"Built-In" Benches

Guys I'm behind.  This happens to me every year: as I round the corner on Thanksgiving and enter into the Christmas season, I am caught off-guard by the extra stack of things to do in my personal life: Christmas decorating, holiday parties, gift shopping, cookie baking... (jk on that last one - I don't bake), so... cookie eating, you get the idea.

It's T-minus 20something days to 2017 and I still have two items left on my 2016 furniture flip bucket list (including the delinquent DIY bakers rack from 2015 *hides face in  shame*). At this rate I might as well walk naked all the way to the Red Keep with a bell ringing nun behind me (that's the standard punishment for not meeting your New Years resolutions right??).  I even have a line up of flips in the shop that I have yet to share with you here!  

Well, I might as well work on my penance now and share one with ya now ;)  A while back I ran across this pic on craigslist for a "stackable dresser."  Intrigued I clicked to read more to find out that they were solid pieces with two drawers each.  

It was clever of them to use both as a makeshift dresser but they looked a little odd when stacked to me.  I decided to buy them with the plan to un-stack them and figure out a better way to use them...

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Storage benches!!!  

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When I got my hands on these twin pieces, I realized just how SOLID they are.  They could totally handle the everyday demands of a mudroom or entryway: book-dropping, boot-pulling, galosh-flinging.  So I painted it in our favorite glossy white by  Glidden Door and Trim to give it a matching indestructible finish.

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I replaced the old handles with shiny new brass ones and moved the pulls up you wouldn't have to bend down as far to pull the drawers open.

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Putting them side-by-side makes for a super long mudroom bench - perfect if you have the space but not the budget for a built-in.  I could also easily see these underneath a window as a window-seat plus toy storage.

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Wherever you decide to use it, the drawers are deep and can hide a multitude of clutter (my kind of storage piece ;)

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Hoping to really sell the mudroom bench idea, I styled this shoot like a typical "command center" for the on-the-go mom complete with a calendar, fresh flowers, coat hooks, and a basket for dumping.

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"Faux Built-in" Mudroom Benches
48"L x 19"D x 18.5"H each
Now Available for Sale
$500 for both or $265 each

If you are interested in this piece or a custom order like it, please contact cate@stylemutthome.com.  My hope is that these handy fellas will help ease someone's organizational needs out there - especially during this busy busy season.  And that reminds me, despite how hectic the holidays can get, don't forget to spend your time thoughtfully and wisely!   And on that note, I leave you with the lyrics from a favorite underground Christmas song:

No gifts to give, they’re all right here
Inside our hearts, the glorious cheer
And in the house we see a light
That comes from what we know inside

I’ll come to you, I’ll sing to you
Like it’s Christmas in the room
I’ll dance with you, I’ll laugh with you
’Til it’s Christmas in the room
— Christmas In the Room, Sufjan Stevens
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Reader Design: Jen's Fabulously Functional Home

We are so pumped to have so many inspiring entries to #stylemuttspaces.  Chelsea and I want so dearly for StyleMutt Home to be a resource for our readers and we certainly don't believe the buck stops with us.  We pine for input from you all!  And we hope you never shy away from reaching out to us with your own ideas.  You don't have to be a professional designer or blogger to have your voice heard here.  Love your space?  Then...

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(or boy ;)  and share it with us!

Ok, I need to reign in my sassy snapping fingers and get back to serving your double helping of juicy inspiration from our next reader design.  Are you hungry?  Because dishing it out hot is our first international feature from Alberta, Canada: Jen from Fresh Crush.

From Jen:

"The goal was comfort and colour!  I was crazy for coral while doing this project, and pairing it with neutral walls, a little black, aqua, and yellow was the perfect match."

Fun fact!  I have a filing cabinet that I painted this color aqua.  Jen - great minds eh?! 

Jen's wall-mounted clip lamps make the best use of surface space without sacrificing style.

"A few simple DIYs brought everything together, the easiest (and cheapest) of which had to by my addition of a drum shade to our ugly old (but needed) ceiling fan.  And custom shelving added a lot of pretty for very little cost, but huge comfort impact.  Definitely a great space to unwind at night." 

Did you even notice there was a ceiling fan?!  I didn't!

Don't those shelves masterfully maximize the dead space in the corner?

Jen's marriage of form and function does not stop here.  Wipe the drool from your mouths and let's go gawk at the before-and-afters of her foyer:

"Our foyer needed a serious update, but on a budget..."  

You're speaking my love language here Jen ;)

"The goals were to make it welcoming and warm, get it organized with easy to use storage, and make it easy to clean.  The open concept of the foyer [makes] it easy for our little one to help out.  The previous heavy doors [on the hallway closet] were too hard to operate and kept everything hidden and hard to find.  The new flooring and neutral paint warmed everything up..."
"...and new lighting, along with a few DIY projects and accessories kept everything on budget.  My favourite project from the space was my DIY copper shoe rack."  

Me too Jen.... meeeeee too.

Read about more of Jen's bedroom makeover and foyer transformation on Fresh Crush,  Thank you Jen for sharing with us all the way from Canada!

So what do y'all think?  You crushing on Fresh Crush yet?  

Don't forget, we want to celebrate your individuality with you!   So don't hesitate to tag #stylemuttspaces on Instagram or post your photos onto our Facebook wall!  The whole point of Reader Designs is simply to share incredible rooms with fresh ideas and document these features in our SPACES section to use as a reference of inspiration.  These submissions are seriously the jewels in the StyleMutt Home crown.  

You never know who else will be inspired by your space so don't deprive us of your unique YOU people!