Reader Design: Amy's Perfect Imperfection

It'sssssssssssssssssssssssss Friday!  And I'm particularly excited about sharing today's reader design because of the heart behind this home in Minneapolis, MN: Amy from Modern Chemistry at Home.  While emailing back and forth with Amy about sharing her style mutt space on the blog, it became very apparent she's a kindred spirit.  Much like us, her desire is to see people encouraged and empowered in their own home decorating.  She too believes that creating is a form of worship.  But like many forms of worship it can be too easy to get caught up in the beauty of what you're creating instead of why you're creating it.  We just love how Amy has made it her mission to embrace her home's imperfections and create a real, raw, and inviting space.

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From Amy:

Hello, everybody! My name is Amy, and I really am a style mutt. In fact, my blog (Modern Chemistry at Home) got its name partly because my husband and I have very different tastes and my decorating is something like a chemistry experiment as we merge our styles.
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My style perspective has definitely changed over the years. My point of view has developed through having children and learning to think about function just as much as how a space looks. 
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I’m definitely drawn to spaces that have a mixture of styles. Some of my favorites include Midcentury and Scandinavian Modern, but I also really enjoy children’s spaces and would seriously put pretty much anything from Land of Nod in my living room or bedroom. 
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I love a cheerful room. Natural light, lots of white, fun patterns, and bright colors speak to me. Clearly, my decorating isn’t too serious!
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And a big part of my story as we renovated and decorated our fixer-upper is how God worked in my heart to help me be content and understand that my identity is not in how my home looks. Our home is a place to raise our littles, live life together, and bless others through hospitality. It can be beautiful, but perfection isn’t my goal. 
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There are quite a few things in our home that I inherited from my grandparents. There is a special joy in decorating with these furnishings. 

GASP!  I must have this entire vignette - especially those bookends!!!!

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One of my favorites is the big dresser in our bedroom. My sister-in-law discovered that it is probably an Empire style dresser. The shape is so lovely!
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My favorite DIY might be the white bookshelves a friend helped me build. They flank the fireplace in our living room and I just love them so much. It’s satisfying to make something with your own two hands!

Well done Amy - those bookshelves look like they should've come with the house!

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And my favorite room is probably the nursery. Again, I enjoy children’s spaces because they are often so bright and cheerful.
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Decorating this room helped me develop my style and gain some confidence. So with this room as a sort of guide for how I wanted the rest of our home to feel, I reworked other spaces in my home that didn’t feel right to me. I made a lot of mistakes the first time around! But the process of trial and error can be really enjoyable—in hindsight, after we get it right. ;)
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I just love decorating creatively and it is my heart to help and encourage others to do the same.
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Thank you Amy for so sweetly inviting us into your perfectly imperfect home.  Follow Amy  @modernchemistryathome for more decor goodies and check out her full home tour on her fabulous website!

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You want in on this? Submit to #stylemuttspaces for your chance to be featured in a Friday Reader Design.  No design experience necessarily you just got to love your space and what to share it ;)  

Blue Couch Room

Fall is the best time for craigslist-ing in my humble opinion.  Lots of people seem to be moving at the start of the school year or are redecorating for the coming holiday season.  in fact about this time last year I scored a tufted blue velvet couch on craigslist [FOR FREE!].  I know right?!  Right place, right time.  Basically, I saw the listing and canceled my plans for the afternoon so I could go pick it up.  Luckily, I managed to get it into my truck just fine:

I never got good pictures of it in our old apartment but basically my blue beauty looks like this:

And I LOOOOVE her.

Back in college, my crew and I had a favorite study spot in the library we dubbed the "Blue Couch Room."  It was quiet, and wonderful, and filled with blue velvet couches, and conveniently spaced outlets.  And a constantly rotating schedule of friends meant we pretty much always had a monopoly on the place.  I used to joke that if I ever had enough money to make a sizable alumni donation, instead of naming a building after me, I would request they simply make the name official.  This may be where my blue couch obsession began...

Now that Caleb and I are finally getting ready to move into another apartment [woohoo!], I'm beginning to think about how I want to decorate this time around.  As a self proclaimed style mutt, my tastes have changed since I first started blogging.  I look back on those old photos and feel like the room seems "juvenile" (does this happen to anyone else out there?)  As you can see from our first apartment living room tour, I love bold and bright and pops of color.  

But Blue Beauty makes me want to elevate this look to her level.  I've researched other blue couch rooms and found an incredible line up for my inspiration.  Here Annabode expertly sets the stage for the saturated blue with some warm woods and serene greenery:

Source: Annabode

Source: Annabode

Emily Henderson's pairing of a velvet couch with a neutral-but-still-a-statement rug and some leather chairs makes me want to do a jig - and makes me realize that I want a rug that won't compete with the couch like the trellis rug from my first apartment would.  

And here her pop-of-color(s) gallery wall of unique art makes for a worthy back drop:

I've also been gathering ideas over here on StyleMutt Home.  I've been eyeing the casual seating a vintage cot lends to a room ever since Chelsea brought home this WWII army cot.  And then when she ingeniously converted it into a coffee table [which is on sale until Nov 1st btw!] I thought, "What a versatile piece for a small apartment!"

In our old apartment, I was constantly battling a throw pillow identity crisis.  The selection was all over the place: modern, boho, rustic, graphic, contemporary - a true style mutt conundrum.  But after recently sharing Veronica's #stylemuttspaces reader design, I finally realized what kind of pillows make my heart pitter-patter: Kilim.

Yes, I need some textiles in my life - stat.

So with this working formula for our new apartment living room, here's what it's shaping up to look like in my head:

 Blue couch + warm wood + greenery + neutral statement rug + 
leather + pops of color artwork + versatile seating + textiles =

Can you see it coming together like it is in my head?  I incorporated some of my original artwork and even our rustic bench/ coffee table to help me visualize.  I'm really feeling like it's the more mature version of our original apartment.  I'll keep you all updated on our next apartment's progress as I  acquire all the pieces I still need to complete this look [slowly and patiently as our finances allows].

 

For the Love of Autumn and the Love of You

So if you didn't know this already fall is our FAVORITE time of year over here on StyleMutt Home.  We take our falling leaves, crisp air, apple pickin, hot beverages, scarves, boots, and sweaters very seriously.  But we also know that the only way to celebrate this hallowed season properly is to also celebrate something else we love: YOU!  

So between now until November 1st, we are offering you a juicy 20% off on select pieces in the Garage Shop!

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So let's take a tour of all the fall savings:

 
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Anthro Inspired Dresser
40.25"H x 35"W x 19"D
Was $265

Now $212

 
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Modern Cowprint Bench
50"W x 24"D x 14"H
Was $345

Now $276

 
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Vintage Metal Record Table
40.25"H x 35"W x 19"D
Was $50

Now $40

 
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Navy Campaign Dresser
32ʺW × 18ʺD × 44.5ʺH
Was $345

Now $276

 
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Rustic Army Cot Coffee Table
(and handmade wooden tray)
Was $160

Now $128

 
 

5-Piece Scandi Dining Set
48" Table
Was $150

Now $120

 
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Rustic Twin Pallet Bed & Step Stool
(made of solid wood, sanded smooth, stained Golden Oak)
Was $85

Now $68

We know fall is a big time of year for redoing your home decor so we hope this fall sale helps get you into gear for the coming holidays. If you are interested in any of these pieces, please email info@stylemutthome.com to get your fall on!