A Room for Lilith

"Ladies, meet Lilith."

These were the words spoken by an awesome client we had the pleasure of working with over a year ago that sent us into a frenzy of excitement! Our friend had nothing else for her bedroom except for this painting; a treasured piece she had seen several years before she had saved enough to purchase, and it was to be our jumping off point for her bedroom.

So naturally, we studied Lilith! Her colors, her personality - we were just getting to know our client but felt like we could learn a lot about her from this piece she so cherished. Lilith was rustic and earthy but with a good dose of glam and sophistication. She's both gentle and serene but every bit edgy and fierce. Luckilly for us, Lilith was eclectic! So we created a room around Lilith, just as requested.

We started with this very early design board which served to nail down the general feel of the room through mixing specific colors and styles.

And here's what we came up with!

Lilith got a grand place on a nice blank wall opposite the bed. Once we got her hung she looked like she was on display in her own private museum gallery, so we left her alone rather than add more pieces around her.

The natural and rustic element of the headboard, (an antique door which we repurposed for this project), is beautifully contrasted by French provincial nightstands and brass and white reading lights. The bed is a mix of soft colors and soothing textures.

Lilith wouldn't be one to waste any useful space, so we followed suit and created a built in windowsill desk for our full time employee and grad student client to study and buckle down without sacrificing a beautiful view and natural light.

This was our first experience in creating a room around a solitary piece of art and it proved to be a fun and exciting challenge! Fortunately, I get to work with Cate who is much more the art connoisseur in our partnership! I was at least mature enough to not blush and giggle when I first saw Lilith. ;)

Have you ever created a room around a piece of art? Link your projects below so we can check them out! Thank you all for stopping by!

DIY Tassel Wall Hanging

Well, well, well. Look who's back with another DIY tassel project. Another one, you say? Why yes! Most of you are probably fortunate enough to have missed or forgotten the last time I made tassels. Some four years ago I scarred my family for life when I stuck these beauts all over our house. Literally. Oh, I was proud. Those kitchen ones are no joke LOL!

I recently went on a quest to find something large scale for a big wall in our living room. I had some short white shelves pushed up against it and a few small things hung above those, but the ceiling is so high and this wall so grand, my little vignette wasn't doing this side of the room any favors. I wanted to play up the large scale of the wall with something proportionately....large! After seeing this image on Pinterest, I knew what I wanted to try.

So I had to ask myself. Can tassels be redeemed?

For this project I used yarn rather than fabric. The steps above show you exactly how I made each tassel:

1) Wrap the yarn around some 8-12" object 15-30 times around. I tried to vary the size of each tassel and didn't keep an accurate count of how many times I went around. I just knew some would be fuller than others. 2) Pull the ring of yarn off the object. 3) Grab ring somewhere in the middle and tie a string or twine around it. 4) Cut the opposite end of the yarn ring open. 5) Gather the bundle together 6) Grab at the twine/string you tied around the ring and wrap a nice little 'neck' of twine/string about 2-3" below that

Then tie about 6' long pieces of string to a wooden dowel. I got mine from Home Depot and stained it. Space the strings about 2" apart.

Hold the wooden dowel with the strings up on the wall where you'd like it to go, and make sure to use a level! It's hard to eyeball something this large when you're right up on it. Mark the ends where you want your nails/hooks to go.

I hung mine on two large nails at either end but this part could go so many different directions. Only after hanging the dowel with the strings tied to it do you want to tie on your tassels. When it's up on the wall you'll be able to see better the scale and where you want the tassels to start. Don't over think as you're tying the tassels on - a piece like this shouldn't be too methodical but rather soft and organic.

It's definitely the strong focal point I was looking for to carry that wall! This piece speaks the same language, (as Cate says), as the trendy wall weavings that you can find just about everywhere, but at less than $20 to make myself it was less of a financial investment for something that, let's be honest, may only be in our home for a season. Our home is my place of inspiration - it's where I try out new ideas and styles and see how things can work together. This is where I can really stretch my creativity without risking a client's trust or budget.

So, what do you think? Have I redeemed tassels under our roof? Well, my sons think they look like octopuses, my daughter says they're dolls, and in my blessed husbands own words, "It's okay." LOL! Interpret as you wish.

Thank you all for coming by!

Oh Grow Up... Art ||Flip List Item No.4||

For a few months now, my collection of original abstract artwork has felt...off.  It's like you're trying to copy your mom's crowd-pleasing artichoke dip and yet it just doesn't taste the same when you do it - you feel me?

