Reader Design: Anna's bold n' eclectic living room

April 24, 2015 Chelsea | StyleMutt Home

Hi friends! How often do stumble upon some epic home decor piece and fall head over heels, but hold back wondering how in the world you'd be able to work it in your home? Been there, done that! We're dishin up a hot Reader Design today by a gal who knows no such predicament. Our girl Anna, a fellow interior design enthusiast whom we've had the sweet pleasure of getting to know through Instagram, (@chicchickinwyo), shares our belief that decorating shouldn't include fear of breaking the rules, but rather foraged and shaped for exactly those who live in the home.

I mean, does this look like the living room of a woman who's afraid of trying new things and pushing the envelope?

Certainly not!!!

From Anna:

"When I've been asked to define my style, I’ve decided I don’t have just one. My “design tribe” is a mix of modern, vintage, traditional, chic and more. I want people to come into our home and leave with ideas of how to make their own homes unique, FUN and totally their own."

"Our front room is the first place you walk into our home, so I wanted it warm, inviting and leaving you with something to talk about. "

Cue, "Something to Talk About" by Bonnie Rait, (good luck getting this one out of your head. You're welcome)

"The polka dot wall has become just that, I never thought putting polka dots on a wall would have such impact. I think its witty, funky, unexpected and totally me. I don’t take anything too serious, including myself or my décor.

That wall is like an exclamation point to an already stylin' room! And lovin' this happy little welcome to Spring, below. So sweet.

"Our gallery wall as well has people looking, talking and looking some more. It’s busy, sentimental and happy. I love that it’s always changing and evolving."

And I spy an adorable black and white checkerd kitchen floor...

"I like to rearrange and change up this room a lot and I’m very happy we decided to purchase white furniture; it’s the ultimate neutral. I like to use items most people wouldn't consider, and hear them say, “That works, it totally works!"

Darn right!

I had to save my boys' favorite for last. At ages 4 and 5, dinosaurs are our liiiiiife. Such a fun, whimsical element!

What a treat to get a peek into such an energetic home so full of life! Thank you, Anna, for this awesome tour of your living room! You can follow Anna's daily design adventures on Instagram @chicchickinwyo!

Be sure to share your own space with us by posting photos of your decor style onto our Facebook wall, or tagging #stylemuttspaces on Instagram! No professional design experience required, just a passion to create a home that is unique to those who live there! All Reader Designs that we have the pleasure of posting here on the blog are archived on our SPACES page as a wonderful source of fresh ideas and inspiration - we advise that you get comfy before exploring this resource, you could easily get lost for a couple hours. :)

Alright, let the weekending commence! Thank you so much for stopping by!

Card Catalog Table - || It's ok to be naked ||

April 22, 2015 Cate | StyleMutt Home

Before I go any further and you start jumping to nudist conclusions, just keep reading... It all started with a trip to my local ReStore where I scored some vintage metal finds: a task lamp and a two-drawer metal card catalog.

Neither were in great shape: the task lamp was an amputee without a base to stand on, one card catalog cabinet was two-toned and looked like it had heterochromia (a condition where your eyes are two different colors), and the other had hilariously uneven handles. I ended up only getting my blue-eyed/ green-eyed cabinet since something about it made me smile. And so I brought home more misfits to my island of misfit DIYs...

I'll have to save the lamps transformation for another post, but when I started on the card catalog, I knew I wanted to build a base for it and turn it into a table. And that's when I got naked...

Naked wood.

Was that anticlimactic for you? Well I am not sorry. I think a nude wood is totally worthy of a peep show ;) The days of our grandparents furniture modesty is over: you don't need to fill your home with dark and heavily shelacked finishes. That's right, the modern home has gone naked. There's something so simple and beautiful about light, unfinished, natural wood. Just look at these drool-worthy photos in the raw:

I mean, how tantelizingly neutral is all that nakedness?!

I fashioned this beautifully minimal base from a couple of unfinished square dowels. I was actually planing on staining the wood base until I got it all assembled and realized the natural blonde pulled out the bleached labels in the original drawer pulls - I just love how it makes that mysterious handwriting pop!

Someone may find the mis-matched drawers to be a draw back, but I find it beautiful and quirky. Wherever you are drawers J-S and T-Z, I hope you look as cute at this guy!

And he's the PERFECT size for a table-top record player yall.

The base also makes a great storage space to prop your collection of vinyls.

J'also-adore the patina: all the scratches and dings and paint splatter add to the mystery of the previous alphabet-organizing owner.

Card Catalog Table
18.5"W x 16"D x 27"H
$95 SOLD

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

And don't forget to tune back in on Friday for our next #stylemuttspaces feature! It's pretty dang adorable.

Bucket List Bucket Chairs || Item No.7 ||

April 20, 2015 Cate | StyleMutt Home

It's been killing me to have been away from you StyleMutts for so long. Chelsea has been so great to hold down the fort here while Caleb and I have been moving. Moving out of our newlywed nest was not something we had planned really, but the reality was that rent was eating into our savings and therefore our marriage. So when our lease was up we started praying for a solution and boy did GOD SHOW UP. He led us to this sweetest hostess who has invited us to stay in her basement suite for the summer. And you guys, there is nothing basement-y about this suite. The living area alone is the size of our old place, The bedroom has a walk-in closet that could easily turn into a guestroom. The view overlooks a private lake. It's a dream and for sure the nicest place we will ever temporarily call home.

It certainly will be hard to leave at the end of the summer. Especially for Thor who has found his first love: Honey Bear, our hostess's 4 year old white lab. And guys... are they SMITTEN. Honey Bear will come to the door and ask if Thor can come out to play. They chase each other around the house for hours. They snuggle together on the couch. Sometimes they even make out (if licking each other's faces is dog for sucking face). Thor won't even eat in the mornings because he's too excited to see her. And if we're not home and he's moping through the cracked window, Honey Bear will curl up in the mulch bed below the window to keep him company in his isolation.

Does anyone know how to prep a pup for a broken heart at the end of summer puppy love?

Anywho - now that we're more-or-less settled, I have saved a big fat juicy reveal I've been saving: the next item on my Furniture Flip Bucket List.

I saw these chairs on Craigslist AGES ago and sat too long on them. No not physically, but by the time I decided to contact the seller, the post had evaporated. I thought he had sold them because who wouldn't snap them up right?!? So imagine my happy surprise when then reappeared a couple weeks later. He must've just forgotten to renew his post when it expired: sometimes you really do get second chances!

Now, when I got the chairs I was really torn. They looked so cool with their x-bases. Very Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair inspired - circa 1958. But the casters made them feel very conference room. So I did some research into their original manufacturers and found that Virco is an American-based company that has been producing furnishings for K-12 schools since 1950. Aha! Now it's all starting to make sense.

Ok so with this find, where do we stand with the Furniture Flip Bucket List? That's right! 3 down!

That's right! 3 down baby! So how do I get these boys out of the boardroom and back into the living room? Well... I traded in their more design-limiting swivel bases for more versatile tapered legs.