Mark Your Calendar!

Hi Friends! Jumping on to share a really quick announcement with you today - on January 10 I will be over on Roomhints sharing tips, tricks and fixes, for any and all pesky home decor questions you may have! Whether you're trying to find the right layout for a particular space, which paint color to use, or what size sofa to purchase, I'll be available with decisive advice to help you move forward! I sought this opportunity as a way to offer help for those who don't necessarily need a full design package but have questions that are beyond the expertise of their Joanna-Gaines-obsessed coworkers. Sometimes we just need a few experienced pointers to be well on our way, right? The process is three simple steps:

1. Register with me, Chelsea Bieber, for $49, (a fraction of a full design package)
2. Upload photos of your space to the Roomhints app, (you'll be directed how to do this, it's very easy)
3. Ask away! Let me know what's nagging you about that space and I'll respond with 5 practical tips, pieces, ideas, etc!

When the holiday buzz has quieted and you've swept up the last of the dried Christmas tree bristles, it's a perfect time to re-think your space and hit the reset button. I would love to talk it out with you and lend my help so you can love your home that much more in 2018!

Simple Christmas Tour

Hello, hello! 'Tis the season for Christmas decorated home tours, and while it's been really fun to see how other friends have decorated their homes for the holiday season, I wasn't planning to share my own home until yesterday afternoon! We've enjoyed getting our Christmas decorations out as a family and setting up our tree and lights, but it's kind of been something I just wanted to enjoy with my family this year. It's easy to feel pulled in a lot of different directions during the holidays, and with our plates full of other really good things, this was one that I was planning to shed. I confided my conflict to Cate who wisely advised that if it doesn't bring me joy, then don't worry about it. And at that, I decided to whip up this post!

I don't share a lot about life behind the scenes of StyleMutt Home, (not as much, anyways). But it's moving forward at Polar Express speeds, (just like anyone's). The way I decorate our home is every bit a reflection of that passage of time, our growing children, myself. Our home has always been an extension of the character of our family and my personal development as a creative individual. The reason I enjoy documenting our home is the same reason I journal - to be able to look back and see growth and movement. So, despite the simplicity, it warms my heart to share our Christmas 2017 home with you, friends!

Notice the angel on the far left, with her nose in the air and arms crossed. No candle, baked good, seashell or wreath like the others....she's my favorite. Hah!!

Oh my goodness, I hope I can still remember in years to come how funny it was trying to figure out a layout this year! We are right smack in the middle of a sofa debacle that is a story for another day, but we figured things out by using only the chaise part of a massive sofa / chaise combo.

Our kitchen has seen A LOT of action lately now that we're in full swing holiday party season. Yup, lots of mediocre baking going on in here. If you like quantity over quality, I'm you're gal! Lol! Between the kids' classrooms and their various activities, it's been one party after another!

Shire's bedroom is pure Christmas magic to me. I find myself in here without any reason to be; it's just a happy place. The bedspread was from my grandparents' old lake house, and the mini tree is on loan from my sister. I love that Shire's room is a compilation of special memories, people and places.

Our bedroom is the last stop because the boys room is just done being photographed. It's a charming hot mess and I love it because I birthed them, but their door is officially closed to the public. :)  I enjoyed adding a tiny bit to our own bedroom, though, to make it special for the holidays! The bunch of boxwood was just the kind of small festive nod I was looking for for our room. It suits the simplicity of the space well and because there's not a lot going on, I feel like you really see it, you know? I often tell clients, the less there is, the more you see.

The only other impactful addition to the room is the kilim rug  covered bench at the end of the bed! Both the rug and the bench were found on a neighbors curb on trash day, so I brought both pieces home and turned them into one!

Well that's it! Thank you so very much for taking the time to come by. I hope you enjoy these days until Christmas and have peace about what is on your own plate. A bit of advice - no one else will really notice what you don't get done. As I walked into yet another children's holiday party last night for my son's cubscout pack, I placed my 4 dozen brownies on  table full of other various treats and thought to myself, no one would have noticed if I didn't bring these. Here's to shedding the excess so we can focus on the priorities.

Merry Christmas and God bless!

Eclectic Winter Tour

Welcome friends! Thank you for stopping by on the Winter Eclectic Home Tour hosted annually by Jess Rey from Domicile 37!  Ok before we begin my holiday tour, I should probably tell you that I've recently realized something very important: Christmas décor stresses me out. 

