Hey Everyone, it's Victoria with VLV Designs and I am sooooooo excited to announce that we are officially a Guest Participant in the 19th season of the One Room Challenge! For those of you who are new to the One Room Challenge like myself, it is a bi-annual celebration of interior design, home decor and DIY bloggers hosted by Linda at Calling it Home, in partnership with Better Home and Gardens. Over the course of the next 8 weeks, a group of 200 guest and 20 featured bloggers will be taking on the challenge to transform one room, all while sharing their progress with all of you along the way!
Before we get started, I would like to introduce myself to any of you who are new to VLV Designs! My name is Victoria Valentinas, and I am the Principal Designer at VLV Designs. VLV Designs has been in the works since 2012, first taking on some incredible detours with some of the top furniture manufacturers in the world before officially launching a Full Service Interior Design Firm full-time in May 2020! Here at VLV Designs, we provide livable luxuries that reflect your style and we couldn't be more excited to take on a One Room Challenge right now, as we celebrate our one year anniversary! What I love most about my job is being able to work with and get to know so many amazing individuals, all with different backgrounds and stories to tell; it is our job at VLV Designs to help you tell that story so that your space reflects you in all your glory! We love a good challenge and that is why we don't classify our firm with one style, as the fun part is constantly being challenged to create new spaces that emulate the amazing people that live in them!
The First Challenge
2020 was supposed to be the party we were all looking forward to attending but we know what a flop that turned out to be! So when deciding what room to do for the One Room Challenge, we were inspired to bring back the Roaring 20s in all of its glory; from prohibition to quarantine, we all have developed the need for an at home bar! Our clients reached out to us with the idea of transforming their bonus room above the garage into their very own Speakeasy! The room is currently used as a storage space and a gym but, now more than ever, they miss entertaining and would like to give this room the makeover it deserves now that their kids have homes of their own and they no longer need to serve as everyone's storage unit!
What's The Plan?
First, we needed to get to know the needs and wants for the room and, as you might expect, both he and she had a lot of ideas, which is going to make this super fun to create a space that they both want to retreat to! Step 1: Coffee and Chat!
Bonus rooms can be a little tricky when it comes to space planning. Since we are dealing with the roof line, we have to keep in mind the ceiling heights for furniture placement, as well as the angles of the door and the windows for bringing in product and window treatments.
Getting Inspired!
Spoiler Alert! These clients are my favorite clients in the entire world and I have gotten to know their likes and dislikes extremely well over the past 30 years, as they are my parents! With that being said, I want to add a lot of personal touches to this Speakeasy that reflect their passions and memories of travels over the years.
The Ralph Lauren Restaurant, RL Chicago, has always played a special role in our family's life moments. When my sister and I were growing up, each birthday we used to love going to the American Girl Doll Store which, at the time, was conveniently located next to the RL Chicago, where my dad happily spent his day waiting for us while drinking a martini and smoking a cigar. Flash forward twenty years later, and my dad gave my now husband permission to marry me while toasting cocktails at the RL Chicago, while waiting on us girls who were shopping! Needless to say, now that my parents live in Pinehurst, NC, the home of golf in the USA, this bar room must represent the classics of both golf and fashion with the utmost comfort for enjoying cocktails and company!
The To Do List
Create A Floor Plan
Must allow for traffic patterns
Must be able to fit furniture through unusually small doorways
Must find a way to disguise the exercise equipment
Furniture
Needs to be super comfy
Enough seating for a small party
Need a full bar
Window Treatments
Perfect Paint Color
Fabulous Flooring
Memory Montage
Cocktails!
Follow Along
Join me and the rest of the bloggers on our our 8 Week Journey to take on the One Room Challenge by heading over to the One Room Challenge blog! I can't wait to take you furniture and fabric shopping with us next week!