SMH E-Design Projects in Progress!

Hi Friends! It’s been a little while! I realized when catching up with some friends I hadn’t seen in a while that I’ve neglected sharing StyleMutt Home design work on here in a big way! I have to be honest, if I don’t have a final reveal to share with you guys, I don’t really know what to share. The truth is I am up to my ears in design projects but have very little hope of seeing many, if any, of the jobs completed. For one thing, many clients are not local. This presents the hurdle of coordinating travel, (and paying for it), to go take pictures of any projects that are actually completed according to the design plan. The design plan is another hurdle! Even when I deliver a design within the clients budget, with all the tools to make purchasing the items a cinch and an annotated floorplan indicating where every single item goes, many jobs don’t get completed exactly according to the vision. And as a homeowner I TOTALLY get it. Financial ‘surprises’ come up and sometimes the budget you had for fun stuff, (think art, pillows, a pretty rug or lamp), goes to not-so-fun stuff. This is the number one reason why more jobs don’t ever make it on here, and even though I absolutely understand it as a homeowner myself, it’s a tough reality to face.

This is, indeed, a creative job. It’s a profession that attracts creative personalities! Creativity has always been a part of my life in a very tangible way, and my favorite part of the creative process has been seeing a vision come to life. It just so happens that in this particular creative field of work, I very rarely see the vision come to life. I’m working on some ideas to improve the process, but I have had to really come to terms with that and press forward with my best effort. While this has been an unexpected challenge, I am so incredibly grateful that I have the opportunity to work and make some income on such a flexible schedule. I feel like I am able to be ‘all in’ with my kids and be available and present in their lives, and I am able to work around our family time. What a gift!!! So, despite some unexpected challenges with the job, it is still a dream come true.

And despite not getting to share as many finished projects with you as I would love, I’d like to make a better effort of sharing and celebrating project progress! I absolutely love putting design concepts together for our clients and since that’s what I am doing every week, I figured why not share them with you! So here we go; A quick breeze through of some recent design concepts that I’ve completed since New Years! For each project I create a design board that is more or less a ‘collage’ of the pieces that will fill the room, a floorplan that maps out where all the items will go, and a 3D rendering of the design as it would look in their own space. In addition to these, I also provide a complete shopping list that our clients can use to conveniently purchase through the pieces in the design. A single design project can take from two weeks to a year, depending on the scope of the job!

Project 1

Project goal: Transform the over crowded space with more comfortable pieces that will enable this basement to function as a lounge area, colorful play room, and small workspace.

Project 2

Project Goal: Use client’s existing sofa, rug and art to create a comfortable living room with surrounding pieces that still allow flow in this very narrow room.

Project 3

Project Goal: Create a modern, yet cozy formal living room suitable for entertaining.

Project 4

Project Goal: Work with the existing kitchen to blend the space in with the rest of the home - modern yet casual pieces that are warm and inviting.

Project 5

Project Goal: Create a very minimal yet warm formal dining space. Client needs space for their piano and favorite pieces of art.

Project 6

Project Goal: Transform this sunroom into a relaxed but chic office and lounge space. Specific request for asian inspired art, shelves for books, and a chaise lounge to read.

I have had such a blast with these projects over the past two months! In addition to starting these since we rang in the New Year, I also now have 4 additional projects that are on track to be completed this Spring. I’m feeling hopeful, guys! Fingers crossed there will be some really fun fresh design projects to share here soon! I do have a little refresh I worked on in our basement ready to share, so stay tuned!

Thank you all so much for stopping by!

@chelsea_stylemutthome for more!

Little Brother Bookcase

Earlier this year, I scored two vintage West Michigan Furniture Co. bookcases off craigslist.

I shared what became of the bigger one in my last post but what became of his little legless brother?

Meet Little Brother:

He may be more petite than his big bro, but he is certainly just as stately.

I wanted the option for these bookcases to get adopted together so I used the same color to do a similar finish with some small changes - can you spot them?

This time, I painted only the sides and top and left the front trim in the original wood finish. This waterfall paint treatment has honestly become one of my favorite refinishing techniques. It allows me to maintain what I can of the original wood finish while still providing a pop of contrast in an unexpected way.

Little bro also go a new pair of legs.

They are a matte black powder-coated steel that matches the matte black paint finish.

Like his brother, he still has his original glass sliding doors to prevent the accumulation of dust on your collectables (provided you dust the inside before you put anything in there… unlike me).

For styling, I really had fun with this one. I liked the idea of incorporating some moody mother nature - considering she’s been quite moody here in VA lately.

And what’s more moody than a dramatic oversized tree branch?

Or some scraggly scavenged moss?

To class it up, I added a few porcelain mushroom figurines (thank you Target for yet another random purchase I don’t really need be somehow really want).

On our staging hunt, Thor even found some tennis balls that have grown a more mature shade of green moss. Leave it to the dog to sniff out old tennis balls like a truffle pig.

And yes, Thor tried to play with each piece of our haul on the walk home from the walk in the woods. Let’s hope baby girl Henderson will have a better appreciation for décor than my men do.

Hit me up if you’re in the market for this little guy (and/or his big bro)!

Little Brother Bookcase
Now Available for Sale
36”W x 12”D x 30”H
$395

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

Back to Black || 2019 Flip List Item No.4

Black. And wood. These have been banner forces in some of our projects for a while now and the reason I wanted to turn up the contrast on my two-toned flips.  That dark mysterious black against a warm and welcoming wood. Yes please and I’ll have another.

Then last week, I came across this listing on Craigslist for two original mid century bookcases made by the West Michigan Furniture Co. They were a great price which made for the perfect opportunity to scratch this jet black itch I’ve been having…

If you’ve been following the 2019 Furniture Flip Bucket List then you’ll know where I’m going with this.. item No.4 is in my sights:

​Now just let me dangle the carrot here for a minute - look at that contrast!

Instead of keeping the cases stacked as a single unit, I decided to make them two separate units. The top surface on the lower, larger cabinet was damaged so it was already asking for a fresh coat of paint.  Painting the casing in a new-found favorite Limousine Leather by Behr allowed the interior to electrify. 

Unlike my prior flirts with dark tones, this black is much more severe.  It’s still my trademark dark and moody and it’s so very stately - especially contrasted against that wooden interior.

This West Michigan Furniture Co. piece still has its original glass sliding doors to protect your treasures from collecting dust.

Truth time - I hate photographing pieces with glass surfaces.  I end up obsessing about the reflections or how I apparently don’t know how to keep glass clean. Does anyone out there have any tips??? Asking for a friend…

It also has the original brass capped peg legs which I cleaned up a little but left a lot of the natural patina. I’m so used to working with tapered or metal legs but these little gams are just so cute, I might have to replicate this look again.

For styling, I leaned into the monochromatic look with terra-cotta, books, touches of brass, and white decorative accents. I felt like the piece called for a more “masculine” look with an emphasis on interesting shapes and varied heights.

You’ll have to tune back in to see what will come of his little leggless brother!

Back to Black Bookcase
Now available for sale
48”W x 12”D x 31”H
$425

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

One down, four to go. Catch up on the 2019 Furniture Flip Bucket List.