Today I am so excited to share with you the reveal of the room I put together as part of the GMC Hidden Treasures Adventure sponsored by GMC and The Cincinnati and Atlanta Habitat For Humanity ReStore. I will share the full home reveal in a later post. If you missed the first part of the adventure, be sure to check that out here:
GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure: The Journey
12 Bloggers joined in the adventure to furnish and decorate TWO homes for two Habitat for Humanity families. I will share with you the home that I was assigned to work on with the following amazing bloggers…who I now consider good friends! You develop great friendships when you sweat, laugh, and work together for a week of adventure filled days!
Danielle from Finding Silver Pennies
Taryn from Design, Dining and Diapers
Beth and Nick from Sawdust and Embryos
Allison from Two Thirty Five Designs
I finally got to bed at 3:00 am on the morning of the home reveal. I was up late spray painting a dresser in the hotel parking lot and hand painting a wooden sign in my hotel room. We were up at 5:00 so we could get ready, eat breakfast and make it to the home in Cincinnati by 6:30 am. Now, just so you can understand how this all works, this would be the first time we would actually see the house in person. We had initially been given some blueprints of the floor layout in the home and some dark, small photos of some of the rooms, but that was the extent of our knowledge of the home. I am a very visual person, so it was difficult for me to spatially visualize the finished room in my head.
This was what the Living Room looked like when we arrived. We got to unloading the trucks and helped each other carry in all of our furniture and furnishings. Then we all got to work on our individual rooms. We had some rushed and harried moments but we all were able to get the home put together and furnished by the time our family showed up at 2:30 pm. Phew!
We were so excited and anxiously awaiting TYC and her 3 year old son Ishmael’s arrival. Did you know that TYC didn’t know that her house was being furnished? It was a total surprise for her and her son and they were a bit overwhelmed at first as you can imagine. They were also very grateful and super excited!
We were only given a few insights in what our families likes and interests were. I knew that TYC loved the color red and purple and that she loved bowling. So I tried to keep that in mind while hunting the yard sale for the Living Room.
Her last name starts with a “B” so I thought it would be nice to use this letter in the decor. I intially thought to just use the “b” on the dresser as the decor because I thought TYC could place a TV on this dresser, and then as a group we decided we like the letter b on the wall in the frame.
A couple of the other bloggers scouted out some bowling pins for me at my request and they found these for the decor. I didn’t see one and was so glad the others looked out for them for me. The dresser was a dark brown before and I gave it a fresh coat of gray paint (Rustoleum Granite Spray Paint) and love how it totally gave it a new look. It also covered up a few deep scratches and worn spots on the dresser.
I spray painted the large frame that I picked up from the Atlanta Restore gold. I debated about what color to spray paint it, but because I was unsure of the wall color in the room, I decided to go with the gold to pick up the other yellow tones in the room with the chair and this blanket that was donated.
I found some great wood pieces that were actually the leaves to a dining room table. I took them and hooked them together with some wood strips and then free handed a map of the state of Ohio. I added a little red heart where Cincinnati is located and then hung it up on the wall with Nick (from Sawdust and Embryo’s) help.
The couch came from the Eaton Restore and I paid $70 for it. I was able to run to IKEA and picked up this rug for $15 and the pillows for $3 each. The yellow coffee table books and the books in the Coca Cola crate came from the Cincinnati Restore.
The Coffee table was donated to us by a lovely gentleman who heard about what we were doing and was selling items in Kentucky along Highway 127. He so generously handed it over to help us fill TYC’s home. It ended up working perfectly in the room.
I decided to create a little reading nook in the corner of the Living Room as soon as I saw the space in person. It was the perfect spot for the Yellow Chair I had fallen in love with. I added the stool which I picked up for $12, threw some more books on it and then added a small plant I picked up at Home Depot in an IKEA pot.
Since TYC loved bowling, I added this bowling bag, complete with a bowling ball that I picked up along the way for $4. I also spray painted the smaller frame gold.
Here is a breakdown of the items in the room, where I found them and how much I spent on them. Keep in mind that we were given $250 cash, a $50 Home Depot Gift Card donated by Rustoleum and shopped the World’s Longest Yard Sale, Restores, a Goodwill Store, and a couple of other retail stores.
