Back to Black || 2019 Flip List Item No.4

Black. And wood. These have been banner forces in some of our projects for a while now and the reason I wanted to turn up the contrast on my two-toned flips.  That dark mysterious black against a warm and welcoming wood. Yes please and I’ll have another.

Then last week, I came across this listing on Craigslist for two original mid century bookcases made by the West Michigan Furniture Co. They were a great price which made for the perfect opportunity to scratch this jet black itch I’ve been having…

If you’ve been following the 2019 Furniture Flip Bucket List then you’ll know where I’m going with this.. item No.4 is in my sights:

​Now just let me dangle the carrot here for a minute - look at that contrast!

Instead of keeping the cases stacked as a single unit, I decided to make them two separate units. The top surface on the lower, larger cabinet was damaged so it was already asking for a fresh coat of paint.  Painting the casing in a new-found favorite Limousine Leather by Behr allowed the interior to electrify. 

Unlike my prior flirts with dark tones, this black is much more severe.  It’s still my trademark dark and moody and it’s so very stately - especially contrasted against that wooden interior.

This West Michigan Furniture Co. piece still has its original glass sliding doors to protect your treasures from collecting dust.

Truth time - I hate photographing pieces with glass surfaces.  I end up obsessing about the reflections or how I apparently don’t know how to keep glass clean. Does anyone out there have any tips??? Asking for a friend…

It also has the original brass capped peg legs which I cleaned up a little but left a lot of the natural patina. I’m so used to working with tapered or metal legs but these little gams are just so cute, I might have to replicate this look again.

For styling, I leaned into the monochromatic look with terra-cotta, books, touches of brass, and white decorative accents. I felt like the piece called for a more “masculine” look with an emphasis on interesting shapes and varied heights.

You’ll have to tune back in to see what will come of his little leggless brother!

Back to Black Bookcase
Now available for sale
48”W x 12”D x 31”H
$425

 If you are interested in this piece or a custom order like it, email me at cate@stylemutthome.com

One down, four to go. Catch up on the 2019 Furniture Flip Bucket List.

Barrister Bookcase ||a subtle makeover||

Why don't I talk about bookshelves more often?  They add height to a room and critical vertical storage.  I guess because I don't have a HUGE book collection, I don't think about just how awesome these pieces of furniture are.  Bookshelves are like the Jan of the Brady bunch and dressers the Marsha, Marsha, Marsha.  In fact, with the exception of the white triplets from my own home, this is the first time I've refinished shelves to sell!

It's hard to tell, but this piece was originally as glossy as a 90's kitchen cabinet.  And the base painted (not stained!!) a fake brown.  Womp womp.  So first order of business was stripping off the polyurethane and the stain and sealing it with a Danish oil instead.

Barrister bookcases (also known as lawyer's bookshelves) are handy because they have glass doors to protect from dust.  Which makes them perfect for protecting your books or other precious collections.  When staging this piece, my first thought wasn't actually to use books.  This is partly because I don't have a big juicy book collection, but mostly because of a photo my dear friend Amanda from Our Storied Home recently posted on Instagram:

Genius way to display the all-precious shoe collection no?  I mean, WOW-ZA!  (And who wants dibs on those red satin peep-toes?!?!)  But alas, I actually have less shoes than I have books - so I styled with books after all and filled in any spaces with my plant children.

The Danish oil is a nice contrast from the original "plasticky" finish.  It gives it something a little softer and (as I like to call it) buttery.

I also completely stripped the paint finish off the base and custom-mixed a new stain to match.

And switched out the original yellowy brass knobs to splurge for more modern pulls from anthropologie.

What's $7 for a knob when you only need three lol?!?

This Barrister Boy is an original Hale bookcase - which means he was made in the USA and is built for versatility: the top, the three units, and the base are all stackable so you can add, subtract, and rearrange them however you please!

Each glass pane slides up and stiows away for easy access to your displayed goodies.

