A New Kind of Play for an Old Toy Chest

October 28, 2017 Cate | StyleMutt Home

Grandpas are special. They let you eat sugary cereals and watch early morning cartoons when you’re parents are out of town. They slip you gas money before you drive back to school. They build things in their basement workshop and teach you all about their tools. And sometimes they even give you the old family toy chest he built for your mom and her siblings and tells you to “have at it!”

If you’re popping by from Apartment Therapy, welcome! We are StyleMutt Home, a sister-in-law duo (Chelsea & Cate) who love to mix and match a myriad of styles in the pieces we refinish and the spaces we design...

Now my husband (Chelsea's brother) and I don't have any kids of our own yet so I was challenged to rethink what else I could do with this piece of family lore. So I got to thinking... what if it could still be used for a more grown-up sort of play...

It was a simple transformation really. I took the lid off the toy chest and flipped it on it’s side to screw in some hairpin legs I had from a thrifted find and boom: record player stand.

Inspired by grandpa's original paint color, I refreshed the muted black paint on the exterior. of the box.

But for the interior I couldn’t bring myself to sand out the assortment of dings. To me, they are the map of a playful childhood.

So I just waxed the wood to at least give it back its buttery sheen.

It turns out that the chest is the perfect size for a standard LP sleeve!

For the styling, I used plumb foliage (scavenged from the parking lot no less) + DIY moon phase chalkboard art + a framed floating ghost lady (taken from Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer ). To me, they all subtlety tip their witches' hats to Halloween without being overly ghoulish.

Adding legs gave it the height it needed to be used as a record cabinet or even a bar - either way it's ready for a more grown-up type of play.

And as much as I’d love to keep this bad boy in the family, we simply don’t have the space! So DC Metro area: my loss is your gain. If you are interested in this piece - pop over to our shop to get more info.

Hairpin Legged Record Cabinet
Now Available for Sale

Hairpin Legged China Cabinet

April 10, 2017 Cate | StyleMutt Home

Big news! No like really - this is my biggest-sized flip yet. Clocking in at 71" tall, meet my first ever china cabinet:

I found him on half price day at the thrift store hiding underneath a wooden fish and wearing some plastic flowers like a laurel. He was so petite without any legs that I almost didn't realize he's a china cabinet. But upon closer inspection the wood was in impeccable condition and the sliding glass doors were without chips or scratches. So I jumped at the chance to bring him home for my signature leg-lift.

I'm such a sucker for those warm wood tones that I couldn't bring myself to paint it. All he needed was some minor repairs and some legs to stand on.

This piece features (1) a drawer for flatware

(2) two lower cabinets

(3) two sliding glass doors to keep dust off your displayed wares.

(4) beautiful angled lines true to it's Mid Century Modern age.

Also keeping with his mid century theme, I used MCM accessories to style it. Those chartreuse Russell Wright dishes were a gift from my Aunt & Uncle and I've been dying to show them off.

The brass martini table seemed like the perfect mad-men touch and also a fitting pedestal to show off those fun 1-2-3 glasses I found recently at a consignment store.

If our apartment were bigger, I'd have half a mind to keep this guy! But my loss is someone's else gain - he went to a new home just this weekend before I could debut him on the blog!

Hairpin Legged China Cabinet
37.5"W x 15.5"D x 71"H
SOLD

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

Mirrored Suitcase Bar

December 26, 2016 Cate | StyleMutt Home

Happiest Christmas style mutts! We hope you spent the day snuggled with family (or framily: friends-who-are-basically-family) and made some special memories. Be it the gifts or the gathering that made your day great, Chelsea and I sincerely wish the best to you and yours.

Well, if you're anything like my tinsel-happy husband, you may be experiencing some PTCD today: post-traumatic Christmas disorder. Am I right? 364 days of build-up can certainly leave you a little lack-luster on Dec 26 ;) But fear not my friends! There is still one more celebration just around the corner: New Year's Eve!

Who's ready to host and end-of-the-year bash? [insert eager hand-raising emoji right here]. Except I do have a teensy-weensy problem. About 800sq. ft. teensy-weensy to be exact. Other than the occasional family pop-by, Caleb and I have not hosted much of anyone in our small (but adorable) apartment. As with our last place, floor space is prime real estate when you're renting so having a dedicated space to mixology isn't always a priority.

This time last year, I introduced many of you to our small space solution pop-up bar. So this year I'm actually putting one in the shop for any of my fellow apartment-dwelling, space slim DC area peeps.

This one is made from a vintage suitcase in impeccable condition. Which I purchased at Sweet Clover Barn last spring while treasure hunting with Chelsea. It's a gorgeous camel leather with a glossy sheen and brass accents.

The suitcase even comes with a key if you ever need to lock it up your liquor from Uncle Henry or your boosy cat (hey - I'm not judging, I just don't know what kind of parties you throw...).

The bar also comes with a natural wood base and a vintage tri-fold vanity mirror. Both can be easily folded up if the bar needs to be stowed away - and the folded mirror even fits in the suitcase lid compartment.