Easy + Inexpensive Home Upgrades

Hi Friends! I don't know about you, but I tend to start piddling around our house looking for SOMETHING to do by mid- January. When the excitement of the holidays is behind us and life moves back into regularity, I start getting a little itch to do something creative. And when my furniture pieces are so cold that a single brush of paint frosts over before my eyes, I'm limited to the indoors.

If you're looking to do a few creative home improvements over the long winter months, we're here to help you get inspired! The following ideas are simply meant to be jumping-off points to get your wheels spinning. 

Let's have some fun!

1. Wall Decals - Here's a trend that I am revving to jump on! Wall decals are such a whimsical way to complete a room, and the best part is, there are so many beautiful choices! You can create an entire statement wall with decals, or a specific focal point. These choices are a great mix of fun and sophisticated:

Sources from Left to Right: Raindrop Flower, Seagull Wall, Triangle Wall

2. Hardware - One of my personal favorite ways to switch things up is a simple hardware upgrade! The options are endless so your bound to find a style that's right for you, (and your piece of furniture)! Here are three favorites floating around right this minute:

TO BUY

Sources, Left to Right: Gold Tone Mushroom Knob, Netherbury Knob, Antique Tear Drop Knob, Rustic Cabinet Pull

TO DIY

If you have a retired belt, (or you can find one for a few bucks at a thrift store), then you can cut it up and make leather pulls! On the piece blow, I made tab pulls by folding 6" pieces in half and sticking my screw through the top, as well as full length handles by sticking a screw through each end, with the middle bowing out a bit.

3. Sofa Cushions - By far the most popularly switched out item in the home, sofa cushions are a zero effort option that offers dramatic results. Fabrics and patterns can be mixed and matched any which way you please, so if you can make the tough decisions, it's a great way to give a room a noticeable face-lift! It was hard to narrow my favorites down, but the companies below are my personal, tried and true favorites for price, style and quality.

TO BUY

Sources from Left to Right: Stocholm Pillow, Striped Aztec Pillow, Velvet/Linen Pillow 

TO DIY

Using leather cord and a white cover, stitch just the ends of the cord placed in a criss-cross pattern.

4. Gallery Walls - This completely DIY option can be as clean and simple or as random and haphazard as you'd like! There are really no rules when it comes to gallery walls, but it's highly recommended to lay your pieces out on the floor first so you can play around with placement and design. Use personal photos, pages from books you own, or downloadable prints you find online! Here are a few gallery walls we've designed here at StyleMutt:

Sources, (complete with how-to tutorials), from Left to Right: Botanical Prints, Downloaded Prints, Sentimental Wall in White

There you have it! A few good indoor-weather projects to get you through the Winter! Is there anything you hope to work on this Winter or any other ideas you can add? We'd love to hear what you're up to!

Thank you all for stopping by!

Small BR Swag

Hi All! Just a warning, there will be lots of potty talk today - loads and loads of it. I am sure the holidays and all the extended family time have that effect on some people, but today we're actually talking bathrooms! We are approaching a very busy time of year for home updates. All those projects that people have been saving for 'after the holidays', are now staring them right in the face. For us, it's our master bathroom. Here is a not-super-interesting fact: Our master bathroom is 47" x 56", (plus a shower) . Single pedestal sink, no counter-space, no storage. I am so very grateful to have our own bathroom, don't get me wrong. I would just prefer not to wait in line to brush my teeth, (a line that only consists of two people).

I know the number of people facing this same issue is growing as folks are opting to live smaller these days, in general. But, does smaller floor space automatically mean sacrificing modern amenities? 

Using the incredible online bathroom fixture and amenity resource, DecorPlanet, I spent a bit of time researching space saving ideas and storage solutions which are still high in style and comfort.

Here is a sample of a bathroom I designed with DecorPlanet amenities. My goal was to be mindful of space but use every opportunity to marry function and glamour.

