Leather Headboard || 2018 Flip List Item No.1

We’ve got a month and some change left in the year and I still have projects left on the 2018 Furniture Flip Bucket List and have only coordinated one room tour since we moved into our new place last Spring. I’ll be the first to admit it, I’m running a bit behind on a lot of things in life, but hey - who isn’t?

Let’s do a little something about that today shall we? I’m fixin’ to kill two birds with one post: item No.1 from the flip list and a master bedroom reveal!

I often use my annual Flip LIst as a declaration on intent for the year. It’s a combination of fun projects I have my eye on and personal challenges I’d like to tackle. Item No.1: Miter Corners definitely falls into the challenge category. I kind of figured I’d try to hone this new skill on a picture frame or something small, but then ended up with the idea to try a headboard shortly after we moved in.

When we moved in, the bedroom was a baby blue. It just wasn’t our style so we promptly painted it a StyleMutt favorite: Swiss Coffee.

The white allows the warm tones in the wood and the leather to pop.

The white walls also showcase the many green accents we have sprinkled around the room - the emerald velvet curtains, the pops in our artwork, and our little succulent garden.

Hanging directly across from our bed where I can look at it every day is our Laura Gunn Still canvas print - a dreamy colorscape of all my favorite moody greens. Don’t mind Thor #theotherstylemutt, the bedroom is equally his domain.

The bedroom has been finished for a few months now, but the DIYed headboard was the perfect special occasion to finally do a full room tour.

This was my first time trying to miter “properly” - using the right tools and mostly the right methods.  And I have to say, I’m darn proud of myself! 

I mitered the top corners and used a simple butt joint for the bottom brace. Then I slung some of my favorite leather across the frame and stapled it in place on the backside. 

They angles might not be perfect, but they’re pretty close for a first try. 

He could care less, but I love how the leather brings out the auburn in Thor’s coloring.

Well on that note I guess I’ll let this little guy get his nap. That leaves only one last project on the Flip List - here’s hoping I won’t slack off for the rest of the year!

Six down, One to go. Catch up on the 2018 Furniture Flip Bucket List:

Bedroom Re-Do || 2017 Flip List Item No.6

Like Chelsea said yesterday, our bedroom has always been a flat note to me.   We've tried a couple different looks over the past two years (see here and here).  Each time we rearranged, it felt like I inched a little closer to the vibe I wanted but without ever bringing the design to full fruition.

So I added item redoing our bedroom to the 2017 Furniture Flip Bucket List in the hopes of figuring out what was missing from this neglected space.  

The first thing that greets you when you walk into our bedroom has always been my nightstand.  I fell in love with this vignette ages ago so I used it as inspiration for the rest of the space: warm wood + pops of color + a glint of brass.

In the past looks I’ve tried, we’ve never had a headboard.  I think that made me feel like there was something juvenile about our space.  So this time around I needed to see if a headboard would help refine our bedroom.  And I gotta say I am loving the anchor of the plush blue velvet!

I also kept my beloved leather + brass cantilever chair in the corner by the window.  

I think one day I’d ideally like to use this chair at a desk, but until then I guess my husband can keep throwing his “clean” underwear on it *insert facepalm emoji.*

Next to the chair is our thrifted MCM dresser.  I found this bad boy for only $50 and eventually scored the sunset mirror to go with it.

Just outside our door you can peek the roadside rescue ladder I've often used as a lateral storage piece.  Our hallway doesn't have much going on so I added the low-profile vertical piece for some architectural interest.

In this redecorating process, I did figure out that I’m bothered by the lack of varied furniture height in our room.

I shopped our apartment to introduce something lower as an alternative storage piece - do you recognize it?  This bench was actually our coffee table but I liked the idea of converting it to a get ready station.

The pièce de résistance to the makeover however is new bedding... I never realized how grown-up it would feel to have a real duvet cover!  We scored the Marble Percale Duvet Cover and matching shams (guess what - their on sale!) from Cstudio Home and it’s perfect for me and my oven-of-a-husband (ok I’m an oven too).  

Don't forget to check out Chelsea's Cstudio Home finds in her bedroom reveal... Gasp!  That shag pillow cover!  *heart eyes heart eyes heart eyes*

True, most of this makeover is a series of subtle tweaks.  What can I say?  We’re still in a rental after all.  But this modest assortment of new things has me feeling right as rain.  Until I get the itch to change it again that is... ;)

And on that note, that’s officially a wrap on the 2017 Furniture Flip Bucket List!  After two years of late finishes, it feels good to cross the finish line with a month to spare.  I’ve already begun percolating what I want to tackle in 2018 so stay tuned for next year’s list come January!

Seven down, zero to go.  Catch up on the 2017 Furniture Flip Bucket List.

2017 Furniture Flip Bucket List

Oh yes my friends.  I'm rolling out my 2017 Furniture Flip Bucket List to...DAY!  For those of you are new to StyleMutt Home (hey there!), every January I issue a "declaration of intent" for the coming year - a list of DIYs that I want to challenge myself with.  And I have certainly found myself challenged (see items No.1 from 2015 and 2016), but I love seeing where this list takes me each year and love even more being able to laugh at myself along the way.  It's cathartic.  

So let's pull that red velvet curtain off for the big reveal of 2017's list:

Source: Walton Woodcraft

No.1: I love the look of the un-honed wood (especially juxtaposing the super industrial) so I've decided I want to make something with a live edge.  

No.2 This past summer, I scored a cash of brass hardware from my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore for a whopping $7!  I've used the long pulls on these mudroom benches but still have a plethora to play with.  My hope is to find the perfect piece(s) to use them on some time this year.

Source: Pigment

No.3 I have always loved the style of these planters.  This year, I've decided to stop admiring them from afar and make one of my own.

Source: Chairish

No.4 Now this one didn't make the final list until like yesterday.  I scored an adorable set of Broyhill dining chairs that are in desperate need of an update.  I am not sure what direction I want to take them in yet, but I'm excited to see what idea I land on (suggestions welcome!)

No.5 Play with leather (no not like that ;)  Chelsea and I have often loved the warm yet sophisticated look of leather in our home decor.  For that reason, I know I want to do a leather-related project.  

Source: Mark & Spencer

No.6 My style has been continually evolving in our apartment.  The dining and living room officially feel "me" but our bedroom still comes across as a staging ground for shoes and dirty laundry ;)  I want to get to a point this year where I can come home to our master bedroom and feel settled in the decor.  So stay tuned...

And finally...

No.7 Build something.  After my baker's rack fiasco, I decided that this year I need to develop some real carpentry skills.  I have no idea what to build but I'll add the caveat that I want to build it well.  And I probably won't try to build a baker's rack...

Thank you friends for following along my (mis)adventures!  If you'd like to see how last year turned out, check out this post.  And I hope you'll stop in again to see how this year's list is faring!