A gilded menagerie

My favorite?  A teeny, tiny gold animal perched on top of some books.  (Image from Glitter Guide via Living Gazette)

I don't know that there has ever been a time when "interior design" has been so focused on detail.  I say interior design in quotes, because I am not really sure that this term is even accurate anymore.  It brings to mind images of immaculate houses with Martha Stewart-made beds and framed art hung on the walls but these days it seems that emphasis is on having a home which is organically assembled and then imperfectly styled rather than on being "designed."  (Check it out here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.)

What we are seeing is more and more use of detail (and dare I say clutter) to give spaces a more personalized, lived-in look.  Particularly common are things like necklaces and other jewelry hung over dressers or on the wall, used as decoration; pretty bottles of lotions and potions left out in the bathroom; pictures leaned up against the wall or on the floor instead of being hung; photographs strung across the wall like bunting or haphazardly taped up with washi tape and blankets and pillows thrown on the couch like they have just been used.

How whimsical and unexpected are these?  GOLD DINOS!!!! (Image from Glitter Guide via Living Gazette)

I love these looks, as hard as they are for me to achieve with my organization and cleaning OCD. I try to make things look "unintentional" but it bothers me when things aren't in their perfect place. Our place is simply either messy (Peter seems to think this look can be achieved by throwing his pants and socks on the floor when he gets home from work) or it is so tidy and organized people are afraid to sit down on the couch for fear of messing up the pillows.

In an effort to metaphorically kick off my shoes (and resist the urge to put them directly into my closet), today I  am bringing you...painted gold animals. This suuuuuuuper simple DIY/tchotchke-maker is the perfect way to add a little detail (and a little clutter) to your space.  It's sooooo easy.  I saw this idea on one of my favorite blogs Decor8 and I just had to share it.

A larger gold pig.  You could use a kid's piggy bank.  (Image from Glitter Guide via Living Gazette)

Here's how:

STEP 1:  Buy little plastic animals at a toy store/Target/the dollar store.  You could also use anything you had on hand or anything that you like. 

STEP 2: Buy gold spray paint.  Or borrow some from my mom.  Seriously.  I've never met someone who spray paints more things gold.  I am sure she has some to spare.  

STEP 3:  Spray the animals.  

STEP 4: Let them dry.  (Wait, is this really it's own step? Yes, it is.  Now go for a run or cook yourself some dinner.)

STEP 5:  Put them around your home, any place you want guests to get a little surprise, like in the bathroom.