Living Room Renovation | Week 3 Update | One Room Challenge

It's week three of our living room renovation! We are on course to finish it in the six weeks allotted for the One Room Challenge. First things first, I have to show you the amazing piece I found for this room at a local yard sale.

Keep up with all of the project updates:

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6

It's a vintage Sarreid brass trunk! I'm going to be totally honest and say I had no idea what I had found until I posted it on my Instagram stories in a group of thrifted treasures. I knew I loved it and wanted it the second I saw it. The very kind lady I bought it from said she bought it in the early 1980s in Italy.

But when my antiques expert pal Nicole of Refindment saw my photos in my Instagram stories, she told me what she thought I had! I checked, and sure enough...

Now I'm thrilled at the idea of using this beautiful piece in my living room but terrified of what could happen to it with three boys in the house!

I also found some great parts (I think they are tractor implement teeth) at a agri-supply store that will be the possible bases for the brackets for the new mantle. They are only $2.99 so if this idea doesn't work out, I'm not out too much money.

Here is my Pinterest mantel inspiration so you can get an idea of our plans. But basically I want a steel band wrapping around the beam and forming a bracket with another piece as curved bracket:

We've also been making progress on the staircase. It's taking some time to make all of the pieces and get them fitted up, so here is what we have so far.

Once we get all of the pieces made and fitted up just right, I will paint them and then we will re-install it all.

Ok, so that is it for this week! We will keep plugging along on this staircase and I'll tell you all about it next week.

In the meantime, you can see all of the other projects (over 200!) linking up for the One Room Challenge here. Big thanks to Linda of Calling It Home for hosting and media partner House Beautiful!