Lindsey's Neutral Family Home

Happy Friday, Mutts! I don't know about you all, but this four-day week felt like a six-day week. Holy cow, am I glad that's almost over!

Today, we have a serious treat for all of your neutral lovers. If you haven't seen this neutral obsession splattered all over social media, you must have been living under a rock. Some of it goes too neutral, towards cold or impersonal. But Lindsey gets it right, creating a family home that feels casually curated but also actually feels lived in. What a concept! 

You can see right away that we're dealing with a historic home here. There's something about that history that really gets to me - thinking about all the families that have built their lives here. I love that Lindsey's design honors that past while making it her family's own.
From Lindsey:

Our home was built in 1900, and it sits on an acre lot in the country. Because of the original wood work, including beautiful pocket doors, and my old soul, I think the style of our home would equate to the Midwest. When I look around, I think, ‘yeah, this house just belongs here.’

A fun fact for all of you, and a shameless plug for a company I adore: I found Lindsey and her awesome space via the Letterfolk Co Instagram account. Their letterboards are seriously amazing, and I do not blame Lindsey at all for owning more than one! And, they plan right in to Lindsey's style. 

I think I would best describe my style as midcentury meets farmhouse, with a side of simplicity. I love visually clean spaces and have an obsession over antique pieces. At the end of the day, I want our home to house only meaningful items, to be inviting and free of clutter. I love this quote by William Morris: ‘Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.’

Now, Lindsey is raising two beautiful babies in the Northwestern Ohio country. So next, let's look at the bedroom these kiddos get to grow up in. I wish I could use the written word to adequately describe my envy. Not that my mom didn't do a great job decorating my childhood bedroom (in case you're reading this, Rosemary...) BUT this room screams 'Be a kid! Explore! Play!' Color me jealous... 

In the boys’ (Hayden’s) room, my favorite piece, hands down, is his bed. My husband and my father built it together with their own hands, just for our sweet Hayden. There’s actually many hand made pieces in his room and I think that’s why it’s my favorite room in our house.
I think our styles are always evolving. Since having our two boys, I have had the biggest urge to purge and to simplify. I found myself thinking, why spend time cleaning up after all of these ‘things’ when I could be soaking up this precious time that I won’t get back with our children. It’s played a huge part in finding my style.

I think you'll all agree with me that Lindsey has found her style and is sticking to it. Finally, let's take a look at her master bedroom. 

Now, everyone has their own opinions of color. I almost think about it in the same way that I consider extroverts vs. introverts. People just recharge in different ways - by being alone or with others OR, in this case, by being surrounded with colors or calm neutrals. 

I really wrestled with the decision of leaving the walls white, or giving them a pop of color. Something about the white walls gives me a sense of calm, and as a stay at home mama, this is something that is so important for my overall mentality. The extra sunlight shining through our home and reflecting off the walls is sure to give us all something to smile about throughout our day. Finding what makes you happy is key.

Lindsey, I applaud you. You're an awesome mama, and you've made a home to serve some seriously important purposes - inspiring your babies, encouraging your family's peace, and giving yourself a place to recharge. We tip our hats! 

Follow Lindsey along on her blog, Being Badenhop, or on Instagram for more decor and life inspo. And Mutts, remember, you too can have your home featured - just drop me a line at mckenna@stylemutthome.com

Teal Campaign Chest ||A Craigslist Experiment||

As active furniture flippers for the past 6 years, Chelsea and I really have our fingers on the pulse of our local craigslist.  In fact, between the two of us, we have found and flipped nearly 200 pieces in the DC Metro area - which has proven to be a crash-course in decor supply and demand.  We've often shifted our aesthetic to capitalize on budding trends: specializing in chalk paint + heavy distressing, hunting down mid-century modern scores, playing with bohemian touches, etc...  

When we decided to launch StyleMutt Home in September 2014 we started to really pushed the decor envelope to try out new styles, paint colors, staging techniques, patterns.  And we've had a BALL YA'LL.  Exercising these creative muscles started opening up design possibilities (see some of our latest here and here).  We chalk this up to the Lord's blessing.  And that being yourself is so much more rewarding than just trying to fit in.

Some Personal Fave Past Projects

 

So lately our Craigslist spidey-senses have started noticing some developing trends.  The price for Grandma's old dresser is going up in correlation with the sheer number of DIY pieces for sale.  Now, we LOVE seeing so much budding talent in our area.  But it makes us ask ourselves how can we stand out to potential buyers?

So when I found this campaign piece, I decided to conduct a little experiment.  (I actually do this often when staging my pieces for sale).  I LOVE bright, bold, loud colors.  On/ in/ around everything.  But based on what I've seen in our area, most people want a "tamer" more rustic look and something too eclectic could be a off-putting.  So I decided to refinish this piece in a color that would still play well with the neutrals that are so indicative of the farmhouse craze everyone is in these days.

If you're as obsessed with HGTV like I am, you may notice that the predominately grain sack and burlap color scheme of the farmhouse scene has started to relax it's restrictions the rest of the color spectrum.  Home decor shows like Fixer Upper (a personal fave) have started mixing in muted teals, deep greens, saturated navys, matte charcoals, and warm woods amongst all that greige.  And well I just happened to have a can of muted teal on hand from a custom order so I went for it.

I still styled it with some fun abstract art because well... it's me we're talking about here.  The hung art is intentionally undersized (it's so wrong it's almost right) in hopes that it shows how a "safe" piece can still be used in bold ways (you know - just in case it struck a cord with a another style mutt in the market for some new furniture ;)

I laid aside my overactive love of brass and styled with a silver lamp to match the chrome pulls.  In my mind, silver is a "safer" choice for hardware because brass can rub some people the wrong way (I used to only see the 80's when I saw yellowy brass, but just because I've changed my tune doesn't mean everyone else has).  Besides they original chrome pulls with in immaculate condition - all they needed was a little polish.

And for good measure (since FLFs are after all quickly becoming the standard for home decorators) I asked my newest plantchild Figadora the Fiddle Leaf Fig to pose with mommy's newest flip.

So now we wait for the experiment's results: will the piece appeal to a lot of potential buyers with a variety of styles?  Will it only attract another style mutt like myself?  Or will it sit in the garage shop until I try something new?  I'll have to keep you posted.  In the meantime, how would you characterize your style?  How does this gray-blue piece strike you - yay or nay?

Muted Teal Campaign Chest
58"L x 16"D x 30"H
Now Available for Sale
$545