I really, (really), enjoyed swooning over the brass fixtures that DecorPlanet offers. If there's ever a time to go brass, it would be in a small bathroom. The impact is so stunning! To send the brass soaring I complimented it with a classic blue and white palette accented with snaps of red. However, as I tend to prefer rooms that are just a bit off beat, I used large scale patterns on both the wall as well as the shower curtain. This keeps it from going too traditional and gives the space a slightly more eclectic look.

Let's scale back all the 'extra's' to show off all the DecorPlanet pieces:

DecorPlanet has thousands of beautiful bathroom amenities so it was really hard to decide which pieces to use for this design, but once I started down the brass road there was no turning back. I actually had a dream about this bathroom after I finished the final design!

Here are the details for each piece I chose and why I used them:

1. The double sink: Whitehaus Large U-Shaped Double Basin Console with Chrome Overflows and Towel Rails - China Series. I chose this piece because it's compact without sacrificing the double sink. By using a console sink, there is opportunity for storage underneath for waste baskets of containers holding spare towels or toiletries.
2. Waste basket: Nameeks Windisch Waste Basket 89102
3. Medicine cabinet mirror: Fresca 40 Wide Bathroom Medicine Cabinet with Mirrors. ModernBath offers a large variety of mirrors, both with storage and without. I chose a simpler design with interior storage since I knew I'd be adding a chandelier in the space, rather than wall mounted lighting.
4. A bathroom chandelier...sure, why not?! The Kichler Rossington 5 Light Chandelier in Natural Brass, (which I 'hung' a bit low just to fit it in), is anything but conventional, but the impact it has on this soft, feminine bathroom is striking. They also have a 3 arm version of this fixture.
5. Wall mounted tolilet: Eago WD101 Modern Wall Mount Dual Flush Toilet. I'm a huge fan of wall mounted toilets and they are growing in popularity for private residences. This sleek design not only looks stylish but has a very small footprint in the floor plan, saving a decent amount of space!
6. Brass toilet paper holder: Smedbo Villa V241 Toilet Roll Euro Holder Without Lid in Polished Brass
7. Brass + glass shelves: Nameeks Windisch Bathroom Shelf 85506ON. There is loads of space above a toilet for storage if necessary. These gorgeous shelves with their brass edges can almost double as wall art!
8. Brass clawfoot tub: Nameeks Knief Edwardian XL Bathtub 0100-063-O. Who doesn't want a clawfoot tub? With the right size, a clawfoot tub with shower attachment can still be a practical solution for a small space.
9. Brass towel bar: Danze Opulence™ Towel Bar 24 in Polished Brass PVD. This towel bar, like the chandelier, is very clean lined and simple in design. When using a finish with so much shine, as brass, I like to use pieces with minimal embellishment and let the beautiful reflections do the talking.

Small bathroom design might not be relevant to you right at this moment, but perhaps it will be someday. My goal was that these ideas at least give you a bit of hope that functional design can still meet your style aesthetic. Need some more inspiration? Follow the link below for DecorPlanet's round up of space saving solutions!

Thank you so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

*This was a sponsored post, but every word, opinion and design, (for better or worse), are mine.

Favorite Transformations of 2014!

Hi Friends and Happy 2015! This post has been particularly fun to put together as it's been a big year for us! It's been a year of dramatic DIYs and transformations, starting with this blog itself!

We said goodbye to Chelsea's Garage just a few short months ago to begin something fresh and new with StyleMutt. It's been an awesome beginning and we are really excited about what 2015 will hold!

We're ready to dive into 2015 and even have some spectacular projects already up our sleeve, but first, we're taking a day to reminisce  over our favorites from 2014:

No question, we share more than a few style loves - not the least of which is mid-century modern!`

And we discovered just how fun it is to work with bamboo!

But we are true StyleMutts, through and through, and enjoyed embracing the many styles that make us tick::

Of course, not all the transformations involved furniture:

In fact, some of the transformations were of entire spaces!

It's been a tremendous year, indeed, and we just want to say THANK YOU for hanging with us, for your encouragement, and for making this adventure completely worth it. Happy New Year, Friends!

Chelsea and Cate