One Room Challenge, Week #2 – Leopard Carpet

Welcome to Week #2 of the One Room Challenge Linking Event.  (If you missed Week #1, click here).  Participating in this event has been so enjoyable!  More than anything, I am enjoying getting to know the other bloggers and seeing their projects unfold.

My “Challenge” for this event is redecorating my foyer.  I live in a brick colonial and the stairs are a focal point when you walk in the front door.  My style of decorating is very eclectic.  I love a lot of color, mixing fabrics and textures.  I wanted to make the stairs a design element instead of just a means to travel from one floor to the other.

Leopard Stair Runner

I am fond of animal print and wanted a leopard runner for my staircase.  Sixteen years ago I had replaced the previous owner’s oriental runner with a cream berber with a leopard border.  Although I loved it at the time, it became old and tired.

Animal print (especially leopard) is somewhat my signature.  I love it when it’s done right but there is a fine line between classic and cheesy!  I scoured every resource I had for leopard carpet that I could use as a stair runner.  The ones that I found locally looked more like they belonged in a brothel instead of my staircase.

I turned to my favorite decorating app, Houzz and searched their site. (See previous post regarding Houzz).   I was thrilled to come across a selection of animal print carpets that I loved.  The carpet was a high quality New Zealand Wool.  I immediately had samples sent to me in the leopard, jaguar and cheetah patterns.  All three were nice.

I chose the Leopard carpet.  I liked the coloring and pattern the best.

Next, I had to pick a new carpet for my second floor.  I had to make sure it flowed nicely from my leopard stairway to my upstairs landing.  My first floor is hardwood floors.  My goal was to match the lighter beige in the leopard carpet sample.

I narrowed down my selection to a tan textured loop.  My current carpet is an off white pile carpet.  I am excited to switch to a loop with a textured pattern.

Brass Stair Rods

The brass stair rods were taken down and polished the old carpet has been removed.  We polished the rods with Brasso.  They cleaned up beautifully.  The rods are like jewelry for the steps.  It really dresses them up.

From Stained Wood to Painted Wood

I have chosen to paint the stair treads and hand rail black (previously they were stained oak as shown below).  It really made the stairs pop and I know it will be a great backdrop for my new carpet.

On the Agenda

For the next four weeks I am on a mission to finish the project with the following items.

• New Chandelier for Foyer
• Add an Accent Paint Color for Second Floor Hallway Wall
• Add Brass Hardware for Coat Closet Doors
• Revealing of the Painted Coat Closet Doors
• Painting of Linen Closet Doors on Second Floor
• Plant and Planter for Foyer
• Artwork for Hallway
• Foyer Rug

If you would like to follow along with the other linking participants and see their progress every Thursday, click here.   If you would like to follow the 20 selected designers in the Wednesday challenge, click here.

For those of you new to the blog, this One Room Challenge was founded by Linda of Calling it Home.  Linda’s design blog is worth checking out.  She has great style and you will enjoy your visit.

Stay tuned next week for more progress.