one room challenge: week 1

ok, i'm back!  a little late to the draw today as i hemmed and hawed about doing the challenge amidst all that is going on.  i'm finishing up one client's kitchen and bedroom and learning to balance work and home life along with being the class parent representative at my son's school.  balance is and always will be important to me; and having enough "free" time to be creative or just to veg out.  i'm just amazed at all the working momma's out there that seem to do it all.  it seems that the only way i will actually work on my condo is through this challenge!  my energy goes to other projects; my love of freedom, of discovering cool places to eat and shop, and cool things to do.  so, this challenge is good for me; to reign me to create the space i dream of (literally all the time)!  

the wonderful linda at calling it home created this event.  20, very talented design bloggers will revamp spaces and post on their blogs on wednesday over the next six weeks.  and, others like myself, will link up our designs every thursday. 

my space this time around is my living area/dining area.  i live in a condo (didn't want to do lawn work!) so the living and dining area are combined into one large area.  here are the before photos.

 this is the whole space.  a new couch and chair are desperately needed.  my kids do not want me to get a new couch.  they love the soft, suede-like micro-fiber and comfort of this couch...but the time has come.  it is really beyond time and i cannot wait to put it in the sofa graveyard!

 this was taken when i had the carpets cleaned.  i love my farmhouse table that was custom-made and has 200 year old wooden planks, hand formed wrought iron nails, and hand-turned legs.  this baby will stay.

this is such a horrible shot!  i think the light coming in isn't helping.  a corner needing much attention.  the lazy-boy chair may be recovered but i think it's a bit too large for this space...we love to recline in it and watch tv though.  the windows need treatments of some sort too. 

here is my design inspiration board for the space:

my love of white, feminine yet edgy and gilded is coming through in this design.  these are the colors, textures and overall design look i'll draw from.  my budget isn't huge enough to for all these great pieces (i'd die for the aerin console table), and most of it will be eaten up by the sofa, but it is always fun to create on a budget.  stay tuned to see what comes of it!  and visit here to see what all the other designers have in store for the next six weeks.  xoxo, dana