Reader Design: Nancy's Love-Filled Nursery

I am so excited to return to our "new normal" Spaces programming - sharing a new amazing space with all of you style mutts each Friday! 

Next, we're off to Nancy's Love-Filled Nursery in Charlotte, NC. Nancy's mom, Elise, is a first-time mama who has created the most LOVELY space for her little girl. Brace yourselves: you're about to see a lot of white, pink, and gold - a combination which seriously knocks it out of the park!

From Elise: 

“When my husband walked into the nursery for the first time after my mom and I worked our magic, he said, “It’s so white in here!” That was music to my ears. I love white!”

Elise methodically planned every detail of this nursery prior the arrival of her daughter - and boy, can you tell! It's no wonder that when she was trying to choose which room in her home to feature with us, she went with this space. 

“I so enjoyed choosing Nancy’s crib bedding. I stayed in the white color scheme but mixed patterns: polka dots, hearts, and herringbone. The abstract art hanging above Nancy’s crib is my favorite element of the room. One of my best friends painted it based on two elements: my nursery inspiration board and 1 Peter 1:6-7.”

In true StyleMutt fashion, Elise also did some DIY work of her on the dresser. She snagged it for $20 and just repainted and added new knobs. And that was a great call. You don't need to meticulously strip and restore your secondhand finds in order to make them worthwhile. In my first apartment, I got a free Craigslist coffee table and painted it a bright turquoise - that wasn't exactly "on trend," but it was practical and easy to swap for another color when I needed a change! 

 
 

Another thing Elise nailed: the layered rug trend. Can you imagine waking up, rolling out of bed, and immediately hitting that shag rug with your feet?! What a way to start your day. I don't know about you guys, but I for one am very jealous of Nancy.

Thank you, Nancy and Elise, for sharing this beautiful home with us! Follow Nancy and Elise along at Her Heart and Home and on Instagram. 

Allow Me to Introduce Myself || McKenna's Cozy Basement Rental ||

Let me be upfront about this: I live in a basement rental right in the middle of Washington, D.C. There are two windows - well, one, but my front door has a plane of glass that I lovingly refer to as a window. It's a massive 600 square feet. Gray walls in every room. And, I LOVE it. 

You already know a little bit about me from this introduction, but I'd love to show you around and share some more about myself. 

My space is 100% mine - for the first time ever, I live alone. Each pile of laundry, dirty plate, and, most excitingly, design choice is mine. While design for me is never done, my space right now is perfectly illustrative of my "mid-century / industrial / glam aesthetic." You already know that I love gold, and nothing proves it better than my living room! 

That being said, my living room is the source of my latest internal struggle: symmetry or asymmetry? Note: the pillow asymmetry on the couch is  not intentional. The other orange pillow is just housed in my bedroom to hold while I sleep. Design has to be practical, right? 

Something else I love about my apartment: how it smells. Let's call it "Apartment Quality #2 that I love." I have a huge bundle of dyed eucalyptus that smacks me in the face every time I walk in the door. And then there's my favorite candle ever - the LA Noir - one of five scents from Scenthouse LA. 

From Scenthouse owner CJ:

“These are subtle but highly cognitive fragrances that are designed to set a mood. We’ve all had different experiences that inform what memories are recalled when we smell something – so if I can evoke a reaction, positive or negative, then I’ve done my job.”

To me, this candle - with its hint of lily, French perfume, dust, and tobacco - takes me back to one of my two favorite vacation destinations: Palm Springs, CA (the other is Copenhagen, Denmark, in case you were wondering).  I think traveling to Palm Springs with my parents when I was little girl subconsciously embedded a love of mid-century design deep in my soul... 

Now, on to "Apartment Quality #3 that I love" - there are so many great stories. The amazing orange lamps were a gift from my parents (by gift, I mean they no longer had a need for them in their new condo), and the bar cart is a pass down from my great-grandmother. It was made in the 1930's and cycled through several colors before returning to its original bronze. Every time I look at it, I feel incredibly nostalgic. 

That bedside table - or what we actually think is a 1920's phone table - was purchased by my parents in an estate sale in Richmond in 1986, the year they got married. It had many layers of paint, which my dad meticulously stripped off to uncover that beautiful oak. And the stainless steel bed has been in my room since I was nine years old. That beautiful giclée above my bed was painted by my boyfriend's very talented uncle.  

I love this little nook: the West Elm lamp, the weird mirror that somehow (maybe?) works, and my watercolors by a local DC artist. 

I love this little nook: the West Elm lamp, the weird mirror that somehow (maybe?) works, and my watercolors by a local DC artist. 

I will be eternally grateful to the woman I found on Craigslist who was selling this dresser. Cate & Chelsea are right... DC Craigslist is a treasure trove. 

I will be eternally grateful to the woman I found on Craigslist who was selling this dresser. Cate & Chelsea are right... DC Craigslist is a treasure trove. 

It's a work in progress. And someday, of course, I hope to have even more space to put my mark on. But for now, it's home. 

Please follow me along at @mckennabegin for more, and email me at mckenna@stylemutthome.com if you're interested in having your Space featured! 

Always, 

The Light Fixture Family Tree ||why I don't throw things away||

I hate throwing things away.  My husband would say that makes me a hoarder.  But I believe that makes me resourceful ;)  I will often hold on to old parts from past projects until I can find another use for them - and sometimes my... resourcefulness... pays off.  

Last summer, I scooped up this faceted foyer light at my local ReStore.  I liked the look of the brass + bulb components inside and started thinking, maybe I can repurpose them into a DIY sputnik-style chandelier.  So I bought the whole kit-and-kaboodle and promptly took it apart.

After disassembling it however, I couldn't bring myself to scrap the faceted lantern.  I thought about turning it into a terrarium or a more functional table lamp again [I have a weak-spot for disassembling light fixtures apparently...] but in the end I brought it to our pop-up shop at Sweet Clover Barn and sold it as a dainty umbrella stand.

As for the original "guts" that had inspired the DIY chandelier on my 2016 furniture flip bucket list - well, I held on to those babies for almost a year [much to my minimalist-of-a-husband's dismay].  Until I found this lamp...

Behold!  That tall, handsome, square piece of brass pipe that's the perfect length.  I finally had all the pieces I needed for the frame of my sputnik light!

 
 

But after I had my hands on the brass pipe I needed, I still had the other perfectly-good components of the table lamp to play with - like the 4 decorative pieces of turned wood.  After stumbling on a $2 round wooden tray at the thrift store, I soon had a plan for those too: a mid-century modern plant stand.

So just to recap, here's a handy infographic on how one old lantern and one old table lamp came together to make 3 new beautifully functional  pieces and nothing was wasted in the process!

I'm still working on the wiring for the sputnik chandelier and [if all goes well] will be sharing the results soon!  In the meantime, I'm curious if any of you have created your own diy family trees by repurposing project left-overs.  Please share in the comments below!