A Vvvvery Interesting Piece, Indeed

Hi friends! I posted this stack of pieces the other day that we collected after a particularly lucky weekend on Craigslist a few weeks ago. I've already shared how the mid-century cabinet in the middle turned out, and how Shire flipped those accent tables on top. If you're an Instagram pal you may have seen a teaser of that bottom piece already. Well here it is, done and ready for a new home!

I really wanted this piece to be something unique when it was finished. It didn't need hardware as there is a deep lip underneath each drawer for easy opening and closing, but even before I began painting it just seemed to fall a little flat. As soon as I saw it I wanted to add some visual interest here. I sketched a few things out on paper, and while my drawings are at the artistic skill level of a 1st grader, seeing them side by side made the decision easy!

There was just something about these 'V' pulls that was so unique, but not in a 'what in the world are those' kind of way, (unless I'm missing something). So I measured out some 3/8" wood trim and cut all the pieces I'd need. Each individual pull is made up of two pieces, which you can see below. My '1' marked pieces were 4", and my '2' marked pieces were 3.6". I made 9 pairs in total, one for each drawer.

I used a very small nail to tap the pieces together as shown. It didn't really matter that they be attached well at this point, since I would ultimately attach both pieces to the drawers. At first I thought I would attach the pieces to the drawers facing down, as shown below. I didn't hate it but wanted to see both ways. I really loved the pieces opening upward; I can't explain why, but it just looked better!

Gentle distressing, (with my go-to tool, a medium grit sanding sponge), along all the edges and corners of the piece brings out the shape and lines without being too distracting.

Now available for sale!
66"L x 29.5"H x 18"D
$625
Contact chelsea@stylemutthome.com if interested in this piece of a custom order like it!

Thank you so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Reader Design: Karen's Chippy Charm in Chile

Ok guys here's a fun fact about me: I grew up as a diplobrat.  Meaning my State Department family would up and haul our homebase to a new country in a constant three-to-four-year rotation.  We moved all over the world and I have had the pleasure NAY the honor of meeting so many wonderful internationals - many of whom, like me, had been uprooted and replanted in a foreign country as well.  It was often difficult for our grents and aunties and uncles and cousins, etc... to trek all the way across the globe to visit so our local friends became our surrogate extended family by distance default.  I spent many a Christmas celebrating with blood brothers instead of blood relatives :)

So it has been especially tickling to have StyleMutt Spaces submissions coming in from all over the globe!  You all are such a sweet reminder of my childhood and the amazing people I now count as family.  And whether you know it or not, you are such a vibrant and important installation to StyleMutt Home.  Thank you for sharing your slice of globe with us and we are so honored to all of you (natives and internationals alike) who have found our site.

Today's reader designer is a Chilean who has filled her living room with vintage European touches.  Karen's home is full of chippy charm and re-found, re-purposed, and re-loved pieces. 

From Karen:

I've always loved when a space has pieces that nobody else has that makes it unique. I know it can be difficult, but you can accomplish this by giving a new life to maybe an old piece of furniture, like I did here: the bookshelf it was made by my father twenty years ago... I took off the back side and the two glass doors from the front.  Then I sanded, painted, and distressed it.  Later I did the same with the chair. 

The brown side table is a second hand piece that I got to restore... for the moment, I love how it looks with the white details.

And finally, my gallery wall which I am absolutely in love with!!  It took me some time to gather all the right pieces, but I am so so happy with the result.

That accent wall is my favorite!  The french-inspired graphics, the black and white, and don't get me started on those gold and mirrored frames!!!  

Karen, this is exactly what we want to hear from our readers: that you love and are proud of your space!  You were one of the first readers to tag your #stylemuttspaces and we are so delighted that you did!  

Don't forget that StyleMutt Home is open to all you fellow mutts out there.  You don't have to be an international, a local, a professional decorator, or even a fellow blogger to share your favorite room with us!  The purpose of Reader Designs is simply to share beautiful rooms with fresh ideas and document these features in our SPACES page as a source of inspiration.  So tag #stylemuttspaces on your IG or FB pics people - we wanna see what your rooms have to say for themselves!

Rustic Farmhouse Buffet ||Before+After||

We've got some fresh meat in the Garage Shop this week! Who's hungry?

I, for one, am ravenous! Since much of my free time, (i.e. my children's afternoon nap), is spent in the garage painting and flipping furniture, the winter gets brutal after I've been away from 'my office' for a couple months straight! It was time to lean into what I know, despite the negative temps and cue of snow storms.

What you're looking at above, (but doesn't pick up so well in pictures), is layers of varying hues of white and green, and lots of chippy charm. Getting this finish was not difficult, but lets start with The Beginning.

Not bad! Not bad at all. And major bonus - this beauty is on hidden casters! So, to begin, (nothing like a rogue 55 degree day to jump start the process), my Shire and I slapped on a first coat of Annie Sloan's Pure White and Old White. (We didn't mix the colors, we just worked side by side, Shire had the Pure White and I had the Old White). Since I knew I'd be layering multiple colors, the first coat didn't matter a single bit.

Oh how I love painting with this one! After a couple coats of white, our piece here was looking perty!

And then it was time to rough it up! I used 220 grit sandpaper in my electric sander to get a good bit of the paint off. I knew I'd be going over this with milk paint which crackles beautifully over smooth, non-porous surfaces. Chalk paint is extremely porous, so it was important to sand down to the wood a good bit so the milk paint would crackle and chip off in those spots.

And the milk paint did not disappoint! I used one of Miss Mustard Seed's newer colors, Layla's Mint. You can see here where it had crackled down to the wood on the side, and with gentle sanding, (I used a medium grit sanding sponge), revealed the white underneath.

The last coat of paint was more white on top of the green. Again, I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White for the final coat.

After 4 coats of paint, it was time to get started on bringing this piece to life! I used fine 220 grit sandpaper again in my electric sander and just lightly went over most of the edges and corner surfaces - just a gentle touch with the sander took the already crackling and peeling paint off beautifully!

I circled a couple spots in the photo below where you can see the layers of green and white. I'm crazy for layered colors on a piece! It just has a way of adding decades of charm!

For the top surface I removed quite a bit more of that final coat of white in order to get down to the green underneath. 

On deck are two sleek and modern looking pieces! A far cry from today's time-worn goodness. We are style mutts here after all... :)

Charming Chippy Dresser, (or buffet or media center)
Available or sale
66" x 31.75" x 20"
$685
Contact chelsea@stylemutthome.com if interested in this or a similar custom order!

Thank you all for stopping by! 

Got any piece which you've shown some TLC? We'd love to see your handiwork! Share them directly to our Facebook page or tag #stylemuttrefinishes on Instagram!