Thursday, May 11, 2017

ORC 6: Disaster



The worst possible thing has happened.

It has been quite the ride. Ever since jumping in late, this ORC has not gone well. I decided to "freshen up" our problematic main bath and try to make it look like it belonged to the rest of my house. Plagued with moisture and storage problems, I'd sort of given up on it.

So, when the ORC coincided with my little spruce up (new paint, cleaning the tile, and remediating the mold) I decided to give it the full on ORC treatment.

Chronicles of the One Room Challenge, Spring 2017, to date:

ORC 2: Jumping in Relunctantly.
ORC 2a: Evaluating the Bathroom
ORC 3: Using Inspiration to Solve a Bathroom Design Dilemma
ORC 3a: Progress Report
ORC 4: Yellow Alert! Yellow Alert!
ORC 5: Tick Tock

And just what is the full on ORC treatment?

That is me, living a fantasy where I'm a designer, a decorator and DIYer extraordinaire--where I belong with all the brilliant designers hand picked by Linda for the ORC. In reality, it's me working feverishly along with my husband (this time) and my mom (other times, and sometimes, but rarely, both) to decorate a room as best I can according to my vision--and budget (usually blown).

I think I am far too ambitious for the resources I have available to me. For the entire five weeks, I am STRESSED.

And then, when things happen--like you discover the light fixture you based an entire design around is too big (and the only other option --to make the ORC deadline-- is to buy another and spray paint it), or the fabric you chose is nothing like it appeared on-line and is much too dark, and the plumbing part is wrong, and you need a work around for a part you don't have--and then when the pipes are installed and they leak, and you fix them, and they leak somewhere else, and you fix that, and when they leak again and again--and you are about to fix them for the fifth time and you decide to level the sink because your husband has just put down the new floor (and made mistakes because he was tired and fixed them but it meant a quick trip to Home Depot for the third time that day to get a new threshold)--and then you get home dead tired, ready to level the sink and get the legs in their final position so you can fix that damn leak

and then,

while you're holding the sink up so your hubby can screw in the front legs,

you both hear a gigantic CRACK

and you say, "what's that?" thinking the pipes have snapped apart--

but no....

it's the ancient bracket holding your ancient beloved sink.

Gone.

Just like that.



And when that happens, I just want to give up and never, ever decorate again. (I have been tearing up all day.)

I called around, I went to several places, including Architectural Clearing House which is just what it sounds like---and he has a thousand and one parts, even a one hundred year old hanger for a wall mounted sink--but not my "very old and very rare" sink bracket.


the elusive bracket, still intact on the right side of the sink.


And all you can think is.....of course.

It's the ORC and what can go wrong, will go wrong. Not to whine--but nothing has gone without a hitch. Nothing.

I don't know when we'll be done. I am gutted I don't have a reveal. It kills me I won't be linking up with a finished room....not unless all the stars align and Linda keeps the linky open for a good while.

So, we'll see what happens.

Meanwhile, do check out all the others who have transformed their rooms in these five brief weeks. Amazingness abounds.

The chosen participants.
The guest participants.

They deserve all the praises.



10 comments :

Norma | The House that Will said...

Ah no! I'm so disappointed for you Alana, especially after all your hard work. And I know your pain - I did a bathroom for the previous ORC and everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Bathrooms are just tricky.
As for the bracket, could you get a blacksmith to custom make one for you?

Alana in Canada said...

Thanks, Norma. I appreciate your encouragement. That is an excellent thought. I'll see if I can find one!

Anonymous said...

No. You are WRONG. You belong with all the rest of the bloggers and participants! To be honest, YOURS was the first blog I clicked on this morning to see the reveal. And I don't care that you're not done--you WILL GET THERE. So I've been thinking a bit as to why I clicked on your blog first, and I think it's because I relate to you (and your house) so much. You live in a small, loved house that is not perfect, but one that you love very much and want to make it the best you can. You have stuff, and you have to put it somewhere and don't have loads of storage. You have a REAL budget, one that many people relate to. And you have real problems--and it's nice to hear about them, because they are ones that most of us experience! For instance, I always say that water is my house's nemesis--if there is a water problem to be had, we will have it--anything from leaky faucets to sewage backups to broken water tanks to washing machine issues to leaking tubs to seepage--well, you get it. But I still love my 1960s bungalow, and I still want it to look its best (without any real sort of budget, haha).

