Roman Shade and Bench Perfection - ORC Week 4

It’s Week 4 of the One Room Challenge! Only two weeks left until the big reveal! If everything goes well over the next couple weeks, I’ll be fine, but I had a pretty big fail this week and it’s thrown me off my game a bit.

Let’s start with the good news:

The cup rack that I ordered is going to work on the wall! I had to turn all of the metal pegs by hand (my hand still hurts), but I’m so happy my plan worked out. Now I just have to figure out how to hang it…


In other news, I finished the roman shade for the backdoor window! I used this video tutorial from Better Homes and Gardens. It was not as easy of a project as the video made it seem, but I love how it turned out and I love that it actually works and we can close it if we need to. The fabric is this ikat print from Zazzle. 


The bench is officially done and the finish is perfection! I’m thrilled with how it turned out! I used this method from Thrifty and Chic to get the weathered wood look and it was so easy. 


And now the bad news, the finish on the table is not perfection. It’s a streaky, splotchy mess! I must not have sanded the table top well enough or evenly, so it turned out terrible. Now I have to start over and I’m pretty bummed. I just hope that when I re-do it, I can get the finish to match the bench.


In order to finish in time, by next week I need to have the table re-stained, hang the cup rack, patch holes/touch up paint on the wall, and sell my old set, so I can bring the new one in.

OK, let’s take a quick look at the to-do list:

 
Buy farmhouse table and matching bench
Refinish table and bench tops
Paint table and bench legs?
Sell old table on Craigslist
Buy 2 wood dining chairs
Paint dining chairs?
Buy 2 upholstered captain’s chairs
Buy/Hang ironstone cup rack
Replace light fixture – maybe?
Sew roman shade
Touch up paint
Accessories/finishing touches


Don't forget to check out the Week 4 progress from the official participants here and the other linking participants here

Or if you need to catch up on my One Room Challenge progress, follow the links to read Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3!



15 comments

  1. The roman shade is awesome and I love that fabric!! Can't wait to see everything come together!

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  2. Your roman shade is perfect! Thanks for passing along the tutorial--I need to make one (I just hope mine turns out as well!). Don't fret about the table top--the bench looks great, so you obviously know what you're doing. Take two will turn out!

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  3. What a beautiful fabric/roman shade! I love it all.

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  4. I adore that cup rack and love that you have turned it on it's side -- it's going to be awesome!
    Sorry about the table -- that is such a bummer! :(
    Can't wait to see the room all done -- I'm sure it will be amazing!

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  5. Sam, the bench finish looks soooooo great!! I'm so sorry about all your hard work and the table top - that has happened to me before where a piece looks bare until you add stain and then it doesn't take everywhere. So frustrating! I know it will come out great with just a teensy bit more elbow grease :) :) :) And your roman shade - it's gorgeous! Love the fabric you chose!!

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  6. How creative of you to turn the cup rack on its side and make it work! Keep checking off that list! I can't wait to see it all come together! ( I deleted the previous comment due to typos!)

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  7. I've been thinking and thinking about trying that tutorial for some time now, but I am not certain I will be able to execute it that well... Now that I see your lovely roman, I am reconsidering again... Just how hard was it?

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    1. It was a lot harder than the video makes it seem. I came *thisclose* to giving up on it and just sewing a valance. The first part where you deconstruct the mini-blind is pretty easy. I used the cheap blinds from Wal-Mart, so I could just remove that bottom piece and slide the blinds off instead of having to break each one. Applying the fabric was definitely the tricky part. I would recommend ironing the folds on the sides of your fabric first and then mod podging the fabric. You'll get a more even hem that way. I also took the heavy bottom piece off because I couldn't get the fabric wrapped around it neatly. I do think that it's a good idea and if you go into it knowing that it's not as easy as it looks and are flexible, it shouldn't be too bad. The results were definitely worth it.

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  8. SUCH a bummer about the table, but I'm sure that it will turn out just as amazing as that bench the second time around!!! And that roman shade looks lovely! Can't wait to see what's up next week!

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  9. Love the shade and the bench!!!! Good luck with the table though, I'm sure you'll fix it up in time!

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  10. You really have a lot of great things going on. The bench turned out wonderfully, the shade looks amazing.

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  11. I love how your roman shade turned out - love that fabric! I did one for my ORC in Nov 2013 and looking at it still makes me happy. :) All the work is worth it! Hope your hand recovers from all that turning!!
    Tricia @ Suburban Bitches

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  12. So glad the cup rack plan worked :) I love the roman shade you made and the bench looks amazing! I actually don't think the table top looks that bad, but I see what you mean about wanting it to look like the bench--hope your second attempt works!

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  13. I love the roman shade! The bench turned out great too. Too bad the table didn't turn out the first time, good luck with round 2! Can't wait to see it all put together :)

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  14. I actually think your Roman shade looked more like an art installation than a window cover! Beautiful choice on the fabric, and it’s great that it looked the same with the tutorial’s end result. Looking forward to your future posts!

    Bob Ward @ Allure Window Treatments

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