Hey there friends!!

Today's the day! I'm beyond thrilled to be joining the other featured designers participating in the Spring 2021 One Room Challenge(ORC)! I was completely surprised over our winter vacation while we were in the middle of the woods with little cell reception when I found out that I had been selected as a featured designer for this Spring ORC! You know the saying: if a little jumping happens in the forest and no one is around to see it, did it really happen? There may or may not have been any jumping, only the forest creatures and my family know! If you're not familiar with the ORC, it is a six-week (eight-weeks due to Covid) event that fosters creativity and inspiration and provides a network of support, encouragement and community while participants transform a room from top to bottom. I’m hoping you’ll follow along over the next eight weeks and get some inspiration to tackle your own re-dos!

Who We Are and Why We Love Creating Functional and Purposeful Homes

For those of you just tuning in, I am a licensed interior designer and I own a boutique interior design firm in Charlotte, NC specializing in architectural design and construction. We work with our clients around the country to create beautiful homes that are functional and purposeful from the ground up. If you’d like to learn more about us, you can visit our website Susan Hill Interior Design or follow us on Instagram @susanhilldesigns.

This is my third time participating in the One Room Challenge. You can check out the other seasons from 2020 here; my youngest daughter’s bedroom and my oldest daughter’s office.

We have been in our house for almost nine years. It was a brand spanking new spec home we bought at framing and contrary to what you would think, production builders don’t allow changes after selections are made, so I wasn’t permitted to do any selections or make any changes. So, I have systematically made it our own over the past nine years little by little when I carve out time.

An Updated Space for the Kids to Enjoy

When I asked my girls what room we should tackle for the ORC, both of them immediately asked for it to be the playroom. Sophia will be 14 in July and she really doesn’t need a playroom anymore and I’m pretty sure she is sick of looking at Barbie and Littlest Pet Shop when she is in there!! And, NO WONDER she won’t ask her guy friends over!!! Let’s take a look at what we are working with and how much it needs to be updated.

When we moved in, Sophia had just turned five. She was in love with coral pink and blue. I had bought vintage Ethan Allen loveseats and reupholstered them in a bright navy blue. I didn’t want to invest a lot in furniture that kiddos would destroy so we used some storage from Ikea and while it has servved it’s purpose, it is way beyond needing to be replaced.

Barbie had a huge place in our home for a long time until about a year and a half ago and the houses have just held their space since I have been working on the other rooms to redo them. You can’t tell from the carpet, but it is needing to be replaced as well. I wanted to replace it when I did Sophia’s bedroom for the Spring 2020 ORC, but it meant pssibly replacing the entire second floor. I had decided I wasn’t ready for that quite yet, but things have changed since then.

The chalkboard was a huge hit for many years and is probably the one thing I am saddest to see go! Not only did the kids love it, but we drew a lot on it over the years.

The girls (and my oldest’s boyfriend) are really into gaming. Since the playroom space isn’t huge, there isn’t room for a pool table as there would be in some rooms. So I approached the project from the same foundation and process my team and I approach every project from, interviewing the client and our programming and schematics phase. Let’s start with a clean floor plan. It’s a good size room, not large enough for a pool table and any type of seating but we’ve got a good plan in place I’ll share with you soon!!

Sophia’s List of Must Haves

Let’s cover the interview with Sophia. If you know 13 year olds, they are not the easiest to get information from. At least my Sophia isn’t but here is her list of must haves:

Large sectional for seating all of her friends and MUST be comfy for Mom
Gaming TV and surround sound for movies
Shelves for constructed Lego sets
Snack bar, complete with a beverage fridge cool tile
Dark walls - her preference would be gray, but I have to use the room too, so we will surprise you!
Cool art
Bean bag chairs - this was a must
Space for laying on the floor (she loves to lay on the floor)
Window treatments
LED lights with app and Alexa control
USB outlets for charging
Soft area rug
Cool accessories that don’t feel like “Mom”!! haha

Follow Along…

So we are creating a warm, relaxed, techy space for all of us to hang out in. So here is the floor plan of the playroom now, it’s an empty slate! I want to thank Linda Weinstein and Better Homes and Gardens for choosing me to participate this season!! Make sure to follow along next week to see our initial plans for the room and the struggle!! And make sure to check out the other Featured Designers and all of the Guest Participants as well

Ariene C. Bethea | At Home With Ashley | Banyan Bridges | Bari J. Ackerman | Brit Arnesen

Brownstone Boys| Cass Makes Home | Dominique Gebru | Gray Space Interiors| Haneen's Haven

Home Ec. | Nile Johnson Design | Pennies for a fortune | Prepford Wife | Rachel Moriarty Interiors

Sachi Lord | Susan Hill Interior Design | This Is Simplicite | Tiffany DeLangie | Victoria Lee Jones

Media BH&G | TM ORC