Little Brother Bookcase

Earlier this year, I scored two vintage West Michigan Furniture Co. bookcases off craigslist.

I shared what became of the bigger one in my last post but what became of his little legless brother?

Meet Little Brother:

He may be more petite than his big bro, but he is certainly just as stately.

I wanted the option for these bookcases to get adopted together so I used the same color to do a similar finish with some small changes - can you spot them?

This time, I painted only the sides and top and left the front trim in the original wood finish. This waterfall paint treatment has honestly become one of my favorite refinishing techniques. It allows me to maintain what I can of the original wood finish while still providing a pop of contrast in an unexpected way.

Little bro also go a new pair of legs.

They are a matte black powder-coated steel that matches the matte black paint finish.

Like his brother, he still has his original glass sliding doors to prevent the accumulation of dust on your collectables (provided you dust the inside before you put anything in there… unlike me).

For styling, I really had fun with this one. I liked the idea of incorporating some moody mother nature - considering she’s been quite moody here in VA lately.

And what’s more moody than a dramatic oversized tree branch?

Or some scraggly scavenged moss?

To class it up, I added a few porcelain mushroom figurines (thank you Target for yet another random purchase I don’t really need be somehow really want).

On our staging hunt, Thor even found some tennis balls that have grown a more mature shade of green moss. Leave it to the dog to sniff out old tennis balls like a truffle pig.

And yes, Thor tried to play with each piece of our haul on the walk home from the walk in the woods. Let’s hope baby girl Henderson will have a better appreciation for décor than my men do.

Hit me up if you’re in the market for this little guy (and/or his big bro)!

Little Brother Bookcase
Now Available for Sale
36”W x 12”D x 30”H
$395

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

Industrial Pipe Bookshelf

Only 3 more days until Christmas!!!!  Admittedly I am equally counting down to spending time with family as I am to having a real break from my day job.  I haven't taken more than 2 days off for over a year so I am really really looking forward to a bit of an extended stay-cation.  As we count down to the holidays, I am also wrapping up some overdue flip debuts before getting ready to start rolling out new pieces in the new year.  

Remember my industrial sawhorse desk?  Well when the buyer came to pick it up last fall, it turns out she didn't need the 3-drawer hutch since she planned to float the desk in her office.  So she bought the desk, chair and lamp, and left the orphaned hutch drawers behind so I took the opportunity to play around with a new take on industrial-inspired storage.

Industrial Pipe Bookshelf

I re-re-used the drawers to make a 3-tiered bookshelf with loads of storage.

I drilled two holes through the front and back of each drawer and threaded a section of galvanized pipe through.  Each dovetailed drawer hangs level and secure by resting on pipe coupling at one end and a heavy-duty wall bracket at the other.

The staggered heights provide visual interest while allowing space for art or plants.

I tested the weight limits of the unit myself by literally loading up every flat surface with all of our hardcover books.

At the top, a small section of pipe also secures to the wall for more stability. 

And another flange at the base can be secured to the floor too.

The entire length of pipe disassembles easily into 4 sections for transporting. 

You could even swing out the middle drawer and mount the whole unit into a corner for even more versatility.

I would love to see this baby go to a cool loft or some other city space!  If you are interested in this piece or a custom order like it, please email cate@stylemutthome.com.

Industrial Pipe Bookshelf
Now Available for Sale
63"W x 7.5"D x 78"H
$395

As we gather together this Christmas, Chelsea and I pray that your holiday is filled to the brim with treasured family time.  We hope that the hustle and bustle will fade away and we'll all be able to truly savor the real reason for the season.  Merry Christmas to you all!

Barrister Bookcase ||a subtle makeover||

Why don't I talk about bookshelves more often?  They add height to a room and critical vertical storage.  I guess because I don't have a HUGE book collection, I don't think about just how awesome these pieces of furniture are.  Bookshelves are like the Jan of the Brady bunch and dressers the Marsha, Marsha, Marsha.  In fact, with the exception of the white triplets from my own home, this is the first time I've refinished shelves to sell!

It's hard to tell, but this piece was originally as glossy as a 90's kitchen cabinet.  And the base painted (not stained!!) a fake brown.  Womp womp.  So first order of business was stripping off the polyurethane and the stain and sealing it with a Danish oil instead.

Barrister bookcases (also known as lawyer's bookshelves) are handy because they have glass doors to protect from dust.  Which makes them perfect for protecting your books or other precious collections.  When staging this piece, my first thought wasn't actually to use books.  This is partly because I don't have a big juicy book collection, but mostly because of a photo my dear friend Amanda from Our Storied Home recently posted on Instagram:

Genius way to display the all-precious shoe collection no?  I mean, WOW-ZA!  (And who wants dibs on those red satin peep-toes?!?!)  But alas, I actually have less shoes than I have books - so I styled with books after all and filled in any spaces with my plant children.

The Danish oil is a nice contrast from the original "plasticky" finish.  It gives it something a little softer and (as I like to call it) buttery.

I also completely stripped the paint finish off the base and custom-mixed a new stain to match.

And switched out the original yellowy brass knobs to splurge for more modern pulls from anthropologie.

What's $7 for a knob when you only need three lol?!?

This Barrister Boy is an original Hale bookcase - which means he was made in the USA and is built for versatility: the top, the three units, and the base are all stackable so you can add, subtract, and rearrange them however you please!

Each glass pane slides up and stiows away for easy access to your displayed goodies.

And in my case (pun so intended), I'm showing off Big Jade, Tuscon the Succulent Garden, Melvin the awkward leafy thing, Penelope the String of Pearls, Little Jade, and the Jades' cousin Jasper.

And for the record, all my plant kiddos are still alive and (mostly) well. 

Black Thumb out. 

3 Shelf Barrister Bookcase (Barrister Boy)
34"W X 14"D x 60"H
Price: $425 SOLD

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