It is now the next to last week of this One Room Challenge and I’m down to the wire. There is good news and bad news.

To catch up on where we started and what we’ve done check Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6

The One Room Challenge

The One Room Challenge is a biannual event conceived by Linda Weinstein of Calling it Home for hundreds of participating designers, instagrammers, and bloggers to finish a space in 6 (or 8 weeks) and document the progress and pitfalls. The One Room Challenge is in its 19th year and is sponsored by media partner Better Homes and Gardens. You can see all the fabulous and inspiring projects from the other participants HERE.

This is my third time participating in the ORC and it is a lot of fun and a great incentive to get. stuff. done. We did the Vintage Diva Glamour Den last spring and the Overdue Office Overhaul last fall.

On to the Pocket Patio…

Pocket Patio Progress

I use the term progress lightly here because disappointingly little has happened in the last week. My doors are officially MIA until mid July, so the part that started this whole thing will not be installed in time for the “big reveal”. I can relate to the angst my clients feel when I have to deliver the bad news that there has been a delay, or that lead times are so long. It’s unavoidable these days and patience is just a part of every project!

The decking also has not appeared yet - it might go in this week if the stars align…we shall see. We need the weather to cooperate and the handyman to be available and willing. He doesn’t eat much sugar and is allergic to chocolate, so my go-to bribery with baked goods doesn’t seem to be an option!

The only bright spot is that the elusive S hooks were reordered by the bot (or maybe it was a human) that I talked to on Amazon and they were successfully delivered this time! SO the half basket hanging planters for the lattice got planted. We are celebrating the little things…

I even hung a pair back to back so the driveway side wouldn’t feel left out - they look fascinating that way - like a round planter that got interrupted by the lattice.

I had way more impatiens than I had space for in the hanging planters, so I unearthed this birch bark pot from the bowels of the garage and planted some in that to set on the patio somewhere.

And I did some vintage shop scouting for some fun accessories and came away with an old watering can and a dilapidated toy wagon that will double as extra seating or table surface when needed.

I decided they needed a jolt of color, so I’m in the process of revitalizing them with a coat of magenta spray paint.

Next week, we photograph! Whatever gets done, gets done…I’ll still sip iced tea out here and I’ll update the reveal post with an addendum when the door makes an appearance!