behind the scenes of my everyday design biz on IG. I also have a brick and mortar based in NOLA, but you can visit my online shop if you’d like to support!

Okay, now onto the spaces I’m transforming. I’m using a real life project that I’m currently working on, as inspiration for this virtual makeover. I’m renovating a 6,000 sqft home that will be sold once we’re done, so there won’t be any furniture or styling. There was no way I could keep myself from dreaming of what this home could look like, so having the opportunity to really envision what parts of this home could look like for the One Room Challenge is gonna be a blast!

I’m virtually designing the living room, home bar/wine room, and library (which is currently a sunroom).

Here’s what these spaces look like in real life:

I’ll update this post later with more photos of the living room, because I really want you to see the fireplace area.

You can see home bar area in the upper left corner of the photo above.

Here’s the sunroom, that I’ll be virtually turning into the bold, colorful library of my dreams. I’ll be removing the load bearing columns virtually, as well, since in real life, those columns carry a lot of weight of this old two-story home.

As a featured designer of the One Room Challenge, I’m supposed to bring you along the journey of designing a space from scratch, so I’d like to share some of my design process with you.

After a potential client fills out my design questionnaire and books their design consultation (submitting a questionnaire automatically sends you to my calendar – easy peasy), I go through the answers from the submitted questionnaire, as well view the photos sent over and already my wheels are churning. I’m instantly coming up with design ideas for the space(s). It helps me get excited for my client and the project, and better prepared to have design ideas to share with the client at the consult.

At the consult, I generally have clients show me around their home, so I can get a feel for their style in the rooms they’re happy with, as well as have them share the things they might not love about the space(s) they want me to design and/or give advice on.

I take notes either during the consult, or in the car before I pull off from my client’s home.

I’m the client for this project, but here are the “notes” for this living room/bar/library makeover:

• the sunroom needs to be turned into a library with brass library ladders!
• library must be pink or purple (not stuck on a particular shade)
• there needs to be comfy seating in the library to kick up my feet and really dive into my favorite books
• pull pink in library from the rug I use – get large bold rug
• remove columns from middle of room
• the living room isn’t very large, compared to the rest of the house, but needs to make a big impact – but don’t want to have too much going on in here
• lots of windows and doors in the living room – highlight them
• beef up the fireplace – too boring now
• bring in a piano – I want to start practicing again
• get glass french doors for the bar/wine room
• gold cabinets and shelving
• bring in BOMB handles
• WILD OUT in the wine room – make it super UNIQUE and statement making
• so much natural light in all these spaces
• subtle, shimmery wallpaper SOMEWHERE!
• eclectic, bright, and colorful

So, that’s typically how I approach note-taking for a client’s home at a consult, as well as with some quick sketches sometimes, when I want to get a client excited about an idea.

Here’s a couple quick “on the spot” sketches for the library and home bar. I use my Sketchup Pro 6 for just about all parts of my business, especially note-taking and drawing. They’re messy, but SUPER, SUPER quick to do, which makes it really easy to put my words and thoughts to paper.

Typically these sketches/notes/design ideas can really convince a client that I’m the right choice. After the consult, I send my clients a beautiful proposal sharing a little more about me and my process, while sharing my understanding of their pain points and how working with me will resolve them – leaving them with a beautiful, yet functional space.

I’ll share next week the concept board and layout ideas that I send a client to approve, as well as some of the design elements I’ll be using!

I’d love to hear your thoughts, please leave a comment below!

Can’t wait to share more! Be sure to follow me on Instagram, to catch the behind the scenes action AND you’ll get to see me actually go through the real renovation process of this gorgeous home. Trust me, you’ll love it!!!

And, if you’re in the market for home decor and fun accessories, take a peek at my shop!

Be sure to visit the other 19 featured designers below. You’re in for a treat!

Albie Knows | Ana Claudia Design | At Home With Joseph | Barbour Spangle Design | Dwell by Cheryl

Eneia White Interiors | Gray Space Interiors | Haneen’s Haven | Hommeboys | Interiors by Design

Jana Donohoe Designs | Laura Hodges Studio | Lauren Nicole Designs | Nicole White Designs | Nikole Starr Interiors 

 Nile Johnson Interior Design | Prudence Home + Design | Thou Swell | Traders Haven Design | Whitney J Decor | HPMKT

Till next time!