2 Days 200 Dollars Challenge - Day 1

Day 1 of the 2 Days 200 Dollars Challenge was broken into 2 days - 1 hour of prep time on a Friday night and a few hours of getting it done on a Saturday. We did a quick check with the judge to make sure we weren’t breaking any rules with our Friday night prep (technically, I don’t think there’s judging in this challenge, just everyone winning with the beautiful spaces they transform). Miss Harper, herself, confirmed that the hour of prep did not count against us. Phew! Check out our Instagram highlights to read the fun exchange.

Okay. So what exactly was prep on Friday night? Getting the vanity ready to paint.

First, I took off all the hardware.

Second, I cleaned all surfaces. I use a vinegar/water mix as my everyday cleaner (2 parts water, 1 part white vinegar).

Third, I primed the whole thing. I like using foam paint brushes on furniture that has lots of insets and curves. They get in the creases more easily.

And that was my wild and crazy Friday night. Well, one hour of my wild and crazy Friday night.

On Saturday, I started the day with a coat of paint on the vanity (Mysterious by Benjamin Moore).

Then shopping. I headed out to Lowes for a woven bamboo shade. I knew what I wanted - a cordless, bamboo shade in medium brown. But then I got to the store and for half a second I reconsidered the color. A lighter, blondish shade caught my eye.

The top shade is what I initially wanted, the bottom shade made me double think my choice.

But then I turned the boxes over…

And nope, I did not like the lighter shade. The contrast of the dark speckles felt too harsh. Not what we wanted. Out of curiosity I polled our Instagram followers to see what they thought. It was fun to see the results a day later - we’re all on the same page. Love it.

Back at home, it was time for those gross, old, vertical blinds to go. I’m proud to say that I installed the bamboo shade myself (it was super easy, I’m not that handy). And the change was instant and dramatic.

Next up, I put a second coat of paint on the vanity.

Then, my husband (who is that handy) changed the light fixture. Electrical work is officially beyond my pay grade, although I’m told (repeatedly) that changing a light fixture is really straight forward.

I screwed in my favorite vintage LED bulbs (these guys) and Day 1 was complete. From start to finish, I put in about 4.5 hours of work (including the shopping!).

Here’s a sneak peak.

With all the major work done, Day 2 will be adding the new vanity hardware and shopping my house for frames, art and decor.

Stay Tuned!

- Leah

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2 Days 200 Dollars Challenge - The Plan

We are serious fan girls of Cynthia Harper. She’s a stylist/influencer/social media guru guide (that’s an industry term…) and she recently launched a lifestyle website. We’ve been following her since foreva and earlier this year we had the pleasure of interviewing her on this blog. She shared so many pearls of home design wisdom, including the two genius questions you should ask yourself before buying any item for your home: “1) Are there are least 3 places in my home that I could put this? and 2) Would I still consider buying this if I had to pay twice as much for it?" So, so smart. Check out the full interview here.

When she announced a “2 Days 200 Dollars” challenge at the beginning of the month, we were immediately intrigued. The idea of her challenge is sort of self explanatory - taking 2 days and $200 dollars to transform a space (any space!). We’ve always wanted to join the One Room Challenge (more on what that is here) and thought this might be a nice way to ease ourselves into the room transformation challenge world. So, after a tiny bit of contemplation - we high fived, fist pumped and announced to each other: we’re in.

We decided to conquer a sad, sad bathroom. That happens to be mine. It’s a bathroom that hasn't been updated in several decades and needs a FULL gut renovation. But, that takes a lot of consideration (still honing in on what my dream bathroom looks like) and a lot of dough (big dreams = big budget). So, I’ve been in the never ending phase of dreaming and saving. I’ve also never been great (or interested) in designing intermittent spaces because, again, I dream big. Doing anything less feels frustrating.

In comes a little motivation from Cynthia Harper and my whole attitude changed. First, I love a good challenge. I’ve always been an adventurous “Truth or Dare” player. Second, the needed overhaul for this bathroom is still years away and I don’t know if I can bare brushing my teeth in the situation any longer. Third, 2 days and $200 is so low key that I knew I wouldn’t feel like I was spending an inordinate amount of time or money on a short term design. And just like that I was instantly ready to create a beautiful bandaid! Sometimes a little random, outside motivation is the perfect push.

Now, let’s get into the project. Here are some before photos.

Feist your eyes on that orange-y stained oak vanity. And those blinds. They may legitimately blind you.

Clearly there was nowhere to go but up - which is an awesome starting point for a transformation.

First thing’s first, we needed a big picture plan - what was I going to change…with only $200? Designing a quick, low cost refresh is a really different process than undertaking a full budget, thoughtfully paced design. You need high impact at minimal cost, which means some of the biggest pain points of the room will be left untouched. For example, the shower in this bathroom is a true nightmare. It’s a corner shower unit - a plastic, triangular stall with just barely enough room to swing the plexiglass door open/closed. It’s not ok.

