Geometric Tallboy

In all my furniture hunting, I have not seen a piece with that geometric detailing down the drawer fronts.  When I saw it on the Facebook marketplace, I just had to get my hands on it! 

Now I have a rather strict price-to-distance ratio where I am more willing to buy a piece if the pick-up is local.  This hit my price point just fine but was waaaay outside of my usual driving radius.  I decided to reach out to the seller anyway only to find out there was already a lot of interest (I figured as much) so I was ready to let it go and keep hunting.  A few weeks before the holidays I ran across the listing again.  It turns out the seller was preoccupied with selling a house and hadn't locked in a buyer yet.  I blew on my fingers, rubbed my hands together, and went to work... 

Despite her slow response rate, my persistence paid off and paid off big!  Turns out it was already loaded in the family van and her husband was going to be traveling my way for work.  Score!  Over a month of begging the seller for updates while weighing the logistics of driving deep into Maryland and her husband literally dropped it off at my garage door at no extra expense!

Once I had it in the workshop, I realized I had to do some serious repairs to the veneer on the sides - repairs which I could not mask without the help of paint.  And so I turned to my new favorite "Black Boudoir" by Behr Paint. 

But I wanted to save as much of the wood grain as possible (just look at it!!!) so I settled on a two-tone look:

While he was dropping it off, the husband told me it was his mother's dresser.  I tried to do her justice by bringing it back to life.

The original knobs got a quick refresh.

The exposed wood on the drawer front got some serious conditioning.

Because of the repaired damage, the top, sides, and geometric detailing got a coat of paint and sealed in a wax which I buffed to a satiny sheen. 

For styling, I decided to play with faces - literally.  I hung a few of my favorite Matisse portraits above an offset it with my new favorite home décor accessory: a Jonathan Adler-esque Dora Maar-inspired vase.

Geometric Tallboy
Now Available for Sale
36"W x 18"D x 42"H
$495

If you are interested in this piece or a custom order like it, email me at cate@stylemutthome.com to ask about availability and our shipping policy.

Vintage Hotel Dresser || And a Giveaway ||

Have you heard the news?  We're hiring!  We were so thrilled and humbled to find ourselves wrapping up 2017 with a waitlist of eDesign clients.  But making our customers wait is not our MO so we're onboarding a new design assistant to keep 'em happy and keep 'em coming!  If you meet our qualifications and are interested in applying, we want to hear from you!  Applications are due February 12th so get to it!

While Chelsea is heading up the expanding design branch of our business, I'm still steering the furniture front - and I've landed a new piece with quite the untold history!

The seller told me that his dad rescued it from a closing DC hotel somewhere on Florida avenue.  Let me tell you, he is certainly durable enough to have survived many-a-hotel stay.  But despite being built like a tank, he does have a few marks I couldn't mask: a scratch on the side, a sliver of missing veneer, and a faded water mark on the top.  All things I could have hidden with paint but OH that wood grain!  I couldn't bring myself to do it! 

So I shined him up and celebrated the scars of his rich and storied life.  

I removed the old damaged apron (those housekeeping sweeps had not been kind to that thing) and added sleek metal legs. 

I did want to  keep the original knobs so I refinished them to match the new gams.

He's also hides a secret: his top drawer is a hidden desk!

The drawer front folds down to create a handy little work surface or mail drop spot.

Complete with cubbies for stationary and office supplies.

But the crowning jewel of this vignette is this canvas print by a local artist!

This piece is just one of the many stunning abstracts by Laura Gunn Art.  I mean just go to her website and you'll be mesmerized by her process - its a riot of color in a dreary world (name that movie!).

Laura Gunn Art

Originals + Canvas Prints
Washington, DC
 

To me, art has always been personal.  I'm most drawn to the emotion in a painting.  Which my abstract mind most often finds in abstract paintings.  I doesn't matter what it makes me feel just that it makes me feel. 

I could stare at Laura Gunn's "Still" for hours.  Sometimes I think it's a quiet ocean horizon.  Sometimes its a soundwave with the gentlest flutter, a tiny reverb.  I love that it changes for me, and yet stays the same.

And we're delighted to announce that we at SMH are teaming up with Laura Gunn for a very special giveaway!  You could win your very own 24" giclee reproduction of a Laura Gunn original on gallery-wrapped canvas (that's a $149-$169 value!).  Follow these 3 steps to enter:

1) Follow @cate_stylemutthome and @lauragunnart on Instagram
2) Browse Laura Gunn's the Gallery Wrapped Canvas collection and
3) Comment below with the piece you'd like to win!

Winner will be announced next Wednesday, February 7th on Instagram!

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Vintage Hotel Secretary Dresser
Now Available for Sale
40"W x 19"D x 38"H
$545

And if you are interested in this piece or a custom order like it, email me at cate@stylemutthome.com for availability or to ask about our third-party shipping policy.

SMH Announcement: We're Hiring!

Hi Friends! This post has been a long time coming :) We couldn't be more thrilled to let you all know we are officially seeking a part-time eDesign Assistant!

This time last year I had the pleasure of sitting around a table eating drippy take-out with Cate and McKenna, (our then Intern, now Development Associate), and I shared my hopes and dreams for the design branch of StyleMutt Home. Together we came up with thoughtful goals and intentional steps to achieve those goals. Cate and I prayed for direction, for clarity and the wisdom to make healthy decisions.

2017 FAR exceeded those goals or any of our expectations. By Summer we had to start a wait-list of clients because our plates were maxed out. And to our humbling surprise, people have been willing to wait! We are now eagerly in search of a new eDesign Assistant so StyleMutt Home can serve more clients at any given time.

Responsibilities will include:
-Handling small, (1 room), eDesign jobs solo
-Ability to FaceTime and email with clients to discuss project
-Ability to research product options that best suit the need, style and budget
-Using client approved products to create digital design boards that convey the vision and design plan to the client
-Producing digital floorplans that show the client all their approved products to scale in the parameters of their space

-And that's it! We really need someone capable of being handed a small client project and running with it! I will handle all consultations so I can pass along those jobs that will be just the right fit for you!

Preferred qualifications:
-Local to the Washington D.C./Northern Virginia area
-Experience creating digital design boards
-Experience creating digital floorplans from written down measurements
-Comfortable designing a space based on before photos and hearing client's needs and desires
-Familiar with Pinterest and has an account
-Effective communicator, patient listener

What you get:
-A paycheck for each job  completed
-Fantastic hands-on experience in eDesign
-Individual growth as an eDesigner for your own portfolio
-Your name attached to completed StyleMutt Home designs

We will of course spend time training you in our streamlined eDesign process so you feel comfortable and confident before we hand over any jobs! We are so excited about the opportunity to grow our team and anxious to get to know our future eDesign Assistant! StyleMutt Home is much bigger than who's behind it. It's become a look and the particular feeling of a space. It's intentional style that isn't manipulated or contrived. And as our projects continue to prove, StyleMutt Home designs are not following trends, they are leading the way. If you are interested in joining the team, please contact us through the link below! (Any previous work you can attach, especially digital design boards and floorplans, would be greatly helpful!) We will be accepting interest for this position for the next two weeks, through February 12.