Milo Baughman Dining Chairs

Hi guys! I'm back from the trenches of a two week long virus that wiped out my kids...slowly...and one by one. Talk about long days spent in my bedroom, (the selected 'quarantine room'), sitting with each sickie at a time! It was after the first week that I decided, out of boredom, to jump on Craigslist and browse the pickins in our vast DC metro area. That's when I spotted the chairs that would bring me back to the land of the living!

It was a set of 8 Milo Baughman cane back chairs with black leather seats. The wood was scuffed up on most of the chairs and one had a tear right in the middle of it's backrest. I strapped in my sickie du jour, puke bucket and all, and drove to pick them up beating the next person interested by 5 hours. What a rush!

But so worth it.

Is it obvious how inspired I was by Cate's formerly available mid-century chairs and currently available settee?! These chairs are like the love child of both of those flips. (Don't think too much into that haha!) Anyways, I decided to pull the best six of my set and reserve two to play around with and sell as a pair later. I revived the wood on the set of 6 with oil, cleaned up the leather, and now they're just so devilishly handsome they're breakin' my heart!

Each chair is stamped and tagged underneath as proof of their manufacturing. They are original Milo Baughman for Dillingham chairs and I've found them over and over online between $1,500 and $2,800. I honestly don't know if my hands have ever touched a piece so valuable! I didn't want to change their look, but rather revive them for glory days yet to come.

Milo Baughman Dining Chairs Set of 6
SOLD
Please contact me at chelsea@stylemutthome.com if interested in custom order like them!

Thank you all so much for coming by!

Cane-Backed Settee ||2017 Flip List Item No.5||

This warm weather has been singing my SONG!  I'm sitting on our balcony as I write this and am positively loving how sticky my hands feel in the 81 degree humidity.  I've been out here for hours sipping wine and working on this next installation in the 2017 Flip List:

Item No.5: Play with Leather

(No not like that)

When I set out to play with leather, I wasn't talking 50 Shades of Grey here (but I dare you to raise your hand if you went there.  Jk).  I've used leather in projects before (see this 2015 and this 2016 Furniture Flip Bucket List post) but working with leather or a leather-like fabric on a large scale intimidates me.  They can be difficult to manipulate but when done properly they are beautiful!

So when I set out to find the perfect material for this project, I ended up coming home with some high-end distressed pleather.  As much as I wanted to use real leather, I couldn't find (or even afford for that matter) the amount I needed.  But the pleather ended up being a nice way to easy myself into project - and the end result still very beautiful. 

When I bought the original bench, it was covered in a very traditional, very unfortunate fabric.  And it was infested with cat hair.

I spent more than I normally would on a raw piece I planned to modify, but that cane was in impeccable condition and I really like the clean lines. 

If you know me and Chelsea, you know we are always down for a good camel leather.  And believe me, I was tempted to recover this baby with a dreamy caramel color.  But I was worried it would get lost against the warm wood tone.  So I chose black as an edgier alternative.  Plus, as Chelsea and I believe, leather is totally a neutral.  And black goes with everything.  Yes it's a strong contrast and a tad masculine in color scheme but it is still balanced by it's inherently feminine details!

The dainty cane allows the piece to "breathe" as Chelsea would say and not feel like a heavy  item in the room. 

Each corner of the frame even has a little antique brass floral nail head.

This project was also a level up in my upholstery game because this was my first time using piping - which ended up being easier than I thought I'm happy to say!

To style this beauty, I pulled some of my eclectic art collection and hung them above to create a neutral palette gallery wall.

And of course I had to sneak my kilim pillow children into the shoot too.

I'm already feeling more confident to tackle a true leather piece but in the meantime, I am still crossing this one of my 2017 list.

Black + Wood Cane-Backed Settee
Now Available for Sale
$525

If you are interest in this piece or a custom order like it, please email me at cate@stylemutthome.com.

4 down, 3 to go.  Catch up on the 2017 Furniture Flip Bucket List: 

Art Deco Dresser

Hi friends! It's been a little while! I'm so glad to stop in here with you today; I've missed posting here but with such a full plate I've needed to let go of a few things, and regular posting has been one of them. But what a blessing to get to enjoy all of Cate's recent flips with you and McKenna's incredible Reader Design features!

One of the biggest things going on in my day-to-day right now is fuller-time eDesign work! I'm very excited about the amazing clients we've been blessed with these last few months and as some of our biggest jobs wrap up I look forward to sharing some reveals with you! The funny thing about eDesign is you don't always get to share the end result. Sometimes our clients don't live locally so it's not possible to take photos. And other times our clients can choose to carry out the design on their own time so we might not ever find out if/when it gets finished. So it's particularly fun to get to work with folks who are both local and choose to include us in helping see their home through to completion! Luckily, we have a few of those going on right now and as they wrap up we'll have some seriously fun homes to show you!

In the mean time I hope to pop in now and then with a flip! Today's piece is more of a restoration than a transformation. My long time friend Liz actually found this piece at a thrift store near where she lives several hours away. Prior to a visit she texted me a picture asking if I wanted it. Her reception usually stinks so as I replied, 'YES PLEASE', I crossed my fingers she'd see my message in time before leaving! I love Art Deco style and the beautiful wood grain patterns have been catching my eye a lot lately. If there hadn't been work to do on this piece I probably wouldn't have taken it, letting someone else find it for their home. But the top surface was in bad shape with water stains and various marks and it needed a little love to be restored back to it's former glory.

I used Walnut oil to revive the wood surface and now it's good as new!

Well, almost new - there are a few tiny little chips which I left alone, but when it comes to true antique pieces these things are to be expected. I like to focus on the big picture and what I can do to bring out the best in an old piece. For this one, restoring the wood tone was top priority and something I feel confident in tackling.

If you happen to be loving that mirror as much as I do, I just used black washi-tape to add the design! The mirror is from Target and I spray painted the brass frame black. The taped design is just something fun but can be removed as soon as it's...not fun! LOL!

Art Deco Dresser
41"Wx34"Hx18"D
$425
Please email me at chelsea@stylemutthome.com if interested in this piece or a custom order like it!

Thank you so much for stopping by!