And in my case (pun so intended), I'm showing off Big Jade, Tuscon the Succulent Garden, Melvin the awkward leafy thing, Penelope the String of Pearls, Little Jade, and the Jades' cousin Jasper.

And for the record, all my plant kiddos are still alive and (mostly) well. 

Black Thumb out. 

3 Shelf Barrister Bookcase (Barrister Boy)
34"W X 14"D x 60"H
Price: $425 SOLD

If you are interested in this piece or a custom order like it, please contact cate@stylemutthome.com.

Shelf Styling ||Tips and Tricks||

Hi friends! Dropping by today to answer a couple questions we received last week on Instagram regarding shelf styling! In no way am I a pro or expert on such a science, (because that's what it feels like sometimes!), but through so much trial and error it's a task that feels much easier now than when I was first starting out. I guess we could part ways with the age old advice that practice makes perfect, but that's just outdated. Hah! (I kid. I like practice and enjoy sharing my finds through practice)

So here are some tips I've found helpful in the task of styling shelves. No big secrets or groundbreaking news here; just a few helpful tricks I've used to guide my way through styling a shelf, mantle, bookcase, or the like.

This was one of the first things I learned that made the biggest difference! Just because the surface space is there doesn't necessarily mean it needs to be filled with something. Don't be afraid of empty space. Pick a few things, spread them out, and allow the shelves to breath.

On shelves I plan to put a whole lot of the same thing on, like our basement built-in bookshelves, I try to mix up the heights. Whenever books are involved, I place taller books alongside shorter ones to give some variation and interest to the arrangement.

I recently saw someone post a photo on Instagram of their floor to ceiling buildtins, asking for help with the styling on the shelves. The first thing I noticed was that they seemed to have dark decorative pieces all on one side, and neutral/white pieces on the other. The balance was off just a bit. Once you have a few decorative objects, try making two separate piles that share some commonalities - similar sizes and similar color/saturation. If you have all your larger or darker items on one side, the balance will look off.

For our industrial shelves, I had a lot of space to work with and a lot of items to use! I knew I wanted my glass and books, and then I had an assortment of other items from around the house to fill in here and there. I started with my two groups - placing the glass up top and the books two shelves down, so that my most 'full' shelves weren't right near each other. Then I used a dark twiggy wreath and black framed feather to balance two dark things on either side of the same shelf. Not everyone likes perfect symmetry, so if you're going with an asymmetrical arrangement with different objects, you can still achieve a pleasing balance by strategically placing similar sized and colored pieces on each side.

Now, this one is completely a matter of personal opinion. :) I just love walking into a home and seeing personal keepsakes used to decorate the home. Family photos, favorite books, travel mementos, treasured family heirlooms. With today's access to big stores like HomeGoods, Target, Ikea, World Market, (to name a few), it's easy to do up your entire home without a single personal item out in the open. I'm up for a trip to any one of these stores any day of the week, don't get me wrong! But I always try to mix in some sentimental pieces with the new. It's what will set your home apart from anyone else's. 

In our living room I keep leather-bound photo albums on the rustic bakers rack. When I was young my favorite thing to do was curl up with one of our family photo albums. My Mom was so good about filling those albums and we had a dozen at least to flip through! I like mine out as an open invitation to grab one anytime.

Other trinkets on those shelves include the family home phone that used to be in my husband's grandparent's house, and the bottom of one of the green glass champagne bottles from my grandparent's wedding reception. It has their names and wedding date etched into the glass! 

Personal items are wonderful conversation starters and take a home from beautiful to warm and inviting as well.

I know none of these tips are brand new news, but I hope they're a helpful jumping off point if you're staring at some empty shelves wondering what to do! We've all been there - and I still am sometimes! If you've got any helpful styling tips to add, please jump in and share! Don't keep your tricks up your sleeve - get em' out!

As always, thank you so much for stopping by! We sure appreciate you. XO