Welcome to the June {ditto} DIY challenge!

Once a month ten very different bloggers are hosting this challenge to recreate in our own homes a project or design element inspired by a haute couture design. The idea is to inspire everyone to incorporate fine design elements into your own home in a way that fits your own style. (For more details on what {ditto}DIY is all about, check out this post, explaining the it all!  My first ditto project was a painted tray vignette and I’m still loving it!

The ten hosting bloggers include:

Darlene @ Fieldstone Hill Design
Ruth @ Living Well Spending Less
Cindy @ Skip to My Lou
Jen @ Balancing Beauty & Bedlam
Edie @ Life in Grace
Rachel @ Surviving the Stores
Karin @ Trophy Mom Diaries
Lauren @ I am THAT Lady
Kelly @ View Along The Way
Melissa @ The Inspired Room

This month’s theme is Go for the GOLD, and this was our inspiration photograph:

{Art and design by Samantha Reitmayer Sano of Style/Swoon.}

The {ditto} DIY Challenge:

Gild something, or paint it gold! Then use it in a lovely display.

Here is my Go For the GOLD {ditto}DIY project: Tween Girl’s Room (in progress) with a Painted Gold Table

I’m right in the middle of working on a tween room for my very adorable tween daughter. She’s been asking to move into the ‘craft room’ for awhile, but I have loved her sharing a room with her sister all these years and wanted to wait until I felt it was the right time for a switch.  I finally said yes (after a year of weighing the options) and we’ve had so much fun collecting inspiration photos on our tween room pin board, and talking about what she loves and would like to incorporate into her room.  We are early in the planning stages so don’t let the above photo fool you.  The room may not end up that color and most of the stuff is all borrowed from other rooms.  We half-way/sorta painted (as in one quick coat to see if we like it) one side of that wall pink, spray painted the table gold (which I ADORE!), borrowed stuff from every room in the house that fit with her girly/glam/vintage vibe—all the while knowing that none of this stuff may stay where it is, if it stays at all.   We stole the rug from the downstairs kitchen, the antlers (which she wants for jewelry storage after seeing her friend, Leah, do something similar) from the living room, the bedding from the camp room and some pillows from various and sundry places in the house.  I really like it so far but what I like most is taking photos of it to see 1) if we like the paint color, 2) if like the white bedding, 3) if we need to find another rug.  This is my favorite way to decorate;  lots of trial and error.

(Brendan Manning quote purchased at Lovely Words Etsy Shop)

What I love so much about the color palette are the various shades of pink/red/coral with the dark brown/black to give it a strong foundation.  The gold glams it up just right.

I started with this table.  Lightly sanded it and then spray painted it gold.  Easy as pie.

I started here with the gold table and the cute but tiny little head planted from Hobby Lobby, and just kept adding things from around the house.

When I say we sorta painted the wall, I tell no lies. (Notice upper left corner.) I think we are both in agreement on this color but negotiations continue.

Despite my shotty work on the walls,  I did do a bang up job on the table,  with less than one can of gold spray paint.  And now nothing seems out of my golden reach.  I have the  Midas touch.  Beware, bust of David. You would be smashing in gold.

So, there you have it.  A tween room that is less than a fourth of the way done. It’ll be a fun summer project, which I’d love to have done before I travel with Compassion to  Nicaragua.  That’s looking mighty iffy at this point. Stay tuned!

(And many thanks for your love and prayers last week. You are dear friends and I’m so thankful for you.)

And now comes the fun part! It is time to link up your own fabulous Go for the GOLD projects and join the {ditto} DIY party! It wouldn’t be much of a party if you didn’t stick around, so be sure to check out as many projects as you can! Then be sure to visit Darlene’s site for a peek at next month’s challenge along with some expert design tips on incorporating gold accents into your home. (HINT: This design challenge could very well use something that is just sitting in your closet, and turn it into gorgeous art work for your walls!)

(The link-up opens at 8am!)

Have you ever looked at home decorating magazine or watched a design show on HGTV and wished you could make your own rooms look that good? Design is not always about expertise or even an unlimited budget, but more about taking inspiration and making it work for your own space. That is the philosophy behind Ditto DiY.

Once a month, beginning in May, nine very different bloggers will attempt to recreate in their own homes a project or design element inspired by a haute couture design selected by the (uber talented) Darlene Weir of Fieldstone Hill Design.

Rebuilding my house from the ground up forced me think about my decorating style, to give it words.   Darlene recommends even creating a Pinterest board of spaces you love and then studying them.  I came up with five words and a quote, that summarize my style:  eclectic, cottage, Texas, vintage, and Southern chic.  (I’d love to know your words in the comments!).

“A sense of gracious invitation.  Warm, personal colors.  Respect and reverence for our past.  Subtle intelligence.”

 My strength is decorating is that I know what I like.  My weakness is in editing the room or vignette to not include EVERYthing I like.  This should be fun!

In addition to Darlene, the participating bloggers include:

Ruth @ Living Well Spending Less
Cindy @ Skip to My Lou
Jen @ Balancing Beauty & Bedlam
Edie @ Life in Grace
Rachel @ Surviving the Stores
Karin @ Trophy Mom Diaries
Lauren @ I am THAT Lady
Kelly @ View Along The Way
Melissa @ The Inspired Room

Be sure to pop over to each of these fabulous ladies’ sites to find out more about their personal style, as well as to discover their own decorating strengths & weaknesses!

So here’s what happens next: Monday, May 6th, all nine of us will share our inspired DiY projects, while Darlene will provide expert design tips on incorporating the featured design element into your own space. She will then also present our inspiration photograph for the following month. The truly fun part will be seeing what different interpretations of the same photograph this incredibly eclectic group comes up with!

After you’ve had a month to see what Ditto DiY is all about, we will be inviting you ALL to participate! Beginning in the first Monday in June (and every first Monday of the month after that), all you with blogs will be able to link up. (Non-bloggers can share your pictures on our Ditto DiY Facebook Page!)

Be sure to tune in Monday, May 6th to check out our first Ditto DiY projects. And now, without further ado, here is this month’s inspiration:

{ditto} DIY

This month’s Inspiration, selected by our interior designer:

A chic painted tray and vanity vignette, from the home of nina bergsten, photography by marcus lawett.

The {ditto} DIY Challenge:

Create your own painted tray and vanity vignette.

Designer Thoughts:

“Study the image above, and be inspired by the sophistication and simplicity of this design. The attention to each detail adds up to a beautiful vignette. “

Can you come up with three words that best describe your style?  Do your spaces reflect those words?  Wouldn’t it be fun to take small projects like this and slowly incorporate your vision into your home?!