Gift Card Giveaway | Merry Christmas!

Hello there! We are just shy of one week out now, how’s everyone doing? Feeling good? Maybe a little panicked? Well take your mind off all there is to do, (for at least a few minutes), and let us do for you.

Tis the season to show our immeasurable appreciation to you for including StyleMutt Home in your time. It’s no small thing to get to share our work and lives here with you in this unique way, and the words of encouragement that you leave just warm our hearts. Cate picked two people to gift a cozy red Sherpa blanket and 3-in-1 pillow to just yesterday! Today I am excited to buddy up with a dear design pal, Abbie, to gift TWO $100 gift cards to her shop! Abbie sews the most beautiful pillows I ever did see, and that is no exaggeration.

An early Christmas present arrived when this vintage thai dyed hemp lumbar in olive green came earlier this month from Abbie. I love the raw texture, especially on my newly finished leather bench!

To enter to win a $100 gift card to Abbie’s shop we ask two simple things:
1) Please follow Abbie and myself on Instagram, (@anaberdesign and @chelsea_stylemutthome), and
2) Please comment here or on my Instagram post re the giveaway with either the best gift you’ve ever received, OR the best gift you’ve enjoyed giving.
We will pick two random winners on Friday morning, so you’ve got today and tomorrow!

Happy Christmas to you All! Thank you so much for stopping by!

Reader Design: Kendra's Gathering Spot

We're off to Texas today, mutts! Kendra is a musician, photographer, and superb community maker. It all starts with her own home in Houston, Texas, which she shares with her husband.

From Kendra:

“My husband and I are big on community, so we wanted our space to be one that is not only cozy and inviting but also one that allows us to intentionally cultivate our growing community. An open floor plan, gathering spaces, and a large dining table were must-haves for us. I’m also a musician and creative, and I want the space I live (and sometimes work) in to be aesthetically beautiful, inspiring, and creatively inviting.”

“We bought our house one year ago in June and, before that, I wasn’t super passionate about design nor did I know what i really liked. In the last year I’ve learned more about myself through my design style, and it’s turned into a hobby as well as a passion. I love being able to express myself in my own space. When friends, family, and even strangers come over to our house, I feel like they are getting a glimpse into my soul just by seeing how I’ve designed each space, and the attention I give to even the smallest of details. It’s truly special to be able to make a house a home.”

Part of the design process has included some self-realization on what styles and trends are truly authentic to Kendra's soul; and like most things in adult life, it took a bit of trail and error.

“I would describe my style as a touch of bohemian meets mid-century modern with ALOT of plants. I love the layers of clean-lined, mid-century modern furniture mixed with the elegance, nostalgia, and texture of hand-made items, hand-me-downs, and thrift finds. I think it unintentionally has a desert/western feel.

I think the whole “mid-century modern” trend was a struggle at first. It’s so fun and unique, and i see it EVERYWHERE so that caused some initial hesitation. When we first got married and moved into our first apartment together, I went all out on a specific design style that I completely grew out of a year later (So much regret). In order that I don’t make that mistake again, I keep that in the back of my mind when I’m making big style decisions. I want to be able to keep up with trends, but also make smart design choices that I know and believe will outlast a trend and not break my bank every year! ”

A sure-fire a way to gracefully sidestep trends is to stick to what you know. And what your family has known for years before.

“The piano was passed down to us from my husbands grandma and grandpa and inside the bench seat holds many original songs written by Steven’s grandmother and vintage piano lesson books.”

Each room has a special something that makes them interesting and different. The one common denominator? I bet you can guess now that you've seen Kendra's home.

“PLANTS! I Keep a fairly minimal color scheme, so I absolutely love the vibrance, color, and life that plants bring to a space. It’s a constant learning curve because you never know how a plant will survive in one space versus another, but I love the challenge and the accomplishment that comes from helping a plant thrive in a space. My mom always had plants in our homes growing up, so it’s something that we can connect on and a hobby that was passed down from her to me. ”

Kendra, thank you so much for the big Texan welcome! We love what you've created in your home. 

Follow Kendra along on Instagram at @kj.bates for more.

StyleMutt Design: Chelsea's Updated Home Tour

What?! Where is our usual Friday Reader Design home tour, you ask? Our booty kicking intern, McKenna, is taking a much deserved week off, so I'm slipping in to share a little tour of my own! Hope you guys don't mind! We've got a fabulous line up of Reader Design tours that will resume next week, though. Promise!

