New Kid On The Block – Color Block Wall

One Room Challenge Week 6

Our color block wall may be complete but to say it has been a difficult couple of weeks would be a gross understatement. There is so much hurt and pain happening around us which has evoked many emotions. I was relieved when the One Room Challenge announced there would be no Week 5. I certainly did not have the mental capacity to write a blog post last week. Home decor and DIYs were too trivial next to the heavy events our nation was and still is experiencing. We are in dire need of change and I hope it’s on the horizon. We all need to do better and be better!

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It’s the end of Week 6 of the Spring 2020 One Room Challenge and I’m so glad you joined us. If you’re unfamiliar with this event then you’re in for a treat. Each Spring and Fall, 20 Featured Designers are selected by Linda Weinstein and the ORC team for a 6-week challenge where they each take us along on their journey to an incredible room transformation! Feeling inspired? Guest Participants, like yours truly, with a blog or Instagram account can register and join in on the action. This year, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the challenge includes an additional 2 weeks of work time which has been so helpful for newbies like me and Hubby.

Color Block Wall – The Before Space

We’ve been working on our color block wall over the past 2 weeks and no surprise, my paint woes lived on. At the end of our paint sampling process, our wall looked a lot like an artist’s paint board. While it may have appeared chaotic, I knew each and every color on that wall and why I liked or disliked it.

My original color block design focused on utilizing soft, neutral colors. This was to contrast the large, dark shiplap wall on the opposite side of our master bedroom. For that reason, I settled on Behr Eider White for the top, Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray for the middle, and Sherwin Williams Dromedary Camel for the bottom. I love the rich, warm pop of color provided by Dromedary Camel and the Agreeable Gray was the perfect transitional color. It added enough contrast and interest between the top and bottom colors.

Paint Tip

Here’s a painting tip that’s been working great for us. We strongly recommend using frog tape and properly adhering it to your wall with either a putty knife or decal/wallpaper applicator. This technique allows us to achieve clean, crisp lines every time. We rarely experience paint bleed and all our walls are textured!

Soooooo … remember when I said I was going for a soft, neutral look? Well … that went out the window! The more I looked at the wall and the rest of our room, the more I realized I wanted more drama in the space. I mean, are you even surprised by this? I’m like a one-trick pony around here with this SW Iron Ore!

This color block wall actually spans 19 FEET so it’s quite a sight but in a good way! Half of it is recessed and will be hidden behind our 75″ TV, a dresser, and a mini-fridge. I think if we added a microwave, our room could officially be considered a studio apartment! Don’t judge us!

Color Block Wall – The Reveal

It was definitely a bittersweet moment saying goodbye to our photo gallery wall of our firstborn, Neah, but I’m thrilled with how this turned out! There is so much potential from a styling perspective for this little corner. These were just 2 ideas that came to mind but I’m excited to play around more with this new space! If you’re a color block lover or just enjoy cool paint projects, then you need to check out our Office Color Block project!

What You Missed Last Week

So in addition to completing our color block accent wall, I also reevaluated the curtains I’d hung up a few weeks back. The sheerness of the curtains did not photograph as well as I’d hoped and caused some distortion in our images. I purchased replacements from Target but came to the realization that curtains just weren’t as necessary as I’d initially thought. The space already feels so much lighter and lends more to the clean, minimal style we’re trying to create!

This Week’s Agenda

As we’re quickly approaching reveal day, we have one more project to complete and that’s the wall cubbies we purchased from IKEA. I’m going to be a stinker and not say more than that! You’ll just have to stop by next week to see what I’m talking about!

It’s such a good feeling to check tasks off our list! Be sure to subscribe to our blog and follow us on Instagram to stay up to date on our personal journey in this event. You’ll also definitely want to follow along and see what the Featured Designers and other Guest Participants are working on! Anyone else a fan of color blocking?! Help settle a debate between Hubby and me, would you call this a color block wall or a mural?

Aminah Chung