Well, it’s official. I’m taking part in my first One Room Challenge (ORC) as a guest participant. If you’re unfamiliar with the One Room Challenge, it’s a twice-yearly event that happens in the design blogger community where design bloggers makeover a room in 6 weeks. 6!
![](http://www.whitecabana.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ORC-Guest-400x218.png)
Calling it Home started the challenge over a decade ago, and ever since, design bloggers have been putting their best foot forward. There are two lines of participation at this point. First, on Wednesdays, a group of 20 featured participants will share their progress (see their week 1 posts). Then, on Thursdays, any design blogger can participate as a guest participant. You can check on everyone’s progress at the One Room Challenge site as well as on individual blogs.
So how will I participate this year? So what am I going to feature over the next 6 weeks? My combo laundry room/bathroom. And I’m pretty darn excited! (If you’re new to White Cabana, here’s a peek into my home.)
To be honest, I started this project weeks ago, but progress has been s…l…o…w. Given my work/life schedule and my lack of contractor contacts in Waterloo, renovating the space from top to bottom in 6 weeks wasn’t looking promising. 12 weeks, maybe. 🙂 But I can definitely feature it in 6 weeks! And that’s what I’m committed to doing.
Warning: This post contains some colourful before photos that may hurt your eyes.
Here’s what this room looked like on the day I took the first tour of my (future) house five years ago. Soon after I moved in, I removed the support bar (and about 30 others around my house), the shelf unit above the toilet, and the glass shelf. I also painted the wood strip on the sink cabinet and covered almost the whole floor with a big, white bath mat.
![](http://www.whitecabana.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/White-Cabana-Laundry-Before.jpg)
And then I lived with it. Year after year. I lived with a hideous pink/grey/gold laundry/bathroom. It hurt my eyes every time I had to do laundry.
Here’s what my space look liked a couple of weeks ago. Note the floral wallpaper. Awful. And the accordion door. Awful again. And the drop ceiling. Convenient but awful. And the lighting. Awful.
![](http://www.whitecabana.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/White-Cabana-Laundry-Reno-1-e1520802510293.jpg)
![](http://www.whitecabana.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/White-Cabana-Laundry-Reno-13-e1520802466985.jpg)
To be honest, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with this space. It’s been great to have a finished laundry space and extra bathroom for guests. It’s also been really enjoyable for me to see people’s reactions when I show them this space. Easy entertainment. On the other hand, though, the wallpaper and floor combo has always made my eyes hurt. And I hate not having a big laundry sink. A little vanity just doesn’t cut it for my needs.
While I did hire tradespeople for this makeover, my DIY-loving self could not leave it to them to have all the fun. I spent about two weekends in demolition mode. We took everything back to the studs, so that I could have a blank slate.
The space is small, but the makeover is going to be mighty!
Here’s what the space looked like post-demo day:
![](http://www.whitecabana.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/White-Cabana-Laundry-Reno-9-e1520803571519.jpg)
I know it’s not pretty and tidy, but I actually like this part of the reno process. I like to see all the pipes exposed, to see how things were originally set up, and to think about ways to make things better.
I know the tradespeople I have hired are going to make it better than ever before. On the technical side, new electrical and new plumbing is being installed. I also said goodbye to the awful accordion door, and my framer installed a fabulous pocket door. Things are already looking bright.
As for my design plan?
I’m going with this marble-like ceramic hex tile on the floor:
 this classic 4×12 subway tile on the walls:
![](http://www.whitecabana.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/White-Cabana-Laundry-Reno-7-1.jpg)
this quartz counter on the cabinet:
![](http://www.whitecabana.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/White-Cabana-Laundry-Reno-5.jpg)
this Blanco Urbena faucet on the sink:![](http://www.whitecabana.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/White-Cabana-Laundry-Reno-2.jpg)
My crew is also going to do some more reframing and add a heated floor. Hello luxury!
My custom cabinet is ready for pick-up, and my Blanco sink is going to look gorgeous on top of it. I have settled on a shower trim kit (finally…after buying and returning a couple). My original design plan continues to guide me, but I have had to make changes to it. Overall, my space’s design could be described as “a massive dose of white with a touch of grey”.
Thanks for following along my first One Room Challenge! If there’s anything specific you’d like to see or learn, let me know in the comments.