Now, I'm not saying I'm a Grinch - just that I'm stressed!  I know this is foolish.  (My husband who's middle name is Christmas tells me this often.)  Christmas is a joyous time of year!  A time for family, generosity, and humility.  And yet, I can't get past the feeling that our little apartment gets turned upside-down when the holiday décor comes out!  So this year, I challenged myself to find a way to have my fruit cake and eat it too.

If you're popping by from A Designer at Home - welcome! We are StyleMutt Home, a sister-in-law duo  (Chelsea & Cate) who love to mix and match a myriad of styles in the pieces we refinish and the spaces we design...

We have a small apartment - a modest 800 sq.ft.  The addition of a grand Christmas tree can easily overwhelm our little living space.  For that reason, I tried to keep my usual décor intact and with only a few low-impact, holiday additions.

I started by choosing a smaller tree this year than those we've used in the past.  It's all dressed up in our hodge-podge of ornaments - many of them handmade (not because we have kids, but because my husband and I were straight poor our first Christmas).  I spent hours cutting up everything from pizza boxes, old sweaters, and Christmas cards from the first year we were married. 

Every year, I like to read the sweet sentiments on the folds of the ornaments and remember a time that we may have been broke but we had everything we needed: each other and our then recently-adopted best dog in the world.

In addition to the usual red-beaded garland, I finished our little tree with some ribbons of leather in my beloved Camel color.

The smaller tree meant less furniture re-arranging and the rest of the living room could stay pretty close to normal:

The cot under the window where our dog loves to perch

Our tufted velvet sofa (scored for FREE on craigslist believe it or not!)

Our thrifted rock-star-of-a-lounge-chair we call John Bon Jovi

Behind the sofa is our little dining nook. 

We don't have a mantle so I hung our stockings on our chairs.

Across from the living room, next to the kitchen, is some built-in shelving which is currently sporting our little record collection.  This is the time of year we consistently like to have an old record on the turntable - preferably holiday classics circa the mid-century.

I hardly ever show our kitchen on these tours because well… there’s not much to show. 

But the highlight of the space is this Moroccan boucherouite runner purchased from The Gardener's House.

Each boucherouite rug is a riot of color and pattern, handwoven from recycled scraps and beautifully unique.  This one is titled "Farwell from the Farm" which lends itself to more of a work of art than a rug.  Perhaps one day, we'll have a bigger place and I'll hang it on the wall in the place of honor it deserves.

Two staples at the end of our kitchen counter is our mail-and-key bowl (a beloved wedding gift) and the porcelain lunch bag with Thor's doggy treats.

Past the whimsical grid of Matisse portraits, a few steps down the hall (like 3 to be exact), is our one-and-only bedroom. 

Right when you walk into the bedroom is my perpetually cluttered dresser. 

Pasted down from (and refinished by) my mom, it is always adorned in a tangle of jewelry and usually buried under a pile of clothes (let's be honest).

My husband's dresser, on the other hand, is usually clothes-free (apparently that's what the floor is for).  *Insert eye-roll emoji

I really didn't do much to spruce up this space except add a "Merry Christmas" banner above the bed.

Currently, a lot of my plants are bunking-up to make room for the visit from cousin Christmas tree.

This might be another reason I get stressed - I'm never sure how my plant babies will react to the displacement.  Last year, my fiddle-leaf fig tree (may she rest in peace) did NOT like getting upstaged from her usual corner and promptly let herself go just to spite me.  Figadora Tonks now lives in exile - I mean on the balcony - in a corner where no one can see the incriminating evidence of my black thumb.

I am pleased to report that so far, minimizing our holiday décor seems to be treating my holiday anxiety effectively...  Of course I haven't started holiday shopping yet so that could easily change lol.

Next stop on the tour is Jessica Brigham!  Pop over to her home for more eclectic inspiration and more directions to the last stop on today's tour circuit!  Thank you again for stopping by!

Here's a recap of all of  holiday hostesses:

Monday
Domicile 37 
Desert Domicile 
Kobel & Co.
Whimsical Blue Living

Tuesday
The Gathered Home
Casa Watkins
Up To Date Interiors

Wednesday
Monica Wants It
Designing Vibes
Maker of Home
Michelle Matangi

Thursday
A Designer at Home
StyleMutt Home    > Oh wait, you're already here!
Jessica Brigham
The Rath Project

Friday
House Home Made
House Haus Home
Jeweled Interiors 
Domicile 37