All this to say, I LOVE YOUR BLOG. And your house. I know you are discouraged (and I would be, too!!) but please don't give up and PLEASE don't think that somehow you don't belong--I think you belong more than most!!!!

Good luck, and I'm excited to see your refresh, even if it's not done within the crazy ass timeline that ORC provides :)

In the end, you're going to have a beautiful, refreshed bathroom and it will make your heart sing. And hey, the broken bracket would have broken, refresh or not! And lastly, I do love that sink.

All the best, Wilma

Alana in Canada said...

Oh, Wilma! You are so wonderful. Thank you so much. You've made me cry--in a good, healing way. For you, I will get those hooks up today. (That was another minor set back--seems you need special screws for mdf which is what we used for both the horizontal and vertical boards.) It was a brilliant suggestion.

Anonymous said...

Hugs from Saskatoon :)
Wilma

Erin | Holtwood Hipster said...

Alana,

I won't speak for everyone, but I will tell you I barely squeaked over the finish line and I had the full 6 weeks with a plan already in place and resources I cobbled together through friends and family as well. I can tell you that I relate and said many, many times to myself throughout this process - can't something just be simple for once? You may not see it on your screen, but I would bet most of us who participated in the Thursday round up were in the same boat on any given week. I've had to replace the faucet in my kitchen twice now - and the one I ended up with is going back because it sprays water all over the windows; overly tired and on my 5th trip to Home Depot one day, I'm pretty sure I had a good cry in the parking lot. Our sink had to go back and the search began for another right before our contractor measured for counters - hair pulling, last minute stuff that seemed to go on and on... I tell you this because I want you to know it happens to us all.

You talked about your resources. Some things I have realized over the last 5 ORC seasons I participated in was that (1) As much as I think I can - I CAN NOT do everything - so I have identified what I can do based on my skillsets and what I need help with early on. Find your ace in the hole through a friend or family member who can help bring your vision to life well before the event even starts (2) My budget always ends up being 1.5x what it should have been - so I overestimate going in and I shop online like a crazy person to find the best deals. I can't always get that fixture I want or that fabric I want, but I can darn sure find something close enough (3) Order your materials 3 weeks before week 1. You'll know early on if you bought enough, the correct size or color before you get to work. You'll also be sure to get it on time or be advised of backorders (4) Do your big DIY projects in Weeks 2/3. You demo in Week 1, DIY the big stuff in Weeks 2 and 3 and then fine tune and make pretty in Weeks 4 and 5.

Don't be discouraged - you will finish this project and I hope you'll share the result with us when you do. I'd love to see how you solved the problem - maybe I can learn something from you!

Chin up lady - it's all gonna work out how you imagined.
Erin




Alana in Canada said...

Erin--Now that is some wonderful, practical advice. You make me want to do this again (almost) just so I can follow your excellent time-line. Thank you so much for your encouragement.

Susan said...

You are a scream. Even though you faced a broken bracket and felt like a "fail", you are so funny and you are all of us. You make it real. We all get to this point at some time. I think you need a metal fabricator to make you a new bracket, find a small fabrication shop. It's too wonderful of a sink not to. This is your bump in the road, get that bracket and don't let that bath room get you girl. Go back after it without a deadline and show us what you got! Hang in there, you are too good to let a bracket beat you.

Alana in Canada said...

Thanks, Susan! I appreciate that so much!

MMarie said...

Dear Alana,
Oh my goodness. I feel your pain, and want to cry for you. You have worked so hard and now this. I do hope and pray for a miracle and for humor in your home while waiting for an answer. Please also remember some of those "professional" ORC bloggers have sponsors that help with their beautiful purchases (or so it seems). You and Chris are on your own, figuring things out. You and your blog are loved because it's real. But "real" is not always fun, is it? Could your architectural shop contact their peers in other cities and look for the brackets for you? (I'd definitely get 2 if they can find the right one.)
Best wishes to you. Marie

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