A LOT has changed in our main living spaces since last fall; a result of HGTV coming to photograph our home and then casually letting me know our home can't be shared on our blog or social media until after it's printed next Fall....unless I change it all. Challenge accepted, HGTV! The day after the shoot I sold rugs, chairs, tables, swapped things from one floor to the other, deconstructed, redesigned and reconstructed our pipe shelves, and redesigned our main living spaces. It's been such a fun process but I sure am glad it's over. It's time to kick back. :)

We're going to go ahead and just call this tour 'moody', as opposed to, 'it started pouring cats and dogs during the 45 minutes I had to prep and shoot this thing before the kids came home from school, so I had no time to manually adjust the light settings on my camera before each shot'. Moody has a better catch, don't you think?

Well, come on in!

It helped me tremendously to lay the plan for this space out in a 3D rendering, (which I posted about here). Seeing it come to life confirmed that the shelves really belong in the living room, rather than the dining room where we built them originally. Along with moving them to this wall, I also wanted a bit more desk space. Matt cut two boards on the upper left side to make room for a piece of art, and we transplanted one of those cut pieces off to the right hand side as a desk!

With the pipe shelves busy with books, plants, art, pottery and photos, I really wanted the rest of the room to caaaalm down but still be interesting, you know? This jute rug by Plush Rugs was the perfect unboring plain rug to compliment the space. The soft thick cream braided fringe on the ends adds that character I was hoping for, but the simplicity of the overall rug doesn't beg for attention, (linked here if you want to check it out).

Our coffee table here was previously in the basement - the two rooms agreed to swap coffee tables and they've been the better for it! This piece was a WWI army cot in another life. It made a rickety bench; too wobbly for the babes to use, so I cut it down and turned it into two coffee tables! One table sold, and the other has been serving our home ever since. Once in the service, always in the service!

While finding pieces around your own home is fantastic, it doesn't hurt to keep your eyes peeled out of the home as well. While taking a few bags of old clothes to Goodwill several months ago, I noticed this beautiful old Persian rug rolled up and left by the dump. It was dirty and stinky, but I brought it home figuring I could re-purpose at least some pieces of it, just like the rug I made the tree skirts from. After airing out for nearly two solid months I cut it up, using one piece to cover this, (also found in a neighbor's trash), bench!

It's not an impeccable job; I wrapped that thing like a Christmas present and used a staple gun to attach the fabric underneath, (after stuffing in some batting I had on hand). But you know what? It's a sturdy little piece, my kids use it as a pirate ship, and it's a solid homemade job using totally free supplies. Ahoy, matey!

Let's meander to the dining room, shall we?

Of all the rooms in this home, our dining room is by far the most temperamental. We just don't get along, period. Every single move I make, it counters with something contrary. Here's a sample of our ongoing dialogue over the years:

Item 1: I replace a very wide table with a narrow table so we can reach across to help our, (then), three toddlers during meal time
Counter: NOW THERES TOO MUCH SPACE.
Item 2: I try a big dark green cabinet to store all our craft supplies; perfect style, perfect color
Counter: OOPS, NOT ENOUGH SPACE FOR THAT.
Item 3: I remove the curtains in favor of a cleaner look
Counter: MY EYES! TOO MUCH SUN! (says all my kids who suddenly have sensitive eyes)
Item 4: Replace the old thrifted chandelier with something more modern
Counter: MY FAVORITES DON'T WORK ON A SLOPED CEILING. (So I settle for this one that's like a baby size of what this room needs)
Item 5: Center the table with the sliding glass doors.
Counter: THE DOORS ARENT CENTERED WITH THE LIGHT FIXTURE. NOW EVERYTHING IS OFF, FOOL! GOTCHA!

Can you believe our dining room talks that way?! The nerve.

But how about that rug! After selling one of our old rugs I purchased this one for the same amount as I sold the old one for - even stevens! It's an Overstock rug I found here, and is THE softest thing under our feet. I don't mind saying, it's borderline luxurious!

I don't do fussy tables, but I like interesting pieces like this pottery from my grandparents' old lakehouse.

Moving on to the kitchen to finish this marathon tour already! Recognize anything?

I cut a long strip of that dumped old Persian rug to use in here! It's just the kind of excitement this space has needed! I love tossing a bit of unexpected into a space and this rug is just the right dose in here.

That's a wrap, folks! If you made it this far, congratulations; you deserve to start your weekend early! Seriously though, thank you so much for coming by today. I just really enjoy this home and the way it has evolved with our family and it's a special thing to get to share it with you, friends.

Have a wonderful weekend!