With that being said, there was nothing I was going to be able to do to improve the shower with $200 or in 2 days. But there was plenty, as you can see, that I could tackle. The old, cracked tile floor. The orange-stained 1970’s vanity. The truly awful blinds. The warping, cheap mirror. The barely-hanging-on-the-wall-super-dated vanity lights. The framed art above the toilet that is too high because the art that was once below it came down a long time ago and I never adjusted the height. The list goes on. So, the question became, where to start?

For a quick, low cost refresh, how do you focus your efforts to get the best result?

Here is where we’re going to let you in on our little Gray Oak secret formula. The “high impact transformation” formula. We have many poorly named formulas around here. Our entryway formula (aka mirror + texture + storage) got a whole blog post to itself and we talked about our “areas of function” guide in our Pilgrim Project dining room and our Homestead Project living room.

But, back to the “high impact transformation” formula - there are 3 things in every room that create the biggest impact. These three things are what will instantly date a room. Or, instantly create both interest and polish.

You ready?

1. Window Treatments

2. Light Fixtures

3. Rugs

Say it with me: window treatments, light fixtures and rugs. These three elements create the design trinity of any and all rooms.

And so, as much as I hate the tile floor, I wasn’t going to address it. And the warping, cheap mirror will stay warped and cheap and on my wall (for now). Instead, we planned to spend almost my entire budget on the window treatment and the vanity lights. And whatever was left would go toward a bonus something.

With the big picture in mind, here is the moodboard we came up with:

And here’s the breakdown:

Wall Color - This will stay the same, it’s Silver Cloud by Benjamin Moore (pale gray/blue) and I like it!

Window Treatment - The blinds will be replaced with a woven bamboo shade. They’re semi-custom in that Lowes will cut them to size in store and they’re cordless (I have a thing with cords and kids, I don’t like them together). This guy will do miles bringing the entire room up to 2018 and it will add warmth and texture. One check for form and another for function.

Vanity - The vanity will be painted Mysterious by Benjamin Moore (I had some extra paint from another project). The deep, saturated blue/charcoal will bring interest by contrasting the existing cooler palette.

Vanity Hardware - The curvy, brass pulls will be replaced by more modern, nickel pulls.

Vanity Lights - This was tricky. The existing light fixture had a large backplate and once it was removed there were two issues. First, the wall behind the backplate was not painted and I didn’t have any touch up paint for Silver Cloud (and I didn’t have extra money in the budget to get some!). Second, the wiring for the light fixture was off center, which is just odd. We think the bathroom must have been updated at some point and the size of the light fixture was changed, but the wiring wasn’t properly reentered to the larger size fixture. Again, weird. {Design Tip: be sure to do legwork before buying replacement light fixtures. You never know what you’re gonna find!} All this meant, we needed to choose a light fixture with a backplate, which was limiting…but we did it.

Mirror - It is what it is. Whomp, whomp.

Decor - I won’t have any extra money to buy something new, so it’ll be a matter of shopping my house!

There’s the plan. You can catch up on Day 1 progress on Instagram highlights.

- Leah

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Wednesday Five - 19

We’re back with a Wednesday Five after taking a quick break last Wednesday to reintroduce ourselves. This past week we jumped into a quick design challenge (see below) and next week we have our first install day in 4 months! Be sure to subscribe to this blog to stay in the loop and get all the details.

1. We joined the #2days200dollar challenge hosted by Cynthia Harper. The idea is to choose an overlooked space in your home and make some quick, inexpensive and impactful updates. We chose a bathroom and we went for it. Day 1 took place this past weekend - we posted lots of behind the scenes action in our Instastories and you can now check those out on our Instagram highlights. There was paint and electrical work and the MVP went to a window treatment.

Here’s a sneak peek.

you’ve never heard of Cynthia Harper, we interviewed her earlier this year (check out that interview here). And you can also head to her website - Cynthia Harper Living - she’s an insanely talented stylist and social media influencer.

2. The fleece pullover that I eyed during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale this summer is now on sale again! And it’s restocked (lots of sizes sold out this summer). So, YES.

3. Paperfolk has the cutest, free printable “Halloween Parent Candy Tax” form. Thank goodness someone finally came up with official paperwork. Our house has a long standing Sour Patch Kid tax. And I believe local Congress just passed new taxes on Twix, Reese’s Cups and Snickers. (I previously mentioned Paperfolk in the very first Wednesday Five - they sell the sweetest journals, letterboards and more).

4. It’s time to talk about weighted blankets. They’re exactly what they sound like - really heavy blankets. Most are 20 lbs. The idea is that the weight relieves stress and anxiety, and ultimately leads to a better night’s sleep. Since the start of the year I’ve been hearing about them more and more and now, apparently, Kourtney Kardashian swears by them. I don’t actually have trouble sleeping, but I’m just so curious. This may go on my holiday list this year. Just because.

5. Sonia has spent every free moment of her last week binging I’m Sorry. She says it’s ridiculous funny. Like, truly and actually laugh out loud. Cringe worthy at times (think Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm), but also relatable as the lead is a fellow mom just trying to get it done.

GO SOX!!!

- Leah

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