Industrial Bench

Remember these puppies er... ponies?

When I bought them, I thought I would make a massive desk supported by both sawhorses.  But their size length would make for a desk with a HUGE footprint (and quite possibly too large to appeal to potential buyers).  So I split up the set and used only one to make a narrower desk complete with a hutch and detachable lamp.

As for the other sawhorse, I was stumped.  Fortunately when I get myself into these kind of conundrums, I have a secret weapon: I call Chelsea in for a consult.

Now the LORD knew what He was doing pairing me up with such a creative and supporting business partner.  She took one look at them and said, "What if you make an industrial bench?"

Genius.

Chelsea lent me her hacksaw so I could cut down the legs of one of the sawhorses to the right height.  I combined both pieces of storied wood from each sawhorse into one bench surface and remounted it on the galvanized metal base.  

I just LOVE the saw and paint streaks - it makes me wonder what projects these sawhorsed saw(ed) in their day. 

See (saw) what I did there? 

Ijustcanthelpmyself.

So what magical rugged loft did I drag my new bench to for the perfect industrial backdrop?  Where else do I stage my pieces these days...

Now, if you're clever and observant (which I'm sure you are) you may be thinking to yourself, "Cate, when did your garage get a brick wall?  All of your other staged pieces have always had regular old drywall as the backdrop..."

Clever, clever you.

Take a closer look at the photo - did I fool you?  Or are you onto my little ruse?

It's not brick, it's wallpaper.

I'll admit, I was skeptical about using a 2D wallpaper to make a 3D effect.  I don't often go for faux unless it's really convincing - but I live in a new(ish) apartment complex that doesn't have old charm in spades.  Cue Milton & King Wallpaper.  (Remember this wall hanging giveaway using their Gluttony print?)  Well they were generous enough to also send me a roll their very popular Soft White Bricks.

And I was surprised to see just how believable the pattern was even in person!  The only way you would know it wasn't brick would be to run your hands along it expecting to feel a gnarled texture and instead finding it's baby smooth.  

Disclaimer - I do live in a rental so I couldn't bring myself to install wallpaper only to take it down in a few months when our lease is up.  I just tacked up the panels and used wood trim to hide the seams that would otherwise be invisible if the paper had been glued.  (Plus it adds a little architectural interest.)

And just because it's Fall (and I'm obSESSED with cooler, crisper weather), I used my favorite fall accessories for this shoot. 

Thank you Milton & King for opening my eyes up to the wonders of high-quality wallpaper prints!  One of these days I'm going to have to get my hands on your Marble and your Dandelions prints.  (Insert 17 heart-eye emojis)

It's only fitting that this industrial bench ended up in a cool DC apartment.  That's right!  If you've been following along with us you may recognize this bench from yesterday's eDesign reveal:  

May he forever grace our client's moody dark green hallway!

Fall Leaves, Apples, and Two New Repurposed Pieces

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! 

A Pair of Bar Stools, A Pair of Options

I know, I know.  It's Friday and this isn't a #stylemuttspaces Reader Design post.  But that's because Chelsea and I are working on a joint furniture venture and we need your help.  Last summer while we were prepping for our first joint sale, some of Chelsea's neighbors decided to get in on the fun and set up their own MONDO sale across the street.

There we spotted a pair of camel leather bar stools and our wheels started turning...   It was those stools, in fact, that were the inspiration for the "turn a barstool or swivel seat into a modern accent chair" item on my furniture flip bucket list.

But we were busy manning our own sale that when we finally went across the street all ready to buy, they had tragically closed up shop.  But LO and BEHOLD, a year goes by and the same family drags out their surplus for their second annual sale and guess who makes a reappearance...

These Guys

||You handsome devils||

Huzzah!  So naturally we snapped them up this time around - after all second chances don't come by that often.  Now that these bad boys were finally ours, Chelsea and I started scheming on a joint project.  Upon closer inspection we realized they were a little too petite for our original ideas.

Then we had the idea to combining their forces and make them into a single bench.  Playing off their mid century lines, we though of making them into a retro-esque telephone table.  But this left us with two options:

Keep Back Rests

Go Backless

So this is where you come in.  Chelsea and I LOVE reader input and we want to know what you think.  We've put together some renderings to help you picture both options in a digital room.  We're not sure if our idea(s) are even feasible yet, but we'd love to get your raw thoughts on the direction we're going in!

So what do you think, are you feelin' our vintage vibes?  Would you vote #teambackrest, #teambackless, or in a completely different direction?  Let us know in the comments below mis amis!