One Room Challenge, Week 3 – Work Begins

Work has begun as we enter Week 3 of the One Room Challenge (ORC) and I’ve got quite a list to complete. I’ve also been going back and forth on some decisions with the placement of the panel boards on the walls. This step is crucial as it determines measurements to cut the smooth hardboards that are used to cover the texture walls.

If you are visiting here for the first time, welcome! I’m working in my powder bathroom for the Spring 2020 One Room Challenge. I joined as a guest participant and this will be my second time participating. I shared the before photos of my powder room in Week 1, and last week, I shared my design plans.

In Week 2, I also disconnected the plumbing, which was my first time doing it. I’m pretty impressed with myself, thanks to YouTube videos for guidance. I’ve also removed the vanity.

This week, I began working in the powder bathroom. Let’s recap my list of to-dos:

• Disconnect plumbing
• Remove vanity
• Remove baseboards and mirror
• Locate studs
• Finalize placement of panel boards
• Cut, prime and install smooth hardboards
• Cut and install panel boards, cap moulding and baseboards
• Cover the floors and paint the ceiling
• Install crown moulding
• Caulk and paint panel boards, cap moulding, baseboards and crown moulding
• Install mirror, toilet paper holder and towel bar
• Install vanity and faucet
• Style the room
• Photograph the room

Panel Boards Placement

I’ve spent quite some time trying to finalize placement of the panel boards that will create the recessed panel walls in the powder bathroom. I’m really struggling to decide on the width of the panel boards and also the spacing between them.

I need to get this figured out before I can begin cutting materials to avoid wasting both materials and money.

The powder room is 12 feet tall, and as a result, I have to purchase interminable lengths of boards to avoid seams, and these boards are expensive!

I used paint tape to visualize the board placement on the walls.

Initially, I wanted to divide the longest wall (8 feet) into two sections, i.e., one board in the middle of the wall and one at each end of the wall.

However, after getting advice from hubby and friends, I decided to divide the wall into three sections – one board at each end of the wall and two boards equally spaced out in between.

What do you think?

OPTION I

OPTION II

Next, I need to make a decision on the width of the boards to use. I initially planned to use 1×6 boards but after placing it on the walls, I think it’s too huge for the space. I’m leaning towards using 1×4 boards or a custom board with a width of 4.5 inches.

Since I’ve made a decision on the placement of the boards on the wall, I moved on to cutting the smooth hardboards to cover the texture walls.

Work Begins

I did something different this time as compared with the steps I took with my master bedroom accent wall. After cutting the smooth hardboards, I primed them using a Wagner paint sprayer versus installing the hardboards onto the walls first.

The paint sprayer applies the primer with a smooth finish and as a result, allows for a professional finish with the final coats of paint. This should decrease my time spent on prepping. All the pieces will be primed and ready for painting prior to installation.

Come back next week and I should have all the smooth hardboards installed and be working on adding the panel boards. 🤞🏾 

Are you as excited as I am? Check out the ORC’s featured designers and all Spring 2020 guest participants to see what they are up to!

Chat with you next week, friends!

xo, Gbeke