Couch $70 (Eaton, OH Restore)
Yellow Chair $15 (Yardsale in Kentucky)
Dresser $65 (Yardsale in Kentucky)
White stool $12 (Yardsale in Kentucky)
Gray Metal Side Table $10 (Yardsale in Ohio)
Coffee Table $0 (Yardsale in Kentucky)
Bowling Pins $3 (Yardsale in Ohio)
Coke Crate $5 (Yardsale in Ohio)
Fan $10 (Yardsale in Ohio)
Wood Map $10 (wood from Yardsale in Ohio)
Books $3 (Restore in Cincinnati and Goodwill)
Bowling Bag $4 (Goodwill in Tennesse)
Flour Sack Pillow $1 (Yardsale in Ohio)
Lamp $0 (Cincinnati Restore)
Frames $0 (Atlanta Restore)
Yellow and Gray Pillows $15 (IKEA)
Gray Curtains $25 (Wal-Mart)
______________________________________
I spent $248 out of our allotted $250 on the above and then pulled a little bit of money out of my lunch money to buy the rug since I thought it would be a great addition to the room ;)!
Gray Rug $15 (IKEA)
Curtain Rods $15 (Home Depot)
Spray Paint $12 (Home Depot)
Plant $4 (Home Depot)
a few supplies for painting and making the wood sign
This was such an amazing, exhausting and emotional experience! It is not often that you get to spend a whole week thinking about someone else (that you don’t know) and putting your heart, sweat and self into creating something special just for them. I made some great friendships and am hoping and praying for TYC and Ishmael from miles away…wishing them well.
Be sure to check in later for the full home reveal. I worked with some seriously talented people and their rooms turned out amazing!
JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
Would you like more Recipes, DIY, Printables and Organization Ideas?
Subscribing to the newsletter will enable us to periodically send you creative content exclusively for Idea Room subscribers.
*View our Privacy Policy here.
Kiki comin says
So amazing, amy. What a cool and heart felt experience! Love all that you did in that living room, especially considering all of the circumstances…can’t wait to see the rest of the home.oh..and that yellow chair…I want one! ;)
Amy says
Thank you so much Kiki! Yes…we were very limited! But it all worked out and was a great experience. Thank you so much for the sweet comment!!
What an amazing experience! I am so happy you were able to go. I can’t even imagine the overwhelming feeling the mom must have felt at such a heartfelt gift. I bet all involved will remember it forever!
Thank you so much Stacy! I really appreciate your kind words! It for sure will be a once in a lifetime memory!
There are very few times I miss blogging. Something awesome like this? One of the few. Super awesome…once in a lifetime experience!
Thanks Char! For sure once in a lifetime! Thanks for commenting…I miss ya!
Wow! I used to live in Eaton, OH where you found the couch! Imagine my surprise as I was reading the posts and saw that! I have even donated quite a bit to the ReStore….when my dad passed they got a huge amount of things. What a neat experience and a blessing. Great job!
Thank you Kimberly! What a lovely town Eaton was! Beautiful area! Thanks for donating as it really can help those in need! xo
Amy, you did an amazing job to find all the items along the trip and then put them together so well. The room looks great, and what a awesome experience. I hope TYC and Ishmael enjoy their new house!
Thank you so much!
Great job Amy!! Looks amazing! I’m so glad you had such an amazing experience!
Thank you Stacey! I really appreciate your kind words!
OMG on that gold chair! It is fab-u-lish! And I love all the bowling accents. What is it about a bowling bag that is just so darn cute? That would be coming off the floor as a purse for me. I ADORE initials. And I love the B on the wall. You are just amazing…and what an awesome experience. And may I just say…TYC is ROCKING that jumpsuit! WHOA!!
That chair…right?! Thank you my friend! I miss you tons! TYC is adorable and I am so excited for her new start in life!
You did such a beautiful job! What a wonderful experience all the way around!
Thank you Sue! You are so sweet to comment often! I always appreciate it. I feel so blessed to have been a part of it!
That living room turned out so great!
What an amazing way to give back!! You made their new home such a warm and welcoming place, and you really rocked it with those yellow items! I think of happy and cheerful when I see yellow, and I’m sure that’s how TYC and Ishmael feel now!!
God bless you all for sharing your time and talents to make a difference for others!! ♥
Yellow is so happy! I lucked out on that chair! I hope they feel hope and happiness in their new home too! Thank you so much for your kind and genuine words!
What an amazing experience! So neat that you could give back. Love how the room turned out. Such great finds!!
Thank you Jamielyn!
Oh, wow! I am so pleased with how your room turned out, it is perfect for the family and has such perfect, personal touches even though you didn’t know them. You are so talented Amy! And so generously selfless! My mom got to make drapery panels for an Extreme Home Makeover here in AZ, and she had a crazy day like you talked about. And then, when the show aired, she was so mad because she noticed the show people hung her drapes upside-down, ha ha ha!!! Anyway, you are such an example of giving back, thank you!!
Turned out Great! You guys did such a good job with so little of time!
What a neat opportunity! It turned out great and I’m sure she appreciates the hard work you put into decorating her cute new home!
Thank you Linda! It really was! I hope she is enjoying it!