So I'm not even gonna try to hide it - fall is my FAVORITE time of year. I think it's because it's the perfect storm for so many of my favorite things: leather boots, cute scarves, comfortable sweaters, crisp air, crunchy leaves, hot beverages, delicious soups, and best of all: family time.

But I don't have a home to decorate for fall - and it's KILLING ME! Well not really. I admit I'm being dramatic. What can I say, I'm in my tumultuous twenties where for the last 5 years my now husband and I have collectively lived in 8 total towns and bounced around 5 total jobs. I'm so ready to have a house of my own to decorate/ experiment with/ work on furniture in, but Caleb and I are still SO young in our finances.

But it's this time of year that also reminds me I need to give thanks for what Caleb and I do have:

Almost 2 years of marriage under our belt
An incredible dog named Thor
Jobs
A place to live
Both sets of parents in the area
All 8 of our grandparents
and last, but not least:

all of you fellow style mutts

So without a home of our own to decorate, I'm celebrating fall in my own ragamuffin way with a new pair of pieces in the garage shop:

Psst do you recognize those table bases? Maybe this instagram post about flotsam and jetsam will jog your memory:

My #DIY #otherhalf @chelsea_stylemutthome invited me to share #widn - thanks boo 😘. As I wait for my sister's flight to get in from Denver tonight and count down the moments til the Henifins are all in Virginia again, I'm hatching a plan for these bad boys that I picked up today at my local #restore. If my #furnitureflip hunch is right then I hope to get 4 sexy pieces out of 2 sad end tables. Stay tuned! @_me_and_mine_ @_just_ro what are you two up to tonight? #decor #design #stylemuttrefinishes #whatimdoingnow

A photo posted by Cate Henderson (@cate_stylemutthome) on Jul 3, 2015 at 4:42pm PDT

It actually was a very simply upcycle: I made the bench seat out of wood planks and the trestle with a new piece of wood cut to length, all stained to match the harvested table bases [as always, pun SO intended]. Then I sealed the whole shebang with some polyurethane just in case someone out there is looking to furnish their orchard with some weather-proof benches...

Trestle Benches
$160 for the pair
SOLD

I hope you all are also savoring the season and thinking about all you've got to be grateful for friends. And don't forget to stop by on Friday for another showstopping #stylemuttspaces Reader Design!

Hi Friends and Happy 2015! This post has been particularly fun to put together as it's been a big year for us! It's been a year of dramatic DIYs and transformations, starting with this blog itself!

We said goodbye to Chelsea's Garage just a few short months ago to begin something fresh and new with StyleMutt. It's been an awesome beginning and we are really excited about what 2015 will hold!

We're ready to dive into 2015 and even have some spectacular projects already up our sleeve, but first, we're taking a day to reminisce over our favorites from 2014:

No question, we share more than a few style loves - not the least of which is mid-century modern!`

And we discovered just how fun it is to work with bamboo!

But we are true StyleMutts, through and through, and enjoyed embracing the many styles that make us tick::

Of course, not all the transformations involved furniture:

In fact, some of the transformations were of entire spaces!

It's been a tremendous year, indeed, and we just want to say THANK YOU for hanging with us, for your encouragement, and for making this adventure completely worth it. Happy New Year, Friends!

Chelsea and Cate