{ditto} DIY: Inspired Design For the Rest of Us

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 my intro post.)

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

gild-something-ditto-diy{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:

Initially, I really struggled with this theme since any metallic accents I use are typically silver.  I only bring out the gold during the Christmas holidays and then I have gold everywhere.

I wanted to use what I already had. So many wonderful home decor changes can be made by just shopping our house and switching things up.

This wooden yard sale cake stand had been used to elevate some planters outside and it got caught in the rain, so I knew it either needed to be pitched or needed a painting.

Yesterday, I purchased the cardboard ornaments for $0.10 at a yard sale, and I initiated my DIY country girl painting early the next morning. Yes, DIY at its finest. It’s so easy to just hang and spray.

And my painting studio is even fancier. There should never be an excuse that one doesn’t have a space to create. Creativity can happen everywhere.

The  Krylon Metallic Paint that I used is beautiful, but it’s very gold. If I wanted to use this cake stand just for the holidays or a fancy occasion, I may have kept it as is, but I decided to use it in my day to day decor and therefore desired to age it a bit and bring in an accent color to match my kitchen.

I was inspired by this fabric I purchased it yesterday at a home decor yard sale. I just love it, and the Duck Egg Blue paint color was the perfect choice since we had a bit left over from my daughter’s Dresser Redo, 

After my spray paint dried, I lightly dry brushed some paint intermittently around the cake stand. A few places got a bit thick so I slightly wet my brush to thin it out.

My desired effect was that aged, chippy look, so then I lightly sanded just a few hit or miss spots around the edges to bring out some more of the gold.

Then I pulled out some more of my great designer yard sale Christmas finds and started playing a bit. It took all of five minutes to create this vignette.

I purchased this very large and bright gold mirror a few years ago at Goodwill. The gold was so fake looking, so I dry brushed the frame with some black  acrylic paint to tone down the gold and warm it up.  Now I love it.

The reality of this photo shoot stems from the fact I am lazy. My beautiful buffet, in which this Christmas vignette would work wonderfully and I could have spread out the decor, was covered with other decorative items.  Quite frankly, too many items, and I just didn’t want to move them all, so I spent more time attempting to create a new “table” with my piano bench and a brown tablecloth.

It would have been easier to clear the buffet. 🙂

{ditto} DIY: Inspired Design for the Rest of Us

My ten wonderful friends are going for the gold this month as well. Hop around and see how their imagination was sparked.

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

 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!)