Alas. I am busy as a bee, and I simply had to take this week off. BUT, since I pretty much ADORE my friends here at FHD, I can’t leave you without some fun design inspiration for a whole week, sooo, each day this week you will get an oldy but goodie post.

Today’s oldie-but-goodie gives you the scoop on:

why Ditto -ing a room is so valuable!

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Vision :: Define the Details with a Ditto

{The post below is a repost, from my earlier days of FHD bloggin’! But the interior design advice rings true! Enjoy… and chime in!}

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This week, I am doing a series on how to create vision for your home by defining your personal style.
You can check out the previous posts by clicking on the links below:
Monday: “vision :: what do you love?”
Tuesday: “vision :: pretty as a picture”
Wednesday: “vision :: words of reason”
{I would still love to know what style-words you picked for your home… leave them in a comment on Wednesday’s post!}

On Tuesday, we talked about taking an interiors image from online or a magazine, and using it to start defining your personal style. Our goal was to compare the pictures in groups, looking for commonality, and then getting a big-picture idea of what you love; of what the general theme of your personal style is.

Today, I want to talk about looking for details, as opposed to commonality. That brings me to one of my favorite pastimes:
“Ditto-ing” a picture.

If you have been reading Fieldstone Hill for even a tiny little while, you know that my feature posts are called “dittos.” I analyze a space, pouring over the tiniest detail, and then I determine what it is that I specifically love about it. This is where I always discover that it is in “the details in a room” that good design is born.

Today, I want to encourage you to do the same thing. Take one of your absolute favorite images, and dive into every detail, every color, ever furniture shape, every choice, every accessory, every practical touch… and make a list of what you would steal from that space. Need inspiration? Click here to read my ditto posts.
Interestingly enough, I find that this process does not lead me to copy a design. In fact, it is rare that I even use more than two ideas from any one image in the same space. For example, if I were working on a dining room… I would likely end up with a combination of my own ideas, a smattering of what is actually available to purchase, and I would use a few “ditto” ideas from several different images {from pictures of a variety of spaces.. from kitchens to patios}.

So, go ahead. Analyze the details of a space to your heart’s content. Decide what it is you love about another person’s design.

And take confidence in the fact that even famous artists{like Matisse, for example} did exactly the same thing. It is an expected part of an artists’ training to “copy” from the Masters!

{Henri Matisse. Woman with a Hat}

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Get your inner-artist-in-training ready, and be here, at Fieldstone Hill, every Monday for your regular dose of designer Ditto -ing!

And veteran FHD readers, can you remember a favorite ditto of yours? Or how about this: share something you ditto -ed in your own home!

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Starting today, One Kings Lane is launching multiple sales on the most adorable must haves for your kids and your travelling needs! If you’re new to One Kings Lane, sign up today and get a $15 credit for purchases of $30 or more.

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