Hi friends! Guess what?! It's the One Room Challenge Modern Library/Music Room reveal day and I cannot believe I made it! This season's challenge was a pretty large undertaking (with a huge accent wall) and I could not have done it without you cheering me on! Your support has made me push through some difficult weeks and so I appreciate each and every one of you!
This Fall 2020 One Room Challenge event spanned over 6 weeks with an additional 2 weeks extra time. There were 20 featured participants that virtually designed some incredible spaces (you can check them out here)! And several hundreds of other guest participants (including me!) and you can catch them here. This event is organized by the fabulous Linda from Calling It Home , High Point Market and Better Homes and Gardens as the media sponsor.
There is a little back story behind why I chose to turn this room into a modern music/library room, and I would love to share a little snippet. Music has been a huge part of my life all thanks to my mother's side of the family, specifically my grandmother. From as far back as I can remember, my grandmother was always humming a tune whether it was while cooking a meal, braiding my hair or while going for a walk. My grandmother dreamt of being a professional singer but circumstance never allowed for it. So she encouraged all her children and grandchildren to incorporate music into their lives. Through my childhood years, my grandmother would watch me sing and play the violin daily. She attended many of my recitals and would be the first one to clap. My mother, grandmother and I would have weekend sessions where we would sing our favorite songs together. This year, at the age of 93, my beloved grandmother passed away. So this room is an ode to her joy, and a celebration of her legacy. This space is home to my violin, but I have filled it with little instruments, so that my daughter grows up with the same love for music that I did.
Now, let's talk design. If you have checked out my previous One Room Challenge makeovers, you know that I say this each and every time. This modern library/music room makeover was a TRUE challenge - in every sense of the word. I grossly under estimated how much work the slat wall would be, mostly because the wall appeared to only require one thing - SLATS! But, the wall extended into a hallway and the slats I was using were 0.75 inch wide, and the entire wall/hallway was 55 feet in length! So you do the math - that's a lot of slats!
Although this was a HUGE undertaking - I learned so much. This wall required paint, staining wood and the use of power tools. Most importantly, I learned to be persistent and patient (two really valuable attributes when taking on a design challenge!). There were times I thought I couldn't pull it off, but I am so thrilled to say I did it! I started off with a bare room here, that was mostly used as a storage dump (no judgements please!)
Before
And it turned into so much more than I imagined!
After
I am just bursting with joy! It's absolutely a dream that I get to spend time with my family in this incredible room. Everything from the slat wall to furniture and accessories is exactly how I imagined this modern music room/library to be! Let me take you through the details:
Slat Wall
This accent wall was so transformative for this room. The rich wood tones and the texture were exactly what this room needed to make this space warm and welcoming, and it definitely complemented the remaining elements in the room including the lighting, rug, furniture, art and accessories.
I opted for a dark on dark slat wall, with the wall being painted black behind the slats and the pine slats being stained a rich dark wenge color. To make the wall appear richer, I added a coat of semi gloss polyacrylic. Not only did this add a layer of protection, this also made the slats come to life with extra shine. The slats here are from Woodgrain.
As I mentioned earlier, the slat wall extends from this room into a hallway and it was really important to me to keep this area cohesive and not break up the space. For that reason, I continued the slat wall all the way around into the hallway. Our home is also very open concept, so being able to see the slat wall from almost every angle on the main floor is such a delight.
Lighting
Another key feature in this room is the lighting. Like the cherry on a sundae, both the chandelier and the oversized sconce are the perfect finishing touches to this room. Not only do these pieces make a statement, they also provide excellent function for overhead lighting and reading.
When choosing a light fixture, I wanted something that was modern and provided excellent overhead lighting. I also wanted to ensure that the light fixture matched the finishes in the rest of my home. I chose this light from Build.com and I am so impressed with how easy it was to set up, and of course how gorgeous it looks in this room.
This sconce - need I say more? This beauty from Maxim Lighting, is visible from both openings of this room and the second you walk in, it grabs your attention and takes your breath away. It's larger than life size makes such a statement and the swing arm provides the perfect light for cozying on the couch.
Furniture
The furniture pieces in this room are unlike any other in my home. The slat wall really pushed me towards rich grays and caramel tones, which is so atypical for me. But I'm glad I took the risk and went for something totally outside of my comfort zone.
This velvet Phantom Sofa with Power Foot Rest from Apt2B is such a luxurious add to the space and I am so happy I made this choice. Not only is this sofa stylish and comfortable, its a great value add given that I can put my feet up and relax!
The space in this room is limited, and although I would have loved to put a large ottoman or coffee table, I felt that that would be too overwhelming for this little room. So I opted for a cognac colored bench to serve as an ottoman. When we have company, this bench could easily be used as extra seating when needed. I must add that the cognac color here works so well with the darker gray sofa and really complements the rich wood tones in the slat wall.
A last minute addition to this space was this stylish chair that I was using in my master bedroom. The gray tweed fabric and the shape add a European modern flair to the room. The style and color of this chair is a perfect accessory to the rug from Loloi Rugs and that gorgeous woven basket from McGee and Co.
No library/music room is complete without a place to house instruments, books and fun accessories. This asymmetrical bookshelf donated by All Modern was so fun to style with various accessories from my violin, baby grand piano for my daughter, books and several vases I have collected over the years. You can find the bookshelf here.
Accessories
I say this every time I makeover a space, but the accessories in a room can make such a huge impact. I found this to be especially true in this music room. I had so much fun shelf styling, fluffing pillows and arranging baskets and I really felt that all of these items really brought this room to life. I have collected several books and knick knacks and I am totally thrilled to display them in this room. I'm also so excited to display some of my own artwork including the doodle art behind the couch and the abstract textured piece on the bookshelf.
Let me show you how I styled the space.
I created this doodle art on a whim. I'm a huge fan of abstract art, and I thought something minimal would work nicely on these rich walls. I like that this art piece adds some brightness to the space and gives me something fun to look at.
You will find a smattering of musical instruments for children in this room including a guitar and piano. I added these into the musical room/library in hopes of sharing the joy of music with my daughter. I also added fun nuts and bolts musicians to style the room which was another whimsical touch!
Back in the Fall, I repurposed several old vases by adding black and white paint to create an ombre effect. They were the perfect addition to this room and I love how they look on the shelves. The bright white vases on the shelves also complemented the art and the wall planters really well.
Well there you have it folks! The modern music room/library in all its glory! I hope you enjoyed this One Room Challenge reveal. Every time I walk into this room, I cannot help but smile! The work that went into this space was well worth it!
If you missed my previous blog posts on my design plans and how I arrived at this final space, you can find all the details on my progress here.
Thank you again to those of you who have been following and cheering me on for the past 6 weeks - your support means the world to me! And a huge thank you to Linda from The One Room Challenge, High Point Market, Better Homes and Gardens for hosting this biannual event. The Fall 2020 One Room Challenge tested me in ways I never knew possible, made me build on some skills I never thought I would need as a home blogger and also pushed me way out of my comfort zone - so thank you!
If you have a question or want to share your thoughts on this library/music room makeover, feel free to drop me a line below, email me or contact me on Instagram @thisissimplicite. If you are new here, thank you for visiting! We do a lot of fun things around here (including room makeovers!). Be sure to sign up for email updates to catch the next fun project. I would love for you to join me!
Until next time!
Mansa