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!

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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!!

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

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Pop of Color Custom Order

It's a REAL treat to work with a client with similar design sensibilities.  I mean, that’s gotta mean you’re doing something right, right?  Your tribe is finding you.  And you get to work with people that inspire your creativity.

This fall, I had the opportunity to develop a DIY nightstand tutorial for Apartment Therapy.  Shortly after, a couple reached out to me hoping to get a customized a version of the tables that could work around two specific design elements:

The tables needed to be large enough to showcase a West Elm Pelle Table Lamp:

Source: West Elm

Source: West Elm

And they wanted a pop of color that played well with the West Elm Expressionist Printed Rug.

Source: West Elm

Source: West Elm

So with these specifications in mind, I rendered two options for them to consider - one with a teal accent color and one with an "inky" black. 

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And which color did they choose...?

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Instead of painting the entire piece to match the rug, I proposed we just paint the inside to preserve their "airy" quality while giving the clients more versatility down the line if they ever got the itch to rearrange things. 

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I used the same materials as my original design for the rest of the build: blonde wood + camel leather straps but I did have to modify the proportions a little to accommodate their ideal dimensions.

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To highlight the interior pop of color, I chose to style with warm earthy tones comprised of...

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1) Terracotta touches (always)

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2) A grouping of paintings

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3) And a salvaged tree branch (ok, I pulled it off a sapling in the parking lot)

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The happy clients picked up these custom orders this weekend and I'm happy to say they are already settled in their new home!

If you are interested in your own custom order, please contact me at cate@stylemutthome.com

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NY-Bound Custom Order

There's a lot about this little business that has blown me and Chelsea away.  We've accrued clients from across the US (and even Canada!), designed for a battery of dream spaces, and even shipped pieces out of state!  That's crazy to think about - I mean, we're just two women working out of our homes!  In our garages, at our dining room table, late at night or the wee small hours of the morning.  And God is still growing us!

Recently I was commissioned for a custom order for delivery to New York.  And I gotta say - it makes me feel swanky to have a piece in the Big Apple *sheepish grin.*  The client wanted something similar to my brass finger pull tall boy but needed a lot more storage. 

I did some hunting on my local craigslist and found the perfect low boy (from the same furniture line no less - how does that happen?!?).

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Her design aesthetic was simple: she wanted a matte color that could go with anything and a touch of brass.  After seeing some photos of her space and discussing her vision, I worked up 3 renderings for her to review:

She liked the idea of a warm gray or white in her space, but in the end she kept coming back to her first love: the moody dark finish from my finger pull tall boy.  My client had a tight deadline so I immediately set about painting.  But T-minus a few days until our scheduled for pick up, I ran into a bit of a problem...

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Where was the brass hardware?

 
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I had ordered these yummy brass finger pulls a week prior and had selected 2-day shipping.  7 days later, my tracking number was reporting that it was bouncing between distribution centers in the vicinity but never “out for delivery.”

 

What the?!?

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Stupid hardware.  Why you got to play me like that?!?  I looped the client in on the conundrum and she gave me the green light to get creative in order to meet our deadline.  She only wanted a “peek” of brass anyways so I combed through my local hardware store to see if there was something outside-the-box that would work.  And I found... 

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Strike plates! 

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ould you tell?

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Strike plates are those metal plates that you attached to a threshold to correspond to the bolt of the door.  Much like the library pulls I reconfigured for my original tall boy, the strike plates had a subtle lip that could protrude off the drawer top like a true finger pull.  I used the same brass tacks as my other piece for a low-profile attachment method that wouldn't interfere with the functionality of the drawers.

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Recognize them now?

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I showed my alternative idea to the client and she was all for it!  So I attached the hardware right-quick and had the piece ready for pick-up in the NICK of time.

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The piece arrived at my client’s NYC walk-up the next day and after the delivery guys fenagled it up the stairs (Pivot! Pivot!), it is safely in its new home with minimal wear and tear from the harrowing out-of-state journey.  

And I can officially say I have big city clientele ;)  *Eek!*

 
 

If you’re interested in a custom order like this piece or how we can work with you out-of-state, check out our helpful FAQ guide or email me at cate@stylemutthome.com

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Want to see what we can do?  Check out what's in stock or view more of our past work on Instagram.

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