A beginning, a return, a space that holds it all

There are rooms that simply exist…
and then there are rooms that carry your life inside them.

This is one of those rooms.

Welcome to Week 1 of the One Room Challenge, where over the next eight weeks, I’ll be transforming the living room inside my 1891 building: slowly, thoughtfully, and with deep intention.

This isn’t just a design project.
It’s a reclamation.

About the Space — Living Above Atelier 1891

Before I take you into the room itself, I want to share a little context because this space is part of something bigger.

I live in a historic 1891 brick Main Street building in Vernon, Michigan.

The first floor is home to my shop, Atelier 1891, where I create and sell handmade leather goods and stationery: pieces meant to be used, carried, and lived with over time.

Above it, on the second floor, is my apartment.

It’s where my real life happens.
Where the noise of the day quiets.
Where everything I carry settles at the end of it.

And like many old buildings, it’s a work in progress.

My long-term vision is to eventually open up the layout: removing walls and creating a more expansive, loft-like space that reflects the building’s history while allowing it to breathe in a new way.

But before any of that can happen, there are more immediate priorities:

• a roof repair
• brickwork restoration
• exterior renovations

The kind of work that isn’t always seen but matters most.

So for now, this living room transformation is about working within what exists.

• Using what I already have.
• Making thoughtful changes.
• Creating something meaningful without overbuilding.

Because this version of the space isn’t permanent.

But it still deserves to feel like home.

The Space as It Is

Right now, the living room sits in a kind of in-between.

It’s lived in, but not fully lived into.
It holds furniture, but not yet a story.

There are glimpses of what it wants to be:

• soft light filtering through old windows
• the weight of 130-year-old walls
• the quiet presence of history

But it hasn’t fully come together yet.

And if I’m being honest, neither have I.

What This Room Has Going For It Already

Before anything changes, I want to honor what’s already here.

Because even in its unfinished state, this room holds so much quiet beauty.

• The architecture — original bones that can’t be replicated
• The light — soft, shifting, and grounding throughout the day
• The scale — space to breathe, not just exist
• The history — 130 years of life layered into the walls
• The stillness — a quiet presence that already feels like refuge

And maybe most importantly…

• The potential — not for perfection, but for something deeply personal

This room doesn’t need to be reinvented.

It just needs to be revealed.

Why This Room Matters

This room is where life happens.

It’s where I will:

• read late into the evening
• sit with my dogs curled beside me
• enjoy slow mornings
• write, think, rebuild, recharge

After everything that has shifted in my life, this space needs to become something more than functional.

It needs to feel like home again.

The Vision

The direction for this room is deeply rooted in everything I love:

Industrial + Victorian + Academia
Layered with warmth.
Grounded in history.
Softened by light.

I’m envisioning:

• a deep, moody color palette
• worn woods and aged metals
• walls lined with books and meaningful objects
• textiles that feel collected, not decorated

Nothing rushed. Nothing overly styled.

A room that feels like it has always existed this way.

The Plan (For Right Now)

Because this room will eventually undergo a much larger renovation, this phase is intentionally different.

This is not the “final version.”

This is the in-between version that still matters.

For this One Room Challenge, I will be:

• primarily using what I already own
• rearranging and reimagining the layout
• layering in texture, lighting, and warmth
• making only minimal, intentional purchases

This is about creating a space that supports me now; not designing for a future version of the apartment that doesn’t exist yet.

The dream space will come later.

This one is about sanctuary.

The Feeling I’m Chasing

More than anything, I want this space to feel like:

• a quiet library at dusk
• a place where time slows down
• a room that invites you to stay

I want to walk into it and exhale.

The Challenges Ahead

Like any old building, there are quirks:

• layout limitations
• balancing function with preservation
• making it feel cohesive without losing its soul

And beyond the physical…

There’s the emotional weight of creating a space in a life that looks very different than it once did.

But maybe that’s the point.

Why I’m Sharing This

The One Room Challenge isn’t about perfection.

It’s about process.
Community.
Showing up each week and building something, layer by layer.

And for me, it’s also about documenting what it looks like to begin again.

A Quiet Invitation

If you’ve ever rebuilt something,
a space, a life, a version of yourself,
you’re in the right place.

I’d love to know:

What does “home” feel like to you right now?

Follow Along

You can follow the full One Room Challenge journey here each week, or over on Instagram where I’ll be sharing more of the in-between moments.