A Year of Change {March Designer Challenge}

Do you ever get so overwhelmed by the idea of decorating a room that you end up doing absolutely nothing?  The walls stay that ugly color.  The boob light stays on the ceiling and you never actually figure out if you want a roman shade or panels.

 I had the pleasure of getting to know Erin and Tricia from Suburban Bitches at Alt Summit. We quickly hit it off and were chatting about everything under the sun, including design inertia and how sometimes, if you just tackle one little project in a room, you can get the ball rolling.  That notion quickly began to take root and became the basis for a year-long project that could lead to total room transformation – the Year of Change.

For the Year of Change project I've teamed up with the incredibly talented design blogging ladies behind Suburban Bitches, Life on Virginia Street,  and Rosa Beltran Design. We have come up with easy projects that can transform a room. 

Each month we will choose one of these projects and implement it in our own homes.  On the first Friday of each month we will present that month’s challenge. Then on the last Friday of the month we’ll reveal how we each took the project and made it our own. We’ve designed each challenge to be something that can be completed within a month and that’ll create noticeable change in your home. It’s all about taking small steps to make your home more your own without getting overwhelmed.  

Do you have a room that really needs a revamp?  Choose that room for the challenge and by the end of the year it could have a whole new feel – without you ever getting stressed. Or, spread the love around and bring a little happiness to every room in your house. We hope that you join us each month and implement each challenge into a room of your own.

And now for this month’s challenge –  stenciling!  We’re very excited to be working with Cutting Edge Stencils as this month’s challenge sponsor. In fact, I had a hard time narrowing my stencil choice down to one stencil...there were several that I loved and could have used them in various places in my house. But alas, I did select one and can not wait to show you what I will be up to!

I chose the OTOMI Stencil!

It's a huge change for me, but I had been looking for something a little daring for the space that I have in mind for this challenge. I really wanted a wall paper type of pattern, and I love OTOMI fabrics and artwork that are popping up everywhere these days, like 

Stenciling is one of those projects that people avoid because it sounds a little daunting, I know, because I've avoided stenciling because it sounds a little daunting!

  Let me tell you – it’s not.  If you can paint a wall you can stencil it.  Plus, Cutting Edge Stencils has great video tutorials that will walk you through each step.  You can do it!  Check back with us on Friday March 28th to see how Rosa, Sarah, Erin, Tricia and I add a little change to our homes with the help of Cutting Edge.

Year of Change logo designed by Kari Joy Hodgen