In an effort to solve this art conundrum, I declared "Grown-Up Abstract Art" as item No.4 on my furniture flip bucket list and began to do some research on what ingredients may be missing from my art collection.  After consulting pinterest, I kept stumbling on some delicious abstract art showcased in gorgeous, minimal floating frames.  

Source: Ellen Dodd

And so my first theory was formed.  I rummaged up some spare wood trim to fashion a make-shift gold frame for one of my smaller pieces, but when I finished it still felt juvenile somehow.  

Using my day off to work on a #furnitureflip #bucketlist item: grow up my artwork. I'm starting by experimenting with #diy modern frames. We'll see where this goes... #abstractart #floatingframe #gold #stylemuttprojects

A photo posted by StyleMutt Cate (@cate_stylemutthome) on Feb 26, 2016 at 11:54am PST

After mulling over it for a little while longer, I began to think that perhaps my portions were off.  I love to paint but I'm no professional artist - when I paint, I can't help myself: I love ALL THE COLORSSSSSS.  But perhaps I need to balance out the generous helpings of bold pops of color with some graphic patterns and white elements like this large piece I painted to help stage the cowprint bench.  [It actually sold at our Pop-Up Shop at Sweet Clover Barn so I never got the chance to mix it into my new abstract art recipe.]   And interestingly enough, despite my obsession with large-scale abstract art, I don't actually have any pieces hanging in our apartment. 

Ok so let's meet the "art ingredients" I do have in stock and let's see if we can mix them together for a winning combo.

Van Gogh's Les Alyscamps

• "Les Ales Camps" - a 3rd Grader made this piece at a school I worked for.  The elementary art program was doing a series on Van Gogh and this young artist was studing Van Gogh's Les Alyscamps (which she mistakenly labeled as "Les Ales Camps" in the top right corner lol.  I loved the playful take so much that I had it printed on a canvas to hang in my office.
• "Unnamed" - this is the largest piece of abstract art I've done and yet I haven't found a place for it.  I think I feel like it would overpower any of our small spaces so I've never hung it in our home.
• "Hadley" - this is the piece I tried to give a floating frame.  I think the proportions are off and I would like it better if the frame were thinner and little daintier.
• "Picasso" - this is another piece I can't take credit for.  I just love this line drawing so much that I traced it on some paper and popped it in a frame - forgive me Pablo P.
• "A Riot of Color [in a dreary world]" - name that movie!  I painted this poppy-inspired piece while watching a Heath Ledger favorite (may he rest in piece).  You may recognize this pop of red from staging this piece here. 

For plating purposes, I've enlisted the help of a fresh flip who'll be heading to his new home in DC soon [I removed the original toe-kick and added tapered legs with the nickle caps cut off and painted the top and sides a glossy white].

Art Recipe No.1:

Playful "Les Ales Camps" with a side of "Picasso" garnished with plant, brass candlesticks and record player served on a Mid-Century Record Console Table with storage for your vintage record collection.

[How cool is that rolling door for space-saving storage?!  And there are four compartments inside with removable vertical dividers.] 

To combat my tendancy to over-saturate with color, my thought here was to pair the two "lighter colored" art pieces on a white-wall background.  The smaller graphic "Picasso" cuts the intensity of the color in "Les Ales Camps" and the record player.

Art Recipe No.2:

A large helping of "Unnamed" abstract with a side of "Picasso" drizzled with candle sticks and a fern for garnish.  Since "Unnamed" is such a powerful flavor, I also tried to soften it with the dainty print and anchor it with a large plant. 

Art Recipe No.3:

Spiced "Riot of Color" and "Hadley" with creamy "Picasso" served with natural elements encased in glass cloches and garnished with a potted fern.

[Look at that gorgeous wood grain in the slats of the console table's rolling front.]

Since I was using two bold paintings, I again employed the "Picasso"print and accented with the airiness of the glass cloches.

[Fun fact: the stand for the raw mineral is just one of my fluted candlesticks turned upside down].

Which recipe hit the spot for you?  Any suggestions on how to make my art collection more flavorful/ refined/ spicy?  Leave your tips in the comments below!

Mid-Century Record Console Table
48"W X 18"D X 29.5"H
SOLD
$525

If you are interested in a custom order like this piece, please contact me at  cate@stylemutthome.com. 

Check in on the progress of this year's furniture flip bucket list: