Lindsey's Neutral Family Home

Happy Friday, Mutts! I don't know about you all, but this four-day week felt like a six-day week. Holy cow, am I glad that's almost over!

Today, we have a serious treat for all of your neutral lovers. If you haven't seen this neutral obsession splattered all over social media, you must have been living under a rock. Some of it goes too neutral, towards cold or impersonal. But Lindsey gets it right, creating a family home that feels casually curated but also actually feels lived in. What a concept! 

You can see right away that we're dealing with a historic home here. There's something about that history that really gets to me - thinking about all the families that have built their lives here. I love that Lindsey's design honors that past while making it her family's own.
From Lindsey:

Our home was built in 1900, and it sits on an acre lot in the country. Because of the original wood work, including beautiful pocket doors, and my old soul, I think the style of our home would equate to the Midwest. When I look around, I think, ‘yeah, this house just belongs here.’

A fun fact for all of you, and a shameless plug for a company I adore: I found Lindsey and her awesome space via the Letterfolk Co Instagram account. Their letterboards are seriously amazing, and I do not blame Lindsey at all for owning more than one! And, they plan right in to Lindsey's style. 

I think I would best describe my style as midcentury meets farmhouse, with a side of simplicity. I love visually clean spaces and have an obsession over antique pieces. At the end of the day, I want our home to house only meaningful items, to be inviting and free of clutter. I love this quote by William Morris: ‘Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.’

Now, Lindsey is raising two beautiful babies in the Northwestern Ohio country. So next, let's look at the bedroom these kiddos get to grow up in. I wish I could use the written word to adequately describe my envy. Not that my mom didn't do a great job decorating my childhood bedroom (in case you're reading this, Rosemary...) BUT this room screams 'Be a kid! Explore! Play!' Color me jealous... 

In the boys’ (Hayden’s) room, my favorite piece, hands down, is his bed. My husband and my father built it together with their own hands, just for our sweet Hayden. There’s actually many hand made pieces in his room and I think that’s why it’s my favorite room in our house.
I think our styles are always evolving. Since having our two boys, I have had the biggest urge to purge and to simplify. I found myself thinking, why spend time cleaning up after all of these ‘things’ when I could be soaking up this precious time that I won’t get back with our children. It’s played a huge part in finding my style.

I think you'll all agree with me that Lindsey has found her style and is sticking to it. Finally, let's take a look at her master bedroom. 

Now, everyone has their own opinions of color. I almost think about it in the same way that I consider extroverts vs. introverts. People just recharge in different ways - by being alone or with others OR, in this case, by being surrounded with colors or calm neutrals. 

I really wrestled with the decision of leaving the walls white, or giving them a pop of color. Something about the white walls gives me a sense of calm, and as a stay at home mama, this is something that is so important for my overall mentality. The extra sunlight shining through our home and reflecting off the walls is sure to give us all something to smile about throughout our day. Finding what makes you happy is key.

Lindsey, I applaud you. You're an awesome mama, and you've made a home to serve some seriously important purposes - inspiring your babies, encouraging your family's peace, and giving yourself a place to recharge. We tip our hats! 

Follow Lindsey along on her blog, Being Badenhop, or on Instagram for more decor and life inspo. And Mutts, remember, you too can have your home featured - just drop me a line at mckenna@stylemutthome.com

Life in Progress

Life with kids is hard. It's inconvenient, loud, restless, busy, messy, and unpredictable. But the first piece of advice my Momma gave me after our twins were born was not to define each day by the hard. Hard was going to be a given, there was no way around that. There would have to be some other criteria to measure the days by. This one piece of advice alone would define my perspective of being a stay at home Mom for the next 7 years. And what a beautiful 7 years it's been!

Today Colin and Shire start first grade and Mason begins kindergarten. All will be gone for the first time all day Monday through Friday, and I don't mean to redirect the attention to myself, (yes I do), but this day will change my life. Not in a tragic way, horrible way, but redefining nonetheless.

Everything I said about having kids at the beginning is a bit amplified with multiples. This isn't to say it's harder than having children one at a time; none of my friends have multiples and their struggles are unique and foreign to me. I don't really know how else to describe it other than that it's intensified but concentrated to a shorter amount of time. We've just barreled from one stage to another all together!

This time with them has been intense, yes. Intensely good. Intensely blessed. Intensely fun.

7 years ago I practically became a new person since becoming a mother was such a defining part of my identity, (even despite my best efforts to resist and remain the same exact person I'd always been - I think the Lord must have had a good chuckle on my behalf). In fact, it happened so quickly that after the twins were born and had to stay in the NICU for several weeks while I was released to go home, I broke down while grocery shopping alone; I had babies but they weren't with me and nothing made sense. Being out and about in the world doing a mundane chore like grocery shopping just felt horribly wrong by myself, even though that had been a completely normal thing such a short time prior.

I'm feeling that same crisis welling up again; I'm a mother but my babes will not be with me day in and day out anymore. Thankfully they aren't in the NICU like last time, but I'm alone nonetheless; the weight of responsibility to care for them has been lifted from my arms between the hours of 8:40-3:40. What does one do when they're used to carrying such aweight and it's gone just like that? What fills the space?

As fast as my hands were full, they're empty again.

I spent much of this summer decluttering. Not our house - goodness, I need to hire a professional for that! But life in general. I stepped back from a lot of things that would make me unavailable to the kids. I still worked within StyleMutt Home, but the work was focused solely on what was important. As my Dad always says, 'work smart, not hard'; the two are not the same, and it's taken me some time to figure out how that concept looks for me personally. I started a small business when our Mason was born partly to help pay for the highly concentrated expenses that come with having kids this close in age, but also to have something that had nothing to do with motherhood; to have something that connected me with the world I was a part of before having children. Funny thing is, I'm not sure I ever could have done it without my babes. There's something about these kids that has made me far braver than I ever was before. They arrived into our lives full of hope and joy; free from anxiety and fear. Their natural 'let's do this!!!' attitude has been like a rotor all these years. As a mother I truly understand now why the Lord has used children as examples in so many of His teachings. Psalm 8:2 says 'Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.' Boy have I learned a lot about living from these kids. Enjoying moments together, no matter how small. Tiny moments are all we really need anyways; a look, a smile, a quick hug, a loving exchange. These moments are gifts from Him and surely enough to fuel us a nice long time.

The kids, this depth of love and admiration for my husband, what I've learned about the Lord, even this business - it has all completely blindsided me in the best way possible over these last 7 years. I couldn't have written it better myself. Matt and I are learning that flexibility is worth far more than any planning or preparing we could ever do, because the Lord's plan will be absolutely perfect.

I don't know what this next chapter of life will look like for us but my heart is wide open. I can't tell you how grateful I am for StyleMutt Home and for you, and while I miss the chapter of life we've closed I couldn't be more excited to explore opportunities that have been on hold all these years. I truly never expected this business to turn into something I'd so feel passionately about or that it would build such wonderful relationships with others I've been blessed to be connected with. This is all the Lord's doing, completely. StyleMutt Home has been a generous gift to my heart and one that has blessed me in unimaginable ways during my journey as a Mom.

If you read this whole thing, bless your heart, first of all. But we promise some exciting design related content coming soon! This weekend we'll actually get to shoot one of the E-design projects we worked on this Summer! You guys, it's amazing. It's hunter green walls, custom art, antique pieces and some favorite trends. We can't wait to share it with you friends!

Thank you guys so much for stopping by!

Reader Design: Erin's Perfect Midwestern Digs

Happy Labor Day weekend, Mutts! This weekend, people all over the country are celebrating what many deem to be the last weekend of summer. I, for one, can't wait for Fall - but I'll be celebrating like the rest of you in one of my favorite Midwestern cities: Chicago, Illinois. 

Another favorite? Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the brains behind today's reader design hails from. Welcome to Erin's Perfect Midwestern Digs! 

I found Erin via Instagram several months ago and continue to fall in love with her aesthetic with every post. Her home manages to be light, bright, simple, and durable - something that is increasingly important in Minnesota to withstand all of that cold and precipitation (and whatever those other three seasons bring). 
From Erin:

I’d describe my style as “handmade modern.” I love visually clean, modern spaces that have been softened by traditional architectural elements and handmade pieces. Though I’m drawn towards bright, modern spaces, I still want our home to feel approachable and “undecorated.” Using a mélange of handcrafted and vintage pieces really help to reinforce the relaxed and casual vibe.

Let's talk about the oven nook. What a place to bake a chicken pot pie come this Fall! I can't be the only one fantasizing about this, right??  Erin's favorite part of the kitchen are the cabinet doors below the sink. They were actually salvaged from the original kitchen in the home, just simply refinished with paint and hardware!

I love how they give our inexpensive cabinetry a custom look, as well as help pay homage to the home’s 90 year old bones.
I think personal style, interiors or otherwise, is born from simply figuring out what it is you are repeatedly drawn to. What do you find beautiful and why? I’m always trying to surround myself with inspiration, because I think style is something that develops slowly over time and never stops evolving.

I definitely pay attention to trends, but I try not to design my home around them, unless either I’ve loved this element long before it became popular, (i.e. my affinity towards the color blue), or I feel as though the trend will still have legs long after its heyday has passed, (i.e. classic subway tiles).
I really wrestled with whether or not to paint the wood trim in our living and dining room. I love white enameled trim, but throughout my childhood, my mother, who adored her beautiful Mid-Century woodwork, always taught us never to paint the trim. I had a bit of an internal struggle about it at first, but after seeing how weathered our 1930’s trim was, especially the sills, it made it a lot easier to go for the enameled trim.

Another beautiful original element of the house is captured in 1930s-era rounded archway. Erin expertly blends straight mid-century modern lines with romantic curvatures throughout her space. And then there's the dining room light fixture - woah. 

Whether it’s a vintage rug or sculptural light fixture, I’ll always be willing to splurge on one statement piece within each space. The perfect piece can make the entire space pop without much effort, so I’ll pair the statement splurge with affordable or thrifted finds to help balance the budget. My advice though would be to really make sure you love the piece (and will for years to come) before you buy. This is not the time to buy based on trends!

Erin, all I can say is BRAVO! Your space is perfect. Are you sick of hearing that word yet? Follow Erin along on Instagram or on her blog, Francois et Moi, for more inspiration!

Mutts, until next time!