NY-Bound Custom Order

There's a lot about this little business that has blown me and Chelsea away.  We've accrued clients from across the US (and even Canada!), designed for a battery of dream spaces, and even shipped pieces out of state!  That's crazy to think about - I mean, we're just two women working out of our homes!  In our garages, at our dining room table, late at night or the wee small hours of the morning.  And God is still growing us!

Recently I was commissioned for a custom order for delivery to New York.  And I gotta say - it makes me feel swanky to have a piece in the Big Apple *sheepish grin.*  The client wanted something similar to my brass finger pull tall boy but needed a lot more storage. 

I did some hunting on my local craigslist and found the perfect low boy (from the same furniture line no less - how does that happen?!?).

Her design aesthetic was simple: she wanted a matte color that could go with anything and a touch of brass.  After seeing some photos of her space and discussing her vision, I worked up 3 renderings for her to review:

She liked the idea of a warm gray or white in her space, but in the end she kept coming back to her first love: the moody dark finish from my finger pull tall boy.  My client had a tight deadline so I immediately set about painting.  But T-minus a few days until our scheduled for pick up, I ran into a bit of a problem...

Where was the brass hardware?

I had ordered these yummy brass finger pulls a week prior and had selected 2-day shipping.  7 days later, my tracking number was reporting that it was bouncing between distribution centers in the vicinity but never “out for delivery.”

What the?!?

Stupid hardware.  Why you got to play me like that?!?  I looped the client in on the conundrum and she gave me the green light to get creative in order to meet our deadline.  She only wanted a “peek” of brass anyways so I combed through my local hardware store to see if there was something outside-the-box that would work.  And I found... 

Strike plates! 

ould you tell?

Strike plates are those metal plates that you attached to a threshold to correspond to the bolt of the door.  Much like the library pulls I reconfigured for my original tall boy, the strike plates had a subtle lip that could protrude off the drawer top like a true finger pull.  I used the same brass tacks as my other piece for a low-profile attachment method that wouldn't interfere with the functionality of the drawers.

Recognize them now?

I showed my alternative idea to the client and she was all for it!  So I attached the hardware right-quick and had the piece ready for pick-up in the NICK of time.

The piece arrived at my client’s NYC walk-up the next day and after the delivery guys fenagled it up the stairs (Pivot! Pivot!), it is safely in its new home with minimal wear and tear from the harrowing out-of-state journey.  

And I can officially say I have big city clientele ;)  *Eek!*

If you’re interested in a custom order like this piece or how we can work with you out-of-state, check out our helpful FAQ guide or email me at cate@stylemutthome.com. 

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Want to see what we can do?  Check out what's in stock or view more of our past work on Instagram.

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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! 

Bedroom Re-Do || 2017 Flip List Item No.6

Like Chelsea said yesterday, our bedroom has always been a flat note to me.   We've tried a couple different looks over the past two years (see here and here).  Each time we rearranged, it felt like I inched a little closer to the vibe I wanted but without ever bringing the design to full fruition.

So I added item redoing our bedroom to the 2017 Furniture Flip Bucket List in the hopes of figuring out what was missing from this neglected space.  

The first thing that greets you when you walk into our bedroom has always been my nightstand.  I fell in love with this vignette ages ago so I used it as inspiration for the rest of the space: warm wood + pops of color + a glint of brass.

In the past looks I’ve tried, we’ve never had a headboard.  I think that made me feel like there was something juvenile about our space.  So this time around I needed to see if a headboard would help refine our bedroom.  And I gotta say I am loving the anchor of the plush blue velvet!

I also kept my beloved leather + brass cantilever chair in the corner by the window.  

I think one day I’d ideally like to use this chair at a desk, but until then I guess my husband can keep throwing his “clean” underwear on it *insert facepalm emoji.*

Next to the chair is our thrifted MCM dresser.  I found this bad boy for only $50 and eventually scored the sunset mirror to go with it.

Just outside our door you can peek the roadside rescue ladder I've often used as a lateral storage piece.  Our hallway doesn't have much going on so I added the low-profile vertical piece for some architectural interest.

In this redecorating process, I did figure out that I’m bothered by the lack of varied furniture height in our room.

I shopped our apartment to introduce something lower as an alternative storage piece - do you recognize it?  This bench was actually our coffee table but I liked the idea of converting it to a get ready station.

The pièce de résistance to the makeover however is new bedding... I never realized how grown-up it would feel to have a real duvet cover!  We scored the Marble Percale Duvet Cover and matching shams (guess what - their on sale!) from Cstudio Home and it’s perfect for me and my oven-of-a-husband (ok I’m an oven too).  

Don't forget to check out Chelsea's Cstudio Home finds in her bedroom reveal... Gasp!  That shag pillow cover!  *heart eyes heart eyes heart eyes*

True, most of this makeover is a series of subtle tweaks.  What can I say?  We’re still in a rental after all.  But this modest assortment of new things has me feeling right as rain.  Until I get the itch to change it again that is... ;)

And on that note, that’s officially a wrap on the 2017 Furniture Flip Bucket List!  After two years of late finishes, it feels good to cross the finish line with a month to spare.  I’ve already begun percolating what I want to tackle in 2018 so stay tuned for next year’s list come January!

Seven down, zero to go.  Catch up on the 2017 Furniture Flip Bucket List.