Wagner Insprayational 2018 White Room Design Challenge

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This is a sponsored post, but all opinions are my own. Read my full disclosure policy here.

Vote for your favorite blogger room in the Wagner Insprayational 2018 Design Challenge. Nine bloggers had just 5 hours to transform a blank space into an inviting kitchen and breakfast nook space using Wagner paint sprayers, PPG Paints and thrift store accessories. You’ll be amazed at the result of this White Room Challenge.

Sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone into an amazing experience.

That’s what I did last week when I participated in the Wagner Insprayational 2018 Design Challenge alongside eight amazingly talented DIY and home decor bloggers.

Wagner, the company that makes paint sprayers, heat guns and other tools to make your DIYing easier, invited a group of bloggers to their headquarters in Minneapolis for a white room challenge.

You can see how all the rooms turned out and vote for your favorite here. When you vote before Nov. 4, you’re entered for a chance to win a Wagner FLEXiO 3000 paint sprayer.

(I love my Wagner sprayers. You can see how I used them to refresh our patio furniture this summer and make over some chairs for our front porch.)

For the design challenge, we had about five hours to transform a plain white room into an inviting kitchen/breakfast nook space using Wagner sprayers, PPG Paints and thrift store accessories, curated and collected by the fabulous photographer and stylist Matthew Mead.

The biggest twist of the challenge? We didn’t get to pick our colors. We had to draw them out of a hat.

I got lucky and drew PPG’s Color of the Year, Night Watch, a gorgeous deep green color, along with white and black as accents.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to use the colors in my space until Michelle Schneider, PPG’s Color & Design Consultant happened to walk through my space. As soon as I saw her outfit, I knew I wanted to paint the large wall in Night Watch and do an accent wall in black.

My room is a total match for Michelle’s outfit!

The pace of the challenge was so frenetic that I can’t say I really had a cohesive design plan, as I typically do when I’m making over a room in our house. Since I was working with dark colors, I did know I wanted a dramatic, sophisticated vibe that’s a bit more minimalist than how I normally decorate.

As the challenge began and we shopped the prop area, I grabbed everything I thought I might use and piled it in my booth.

I’m pretty sure that was everybody’s strategy!

The fresh flowers were very popular. I’m glad I snagged some early.

I’ve watched design competition shows for years. After participating in the Wagner Design Challenge, I have a newfound respect for those competitors and producers.

The pace was intense, and it’s really hard to design a room by the seat of your pants, without a plan. But it’s also fun and energizing.

Thankfully, we had lots of help. Wagner’s staff were all-hands-on deck, doing anything we asked them to do —  filling paint sprayers, hanging lights, moving furniture, carrying props back to our booths and so much more. Quenton, who is a graphic designer at Wagner, helped me out a lot, lending me his muscle, DIY expertise and designer’s eye.

As I worked on my room, I tried to imagine who I was designing it for. My homeowners are in their mid to late 40s, with kids in high school. They’re just a few just a few years shy of being empty nesters.

They’re wine lovers and foodies and enjoy visiting wineries and upscale restaurants.

 I decided to create a wine bar for them in their home. I imagine the fictional couple enjoying wine and appetizers in the evenings after work, while their teenage kids are busy with extracurricular activities.

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There was a point near the end of the design challenge when I didn’t think I would be able to execute my vision for the space.

All along, I’d been planning to hang the wine rack on the wall. But it weighed too much to hang on the faux walls. As I was about to panic, Michelle from PPG suggested pushing the table against the wall.

Crisis averted; ugly crying avoided!

This design challenge provided some great reminders to me about going with the flow and using what you have in creative ways. While it would have been great to have wine bottles and candles to use as props for my space, I had to work with what was available to me and let go of my expectations of perfection.

That’s a good lesson to remember whether you’re designing a room in your home or as part of a design challenge.

In the end, I was really pleased with how my sophisticated wine bar turned out. It’s very different from our home, but it was definitely fun to play with darker, richer colors.

The best part, of course, was hanging out with these ladies and getting to watch them work. They each inspired me so much, and I feel like I learned a new DIY technique from the rooms that each blogger designed.

All of the bloggers are so talented and nice. It never, ever felt like a competition. Throughout the event, we were bouncing ideas off of one another, cheering each other on and marveling at everyone’s creativity. There wasn’t a single fight over props! We clearly are not good candidates for reality TV!

I’d really love your vote, but if there’s another space that you like better than mine, I totally understand. Vote your conscious.

Meg from Green with Decor (who isn’t pictured above) deserves a special prize for finishing her room while dealing with the sleep-deprivation! She brought along her 9-week-old baby, Grace, and even took breaks to breastfeed her. That’s #momgoals!

And I’m equally in awe of everyone who stenciled their floor. These 45-year-old knees couldn’t handle that!

Be sure to visit the other Wagner Design Challenge competitors as they share their experiences at Insprayational 2018. And don’t forget to vote and enter the giveaway.

Meg from Green with Decor
Kim Jones from Hunt and Host
Emily Kennedy from Two Purple Couches
Roxanne from The Honeycomb Home
Lynn from Craft Box Girls
Sarah from The Created Home
Laura from Inspiration for Moms
Jenny from Evolution of Style