Quatrefoil Credenza ||A Collaboration with Modern South||

Today I have the privileged of debuting not only a fresh piece but also a fellow creative!  Posts like these are some of my favorites - when two creatives join forces to make something together.  I connected with Cory of Modern South via Instagram and jumped at the chance to work with her on a juicy collaboration.

Modern South Studio

Original Artwork by Cory McBee
Charleston, SC

Cory and I share a mutual love of color and abstract art.  When we were looking for an excuse to work together, I had the perfect piece in mind to show off her ethereal landscapes art.  I found this four door credenza without a leg to stand on and the sweet quatrefoil detailing was so endearing that I couldn't pass it up. 

Plus I was jonesing to do something in a buttery gray again.

The classic lines of this piece called for a feminine and glam look - something a little softer than I normally debut in the garage shop.  

The paint color I went with was Hailstorm Gray by Behr Marquee.  In person, it's almost blue, almost purple, almost green and therefore an all-around very mysterious neutral.

It actually did pain me a bit to paint the burled wood inserts on the doors but there were too many areas of damage that needed repair and I just couldn't picture a two-toned look.  I think because the two-tone is more indicative of a modern streamlined piece that wouldn't fit a piece like this with more decorative details.  

For her new gams, I found these metal 7" legs.  Their sleek lines help modernize the credenza so it can appeal to a wider variety of home decor styles. 

The piece's original floret-ed knobs complimented the quatrefoil design on the doors too perfectly to give up so I gave the legs our favorite faux-gold finish to match.

Inside is a cabinet on the left

and a set of drawers on the right.

Any one of her prints would have been the perfect compliment, but Cory's "Blue Fever" and "Dreaming in Orange" make such a lovely couple. 

Blue Fever by Cory McBee, Modern South Studio

Dreaming in Orange by Cory McBee, Modern South Studio

The navy and blush paired with the gray and gold of their piece reminds me of a quiet sunrise.  

I kept a relatively neutral color scheme with the rest of my decorative items: dried eucalyptus in a white ceramic vase, a couple stacks of books, white picture frames and touches of glass and gold.

Cory's prints are the precise soft/ feminine accents I was picturing when I finished this piece.  If you want a set of your own, you can shop Modern South Studio or email Cory for customize print sizes.  And if you're local to the DC Metro area, this gray quatrefoil beauty could also be yours.

Gray Quatrefoil Dresser
Now Available for Sale
72"L x 20"D x 30.5"H
$685

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

Blue + Wood Sideboard ||with a storied past||

Did you all hear our big news?  We just scored ourselves a gem of an intern!  I guess it's been a lucky week for us because I also recently scored this credenza off my local craigslist.

The piece had good bones but the poorly-done black lacquer just had to go.  I still had some Compass Blue by Behr Marquee left from this campaign dresser flip I did last year and taking a page from Chelsea's recent hunter green piece where she painted the body but left the legs wood, I came up with this:

Blue-hoo! (that's blue for wahoo!)
 

The paneling on the left hides three large drawers - the top one with dividers for utensils or what-have-yous.

The other side of the sideboard is a cabinet with half open shelving and three more drawers for ample storage.

Besides good bones, this piece also came with quite the pedigree!  I uncovered a few fun finds in one of the drawers which I posted about on instagram.

And sometimes you find treasures in your #furnitureflip - dear Kit, I hope Barbara helped you get that Jade necklace from Mexico. It sounds like a real gem 😜 More anow(?) - Cate #oldletters #hiddentreasures #americanofmartinsville

A photo posted by StyleMutt Cate (@cate_stylemutthome) on Jul 7, 2016 at 3:52pm PDT

I like to think that this piece belonged to a version of myself in a previous life.  A version of myself who received a letter from a friend with excellent taste in jewelry, and then tucked it away in her beautiful credenza so she wouldn't forget to "make arrangements," and then promptly forgot about it because it got buried in that drawer along with the original credenza's informational tag because she keeps EVERYTHING.   And is also named Barbara apparently.  But thanks to my former self Barbara-the-Hoarder, I now know that this storage piece was made by American of Martinsville for the Dania Collection - can you spot the original dresser in the images below?  

See I always knew holding on to everything would come in handy one day.

I chose wooden knobs for the cabinet doors that had faceted gold corners to play off of the wood in the legs and the angles of the drawer fronts.

Based on the drawings in Barbara's pamphlet, this guy was missing some legs so I had to fit him with some prosthetics [or in this case, tapered legs].

I styled this bad boy with my beloved kilim pillow children er... covers.  I simply hung them with vintage wooden pant hangers to give the wall some textured drama. 

Add in some fun finds like these ceramic pyramids found at Sweet Clover Barn this past spring, a lamp, and a plant and you have yourself quite the eclectic vignette.

