Reader Design: Ashley's Farmhouse Boho Home

Ok, y'all (side note: now that I'm a Seattleite I never say that word outloud, but boy does it feel good to type it!). 

Daylight savings has happened. The days are officially darker, and Fall - and perhaps even Winter - are already here. Today, we're taking off to Montana and fully embracing all there is to love about this season with a tour of Ashley's home. 

It's some mutt-ish mix of boho, mid-century, and rustic and replete with all the Fall vibes. This is a perfect opportunity for an edition of "I Spy: StyleMutt Home Reader Design." Count the Fall references in this home - all things layered, cozy, and Thanksgiving-inspired - and we'll see if we come away with the same number. Deal? 

From Ashley:

“I strive for functionality that also looks good. I strive to promote a sense of coziness and cleanliness in my home. A space that is clutter-free but also has a ‘lived-in’ feel (because, yes, real people live here!) I take pride in creating an oasis for my husband to come home to after a long day of work.”

This oasis was created with a lot of DIYing, bargain hunting, and creativity. In the living room, Ashley and her husband transformed the cookie cutter box fireplace into the stunning stone masterpiece you see. All it took was a lot of sweat and, per Ashley, maybe a few tears!

In the living room, they negotiated and landed a "dinged" floor model version of the farmhouse table they were eyeing; those display scratches didn't detract at all from the table - in fact, they added character! 

In the master bedroom, they added some character again with a DIY shiplap wall. Now... I know what you're thinking. Thank you, Joanna Gaines, for the shiplap obsession that's rocking the nation. But Ashley knows that despite its current trendiness, the feature is still completely her. 

“I don’t pay too much attention to trends, but instead gravitate towards classic and timeless pieces. I don’t want to feel like my décor is dated only months after designing a space. With that said, I do have shiplap in my home which is very “trendy” right now. But shiplap isn’t new, and I love the interest it adds to a space – so that is why I have it in multiple rooms, not because it is “in”. There is already talk about people regretting their decision to shiplap their walls, but I love it and have no regrets! At the end of the day, as long as your space brings you joy, that is all that matters!”

At the end of the day, all that money and time is well spent if the results makes you feel content, happy, and home. 

“[I’ll always invest in] anything that is well built and serves as functional décor! I love finding pieces that are made with quality materials and will stand the test of time. With that said, I also love finding functional useful items and displaying them as décor in my home. This dual purpose makes it worth a splurge!”

Thank you for the tour, Ashley! Your home is so full of love and built to withstand any season. 

Follow Ashley along on Instagram @ashley.joyfullygrowing for more. See you all next week! 

Reader Design: Linzi's Mod Apartment

Happy November, Mutts! I hope you all are slowly coming off your sugar highs - but we're here to keep the excitement going with a tour of Linzi's mod apartment in Providence, Rhode Island.

She and her longtime love and fiance Spencer love all things retro and have a true penchant for Ikea, with a heavy dose of thrift to keep things interesting.

“We both grew up in upstate New York in a very small town where there wasn’t much to do. In high school, we loved to go thrifting and decorate our bedrooms in our respective houses with our small vintage finds. When we moved in together here in Providence, it was great to combine all our stuff and pick out our own larger pieces of furniture like bed frames and couches together.”

Now, most people think of "basic" and "starter furniture" when they think of Ikea. But that really doesn't have to be the case. In our world of e-design, we know that Ikea can offer so many options for pretty and affordable furniture (this isn't an ad for Ikea, I promise). Linzi didn't shy away from the brand when designing her own home, though; in fact, she had to consciously reel herself in!

“I think one of the biggest things I’ve wrestled with is loving Ikea almost too much. I love everything that place makes, but I had to step back and make sure I wasn’t living in a place that looked like it could be in their showroom. ”

I don't know about you guys, but I can hardly pick out the Ikea pieces in this space. Linzi and Spencer did such a great job adding character through both thrifted finds and family passdowns. In fact, Spencer was lucky enough to get one of the most incredible inherited record collections I've ever seen, gifted by his dad. Those records on display really help this couple achieve the overall feel they're going for:

“I try to evoke a feeling that is fun and comfortable, in a vintage way. I want people to feel like they can come hang out with us and listen to a record. ”

Linzi also wasn't afraid to get hands-on to make this home special.

“In the kitchen, my favorite pieces are the vintage wooden table chairs. I got all 4 for $10 each and put in a lot of elbow grease refinishing them (they were painted bright green before).”

The retro and bauhaus vibe is carried through in every room, all the way to the bedroom. It's bright, happy, and effervescent, just like the 1960's era on which it draws.

Linzi, thank you so much for showing us around! We love what you've done with the place. Follow Linzi along on Instagram at @linziclary for more.

See you next week,

Reader Design: Madison's Bold Southwestern Style

When school brought Madison from Arizona to Boston, he took a bit of home with him. The result is a stunning space that is bold, bright, and imaginative and clearly derives its spirit from the Southwest. 

Let's take a look!

Though he tried to resist, the influences of his childhood both followed Madison all the way across the country and followed him through life stages and into adulthood as he put down New England roots and purchased a home with his husband. 

From Madison:

“I grew up near Cave Creek, Arizona and a lot of those Southwestern touches have crept into our home. It’s funny because growing up I used to detest homes that were totally blown out in Bonanza. Now I can hardly resist when I go home. I have to stop into some of the local shops and pick up a Zapotec table runner or a piece of Talavera pottery. ”

“We also travel a lot and love to bring home decor items back with us. Because of that we get a little eclectic and global chic thrown into the mix as well. If I had to sum [our home] up in one line I would say it’s Global Southwestern Mid-Century Modern Chic (that’s a mouthful!). Ultimately, we buy the things that speak to us and that give us that visceral response and we find a way to make them work. There’s no other way! ”

Going with your gut is always the best thing to do, right? Everyone in this new world of authenticity - particularly on social media - preaches staying true to yourself.

But what if you're wrestling with what exactly that means? After all, Madison ended up emulating the very styles he thought he hated while living in Arizona. He even in initially struggled with color - not color choices, but how much of it to use in the first place.  

“One thing that I wrestled with is color. A lot of people tell you not to go crazy with color because it will impact the resale of your home or that you will get too tired of it. We sort of just went with it and everyone seems to really love it, including ourselves. It’s not like we redid our entire kitchen with red cabinets - paint is so cheap and easy to fix or change or correct. ”

Obviously, color won out in this home. And thank goodness it did! At the end of the day, Madison and Sky wanted their home to be "energetic, interesting and fun" and "be a place that is comfortable and inviting." For them,  color did the trick. 

Moving to the bedrooms, the home starts to take on a quieter vibe. 

“In our bedroom, we wanted to be a place of tranquility. The room was inspired by a painting my grandmother did in the 70’s with a Native American man in the sky surrounded by Kachina dolls above the Grand Canyon. That picture has always brought me a lot of peace, and I think that’s a good vibe for your bedroom.”

The guest bedroom, like its master peer, also has a fun theme. Instead of a family heirloom painting, that theme is..... drumroll please.... 

LLAMAS!

“This is our llama/alpaca room - you will find touches of llamas in almost every corner. I love all of them, but my favorite thing is probably the picture of the alpaca on the yellow nightstand. Sky’s mom surprised me one year, and we want to one of the largest alpaca farms in New England. I snapped this picture of one of them and just can’t get over how much personality shows through the image. ”

If there's one thing for certain about this home, it's that it has a whole lot of personality. Madison, your home is so, so, so fun, bold, and beautiful. Thank you for inviting us in! 

Follow Madison along on Instagram @mvwetter for more!