DC Apartment Reveal!!

You guys! This is a big day for StyleMutt Home and one we've been dreaming and scheming for a nice long time - and it's such a treat for us to get to share it with you, friends! After several years of flipping furniture, we've felt this natural progression occuring in the direction of interior design. When sweet, young Christine came to us asking if home decorating is anything we would be interested in, we jumped on the opportunity to help her with her apartment! 

Her style is very eclectic with an emphasis on cheerful, she loves nature and color, and her edgy side is perfectly balanced by a gentle, soft side. We were so blessed to work with Christine and wanted to represent the multi-faceted, multi-talented, independent woman that she is. 

So you want to take the tour?! Come on in!

LIVING ROOM

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Among a very small handful of pieces Christine already owned was this small shelf that her Mom built and painted!

"TOTES MA GOATS"

Christine has herself a nice little vintage camera collection - we used these nesting hexagon shelves from Axel Co. to display them as a fun statement over the media cabinet, (which we found on Craigslist and cleaned up with new hardware).

Faux greens from IKEA nestle cozily inside these wooden bird feeders from Target.

Recognize the tree stump? We shared the tutorial for how we made these from a neighbors backyard trees a little bit ago! You can brush up on the deets here. :)

These faux engineer prints cost about $6 each and only 4 minutes of time a piece, (after getting the supplies). More details on these prints comin' soon - find the easy frame tutorial here!

Christine got herself a banjo during our time working with her - told you she was a cool chick! 

BEDROOM

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As Christine is in grad school, we wanted to give her more surface space to spread out and keep organized. Building her a desk along the bottom edge of her window sill created a long, sleek, inconspicuous space to do so.

Her beautiful headboard is actually an old door that was once used in Chelsea's home! One side is painted Duck Egg blue, and the other is natural wood. We created legs out of 2x4s that can be screwed into the door headboard from either side in case she ever wants to switch things up!

The color scheme for her bedroom was inspired by Christine's most precious piece of art - a painting named "Lilith."

That's a wrap! Happy house warming to the best first design client these two style mutts could ask for! We will be following up shortly with a source list for both rooms. Thank you so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Reader Design: Kelly's Effortless Bedroom

Guys, I have a new happy place.  It’s the StyleMutt SPACES page.  I mean, would you LOOK at all that eye candy?!?  But you wanna know why it’s my favorite place – or collection of places rather?  Because of you. 

Seriously, this page is all you.  This gallery represents décor from all over the world, all walks of life, and all kinds of Style Mutts.  And you don’t have to be a designer, a blogger, or a betty-homemaker to join this league of extraordinary rooms!  Just use the tag #stylemuttspaces on Instagram or post to our Facebook page to enter your pics. 

Today’s reader design is from San Diego, California.  Kelly from House of Aqua started with a desk and a magazine rack and built an entire bedroom around it!

From Kelly:

Our master bedroom design was inspired by my desk nestled into the corner of our bedroom. The desk was originally in our living space but I no longer had room for it so I moved it into my daughter's room. My daughter wasn't using the desk and wanted more floor space for playing so it ended up in my room, awkwardly placed behind the bedroom door as it was the only available place in our small house to put it. I realized that if I had a stool or chair without arms it could function as a desk without interfering with the bedroom door. I've logged many hours in my cozy desk area while conducting research and writing my thesis for my graduate degree! 

Those oversized acrylic numbers once belonged to a Gas Station marquee!  Clever clever salvage.

I keep my desk supplies to a minimum by only keeping what I need so that everything fits into the shallow drawers of the desk. For example, I only keep one set of pencils and a couple of pens which are in the cup on my desk.

Our bedroom furniture it just over ten years old and I was ready to replace the set with an upholstered bed and white furniture until I thrifted a midcentury modern magazine holder that sits next to my desk.

For whatever reason that magazine rack helped me link together a design that I didn't know I wanted and helped me fall back in love with the bedroom furniture I already had.  Most of the decor is hunted down in HomeGoods and thrift stores. I find that I gravitate towards a mix of elements such as acrylic, wood, stone, and nature. I like crisp white bedding but I bring in different textures with functional pillows.

That’s funny, Thor sleeps almost exactly the same way as Emmy there…

Gah!  Where'd she find those Swiss cross sheets?!

The mirrors propped on our nightstands help to make the room feel larger by reflecting light...  We maximize storage by using the decorative vase and box to store belts on our dresser.

UGH!  More adorable terrariums!  I want them all.

Aren’t you just amazed that this whole room effortlessly started with such a relaxed workspace?!  I just wanna set up camp at this desk and blog for dayssssssss…

Thank you Kelly for opening up your home to us this Friday!  Follow Kelly (@houseofaqua) for more easy-breezy style!  And if you are on the fence about submitting your own room for your chance to be a Friday feature, then ask yourself one question: do you like what your style has to say?  If the answer is yes, then we want to hear it!  You never know who else out there will be empowered to develop their own voice...xoxo

Congratulations to Sally!

Hi friends! My Mason did a name draw and we've got a winner for our One Thousand Gifts giveaway!

Congratulations, Sally! Please email me at chelsea@stylemutthome.com with your mailing address and I'll have your copy of One Thousand Gifts shipped asap! Thank you for your comment and I hope you enjoy your new book!

Thank you all so much for your sweet words after the Thirty-Wonderful post - my heart was so full reading your comments here, on Facebook and Instagram. Finding that which is extraordinary in our day-to-day living does not come easy, does it. The Lord has really used One Thousand Gifts to start adjusting my perspective and really seeing all that is remarkable day in and day out.  If you're interested in diving into an inspiring Summer read you can find the book new and for a great price here!

Thank you for stopping by! On deck for tomorrow is another spectacular Reader Design home tour - it's a goodie!