Oh and if you're local my friends, this gem is ready for a new home!   Original American of Martinsville credenzas from the Dania collection can go for anywhere between $900 and $4,000 but this blue guy [complete with all his papers] is a deal!

Blue + Wood Sideboard
60"W x 18.5"D x 34.5"H
SOLD
$580

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

Styling with Heirlooms ||And 2016 Flip List Item No.5||

Show of hands: how many of you have inherited a piece of furniture or decor that you're not sure will translate across generations and fit seamless into your style?

Chelsea and I have both been blessed by (free) heirloom pieces from family members.  These pieces represent our family history - and are usually of a much higher quality than what's for sale in the big box stores (that I can afford anyway).  So do we compromise a fresh young style for dated decor that has better bones?  Luckily it's not always a one-or-the-other situation.

As style mutts, we've learned that there are ways to mix old and new styles that still feels fresh, hip, and most importantly like you.

Take Chelsea's heirloom headboard for example.  I bet if we looked at a slide of Chelsea's blood under a microscope we would see mid century modern sprinkled with bohemian, rustic, and maybe a touch industrial.  And yet, when she was offered a gorgeously ornate bedroom set, Chelsea didn't turn it down just because it was on the traditional side.  She said thankyouverymuch to Grandma and welcomed home a bedroom set with rich family history (her great great grandma was born in that bed - can't get any "richer" than that ;).

She found a way to take a piece with such formal presence and make it feel ...dare-I-say-it... casual.  The modern stencil (that's right, I said STENCIL) paired with  a floating nightstand, a modern brass sconce, and some fun pillows has this vignette speaking fluent boho-chic instead of in a thick formal accent.

Now recently I had the opportunity to play with some heirloom pieces myself: a pair of rather large and stately ginger jar lamps.  I don't often gravitate towards the Asian flare of chinoserie-style pieces, but these babies have some beautiful details and just the right shade of red for a piece I just finished... 

Remember this guy?

As you may know, I set out to refinish a dresser in another jewel tone (I just can't help myself) for this year's Furniture Flip Bucket List.  And back in January I asked you all to help me figure out what color I should choose for this mid-century fella.   I thought that by polling you, I would 1) be able to determine what bold color would most attract a buyer and 2) get some clarity on what I my color-loving self really wanted deep deep down...

 You know when you ask your mom to help you decide between two outfits?  And after she gives you her opinion, you go with the opposite of her suggestion?  I did this repeatedly in my teenage years and my mom would always throw her hands up and walk away saying "Why did you even ask me in the first place?!" Well my friends (and mom) - I ask because sometimes I need you to activate my emotional-decision barometer.  If I feel even the slightest twinge of disappointment when I hear your suggestion, then I can finally get some clarity on what I really really want.  When I asked you all which bold color should I refinish with, I was surprised that Emerald won with Teal and Navy in a close race for second.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized doing another teal or navy piece or trying to follow up Chelsea's knock-out emerald tall boy  wouldn't satisfy my jewel-tone craving.

Soooooo I went with my gut and chose one of the underdog colors...

Poppy Red

Did you see that coming?  I'm so sorry if I let any of you down who were rooting for a different color.  But rest assured, my jewel-tone days aren't done so you can expect some future fun projects.

How does he compare to the original rendering?  Close no? 

Let's loop back to the lamps really quick.  This staging sesh was a total alignment of the stars.  I had a bold piece to style that really needed to be balanced by a strong pair of  lamps.  My father-in-law had recently decided to shed some office decor he had inherited from his folks and asked Chelsea to help him photograph some oriental lamps for resale.  While loading up for our latest design project, I happened to spot grandma's vintage but in-impeccable-condition lamps (with the PERFECT color scheme and scale no less) in Chelsea's garage. 

And in the spirit of killing two birds with one stone, I borrowed the lamps in hopes that Big Red and his lamp arm candy could help each other find new homes with a fun photoshoot.

I accidentally stumbled on this color scheme: poppy red + hunter green.  And I'm really digging it.  Red and green are opposite each other on the color wheel so they really make each other pop.  But a red with an orange tint countered by a saturated green keeps it from going too...Christmasy.

I decorating with brass to bring out those gorgeous bow tie handles.

The impromptu moss & candlestick topiaries are both classy and whimsical which keeps this vignette fresh instead of stuffy.

Now I'm kind of hoping someone will buy all three so they can stay together forever.

Poppy Red Dresser
64"W x 19"D x 31"H
Now available for sale
$545

If you are interested in this piece, a custom order like it, or if you're local and are looking for some immaculate antique ginger jar lamps, please contact cate@stylemutthome.com.  

If you want to catch up with my progress so far on the 2016 Flip List, here's where I'm at: