Old White, distressed dresser; Classic

Hi friends! Well the garage became quite full this weekend and I'll be working steadily over the next week or so to complete both custom orders and my own finds, (including a beloved family heirloom, my first dining set in a long time, and an experimental piece...). Most of what you'll see from me here will be furniture transformations, at least for a little while. So let the good times roll!...

~Before~

~After~

When I have the opportunity by both space and time to work on my own found pieces, I love to hunt for versatility; pieces that can swing more than one way. This piece, refinished in Old White by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, is the epitome of versatility. Place the TV on top and add a dash of sophistication to the family room. Stand it up against the wall in the dining room to double as an elegant buffet and serving ware storage piece. Or complete a bedroom with a vintage vibe with a dresser capable keeping all garments organized.

Through gentle distressing of the warm off-white color and reattaching the original aged brass hardware, this piece has a distinctly sophisticated vintage feel. 

{SOLD}
*contact me if interested in a similar piece*

Thank you for stopping by!

~Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Repurposing a Candle Holder as Chandelier

As you may have gathered, Chelsea's Garage is growing and I am honored to be a new member of the family - not only on the blog but also in life!  Chelsea and I met because I was dating her brother Caleb.  We hit it off right away and over our mutual love of design, do-it-yourself projects, and turning trash to treasures.  I didn't realize that with Caleb came such a steal of a family!  I stuck around and I guess Caleb thought I was a good fit and proposed this past spring ;)  Now I'm to be a permanent fixture as the new sister-in-law.

So let's start with a thinking-out-of-the-box project.  I found this guy at a thrift store for $5.  Loved the branch motif but it was just a little too big to put anywhere.  He needed a flat surface to be functional as a candle holder but in my tiny apartment, flat table real estate is hard to find.  So what to do?  Hang it on the wall and sacrifice it's only function as a candle holder?  Yes I could call it art but free wall space was also sparse...

Boom! I knew.  What's one of the most underutilized decorating spaces in your home?  The ceiling.  And it just so happened that I had the perfect spot of ceiling over a bland window bench that could use some pizzazz.

To get started I needed:
1} Sturdy Chain
2} 2 Ceiling Hooks
3} Large Jump Rings
4} Needle-Nose Pliers

I attached the jump rings onto the candle holder where they wouldn't slide off and would be balanced when hung on the chain.

When I liked the placement, I attached the chain and held it up to the ceiling to measure the length I wanted it to hang down.  Didn't want it too close to the ceiling that it would cause fire hazard problems and didn't want it too low that it would be in the way of any day-to-day life.

After installing the hooks in the ceiling, my out-of-the-box project was ready to hang!

Now it's your turn to think-outside-the-box ;)

~Cate

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Chelsea's Garage Announcement

Hi friends! I've got some exciting news which I've been itchin' to share with you! But first, a little back story...

Chelsea's Garage has remained a home based business for the past 2.5+ years despite some very kind and tempting offers to display and sell through some of Northern Virginia's most popular antique shops and barns. For this moment in life, however, it feels right to keep Chelsea's Garage, well, in the garage. I can work while my babes play in the front yard or take their afternoon nap just upstairs. I get to meet every person face to face who purchases a piece from me - a unique pleasure which I would have to sacrifice elsewhere. And finally, in staying true to my personal mission for Chelsea's Garage, I can create and offer beautiful, one of a kind pieces at reasonable prices because I have no overhead expenses such as commission or rent. Indeed, life in the garage is good and right for this time.

But the decision to keep my business home comes with it's own hardships. Owning and operating your own small business is both beautiful and trying.

 When you are successful, that blessing is yours to be grateful for and you can feel proud of all your work. But when things are slow and the business account is empty, you own that responsibility, too. I wish I could say that since I first started out in the Spring of 2011 that the business has enjoyed a snowball effect, growing exponentially and moving forward with zero setbacks. But that is far from the truth! While I can say that Chelsea's Garage has grown greater than I had imagined, I must also admit that there have been times of fierce discouragement. 

Nevertheless, I have felt a lot of peace about deciding to keep Chelsea's Garage at home. But, I've also discovered that doesn't mean I have to commit to working alone!

When my beautiful friend and future sister-in-law first expressed interest in working together, it just felt right. She has only just started, (and has her own job plus a wedding to plan), but it's been such an honor already to get to work alongside this creative soul and I'm excited about what she'll be sharing with us here on the blog, (you'll hear from her about once a week). She will no doubt inspire us all with her ideas and you'll even have the opportunity to purchase her creations through the Available for Sale link. She's begun to settle nicely into working on her own projects in the garage - a space which we not only share for working, but our dreams, ideas, and tons of laughs, too!

Meet Cate.

We are both excited about where this adventure will take us all, and are ever so grateful to you for your partnership through reading, sharing and supporting Chelsea's Garage.

Thank you for reading!

~Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.