Welcome to our first {ditto} DIY challenge, where your favorite bloggers are doing inspired design challenges every month {and you too!}
Once a month, beginning today, nine very different bloggers are attempting to recreate, for their own homes, a project or design element inspired by a haute couture design – selected by moi. {For more details on what {ditto}DIY is all about, check out this post.}
The amazing participating bloggers {Be sure to stop by today and see their projects!}:
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
Remember that beginning next month (on Monday, June 3rd) we are inviting you ALL to join the {ditto} DIY challenge! Be sure to visit Darlene to catch a peek of NEXT month’s {ditto} DIY challenge so that you ALL can join the fun! (Hint: We’ll be going for the GOLD!)
In case you’ve forgotten, this was our first inspiration photograph:
{A chic painted tray and vanity vignette, from the home of nina bergsten, photography by marcus lawett.}
May’s {ditto} DIY Challenge was: Create your own painted tray and vanity vignette.
****I know you will all have fun clicking around and checking out how these talented and creative bloggers were inspired by our “designer” image, and how they incorporated this inspiration into their own homes. This month is the only month that they will be going at it alone. In June, the link up is for everyone!!!!! Even non-bloggers can participate by sharing over at our Facebook page. So be looking for next month’s challenge at the bottom of this post!****
designer tips for the May tray challenge:
incorporating painted tray vignettes into your home
1. Hand painting a tray is an opportunity to add exactly the right color, right where you want it. When you can’t find “that perfect color accessory” to add to your space: make your own! Use a painted tray to pull a certain color out of your curtains, pillows, rug or other textile.
2. Trays offer texture, color and layering to an uninteresting surface in your home. You can even safely add a non-breakable tray to a coffee table that is bare due to toddlers {We’ve had a wicker one on our table for years}. Layering is a designer trick, and it couldn’t be easier with trays; consider what surfaces in your home could use that extra layer of a tray.
3. Play around with pattern and finishes. Needs something shiny to glam up your room? Go with gloss. Need some pattern to add life to a neutral space? Use a stencil and add some pattern – or free hand it! Too much going on? Bring things together with a solid-colored tray.
4. Your tray display: Use the tray to organize beautiful books or baubles. I do not recommend using trays to keep all of your TV remotes on display, or other unsight-lies. Keep in mind, a tray will act like a frame. Do you want to frame and draw more attention to your TV remotes? Pick something lovely to go inside your lovely tray!
Remember that beginning next month (on Monday, June 3rd) we are inviting you ALL to join the {ditto} DIY challenge!:
Announcing the June {ditto} DIY challenge:
{ditto} DIY
This month’s Inspiration, selected by our interior designer:
Gold!! A beautiful display featuring gilded animal bookends and a brass shell bowl. 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.
Designer Thoughts:
“Gold and brass are not only back, they have been back for a while and are making their marks on the world of haute design. To add even a little touch of gold into your home, consider a brass animal for display, gold bookends, or creative gold paperweights. But don’t let that box you in… the challenge is: Gild something… gild anything! Use it in a display… then share it with us“
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Start dreaming up ways that you can add some DESIGNER GOLD to your home.
And get ready to join in on the Link-up fun JUNE 3rd! Your project will be linked up to each and every awesome blogger on the list!
And don’t forget: Be sure to check out everyone else’s projects for this month!
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
Remember that beginning next month (on Monday, June 3rd) we are inviting you ALL to join the {ditto} DIY challenge! Be sure to visit Darlene to catch a peek of NEXT month’s {ditto} DIY challenge so that you ALL can join the fun! (Hint: We’ll be going for the GOLD!)
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