Maybe Mauve Dresser

Creatively speaking, I don’t have much to show for myself lately. When the world shut down, many of you found sanctuary in projects while stuck at home. I found myself going to my day job in full PPE. Suddenly I was signing waivers at the door each morning, bruising my nose and breaking out under an N95, getting COVID tested twice a week, limiting my water intake to avoid taking off my mask, wary that a single mistake that could compromise my health or that of those around me.

My 9 to 5 is working with residents at an Assisted Living Facility - a very vulnerable population that I have seen wither under sequestration. My creative bandwidth was eaten up by how to keep spirits up among the residents and how to keep us all safe.

For these reasons, my garage workshop stayed quiet for most of last year (well that and because Caleb turned it into a home gym for a while). My 2020 flip list fell by the wayside with only one project completed and others never tackled or never shared.

I have a lot of hope that this year will be different. I do want to see more pieces unfold on this platform as my time and energy will allow. These projects still bring me great joy and your support and positive response to them are such a source of encouragement for me to keep creating.

I found this gem listed in Facebook as a curb alert. It was free and in the neighborhood so I snapped it up while I was already out running errands.

I was kinda digging its dusty color but the original paint job was a HOT MESS. The body was shellacked with thick drips of high-gloss beige while the top was and unfortunate clash of flat cream from what I can only assume was a bad repair job.

The stripping process revealed several layers of paint that started peeling off like wallpaper - indicative that it wasn’t applied properly in the first place.

This piece had lived at least three other lifetimes as a shabby chic dresser with obvious brush strokes in a white paint finish. Then it did a stint as a vivid aqua/teal dresser. Then it turned into the mauve-meets-beige mess that landed it in my workshop. But that mauve gave me an idea to try something new so I picked up a new color to try.

Now mauve is technically in the purple color family but that scalloped detail was calling for something soft and pretty and reminiscent of Shire’s pink room circa 2018. I browsed my favorite paint line (Behr Marquee) and chose Retro Pink that lands in right the dusty hue range.

The scalloped detail lends itself to a sweet overall look while the dusty pink color still reads mature for all you millennial-pink lovers out there.

Keeping with the original dresser’s look, I painted the tapered legs in the same color as the body.

I did not however, keep the ridiculous pulls from the original dresser. Instead, I filled those holes and drilled new ones for a single gold whistle knob on each side.

Just enough gold to give it a touch of glam.

I had wanted the color to be reminiscent of a dried clay so naturally I had to style with a ceramic touch.

I pulled this trio of ladies from various corners of my house and invited them to come smirk from atop the dresser.

They agreed to make eyes at the dresser’s potential buyers until the right one comes along.

Maybe Mauve Dresser
Now Available for Sale
$545

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

Inky Dresser + Nightstand || Styling with a Tapestry

Sometimes I rather fancy myself a matchmaker of sorts. I like to pair raw pieces with the right refinish and then pair refinished pieces with the right buyer. I’m like the Hitch of furniture if you will. I’ve even been known to take lonely-heart items in my workshop and fix them up together (remember my light fixture family tree for example?).

I didn’t originally plan to pair this dresser and nightstand together, but the longer they sat next to each other in the workshop, the more I realized their clean lines and tapered legs “spoke the same language” as we like to say. Both had debilitating body damage that made paint inevitable. The dresser had some serious scratching and that nightstand - some water damage (did you see the glaring chunk of missing veneer?). So I decided to bring them together in holy refinishing matrimony.

Both pieces were perfect candidates for a coat of “Black Boudoir” by Behr - a favorite inky blue/ black shade that plays well with brass hardware and warm wood tones.

Although their original stains were similar, I sanded both sets of legs down to their skivvies and gave them a buttery wax finish.

Ok so I might be a bit of a one-trick pony. In addition to the repeat color pallet, I also deployed a favorite for the hardware - these Amazon.com brass whistle knobs have made their appearance here and here - oh yeah and here too. But really people - I am who I am *insert shoulder shrug emoji here*

For the styling, I had a fun opportunity to play with a new-to-me product: an oversized tapestry from Tapart - a company that sells modern tapestries by independent artists. The silky quality to the tapestries almost makes it feel more like a vintage scarf than a wall hanging, but they adds an easy punch to any space and have a variety of designs from surreal to graphic, abstract to cheeky matras.

I love to play around with art in our home but sometimes I catch myself craving something with a HUGE impact (just preferably not to my wallet). I mean, how many of you have resorted to hanging a sarong on the dorm room wall for this very reason? Well save your sarong for the beach ladies - you can still keep your wall décor casual with this hanging piece of fabric while simultaneously offering up some upscale visual impact.

It’s no wonder that Tapart and it’s contemporaries at Urban Outfitters and Society6 are now offering tapestries as a simply stylish way to dress your vertical décor space.

What I love most about this company is that each tapestry supports the artist who designed it as an alternative way for them to sell their work.

TapArt is an online marketplace of artists. We handle and market our artist's designs while they focus on what they do best - creating artwork.

thetapart.com

Check out their variety of inventory here and if you see something you like, use the code catestyle-20 to get a 20% discount. Oh! And hit me up if you are interested in these inky newlyweds or would like to here more about our purchase and shipping options.

Inky Dresser + Nightstand
Now Available for Sale
Dresser: 34”W x 19”D x 45.5”H
Nightstand: 24”W x 15”D x 23.5”H
$695 for the set


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

Pop of Red Dresser

When it comes to repairing old dressers, I’ve seen quite the spectrum of original conditions.  Water damage, bent hardware, chunks missing, splitting veneer, broken legs, and even dog pee.

But this piece...

…this piece might take the cake. 

The previous owners had been keeping it practically unsheltered in their carport for who knows how long.  Exposed to the elements, every inch of the cherry veneer was clinging on for dear life.  As soon as I touched it, the veneer started flaking off like bad dandruff.  Poor thing. The state of this thing meant I couldn’t restore all of it back to its former glory. The drawer fronts, although in need of excessive touch-ups, were mostly salvageable.  But the sides were an irrestorable tragedy that would have to succumb to a good coat of paint. But this meant I had a fun opportunity on my hands… a chance to play with color:

So if paint had to be on the agenda, I chose a sassy red-orange to play off the red cherry tones in the drawers.

The drawers had a lot of chipped veneer around the edges which I painstaking patched and painted to match by hand.  Then I reoiled the wood to bring it back to health like a good moisturizer for cracked hands in winter.

The original wooden pulls were also too damaged to keep so I replaced them with brass whistle knobs that match the brass keyholes in the top drawers.

I was able to keep the original gold capped tapered legs however!

To style it, I used my painter’s pallet and the most exquisite golden foliage I could find.

GAH! This is why it’s my favorite time of year to style with tree branches!!! (I can’t help myself - just see here and here and here).

Pop of Red 8 Drawer Dresser
Now Available for Sale
33.5”W x 18”D x 48”H
$495


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