A few months back, I had the privilege of working with a client on a custom order.

We had decided on these beautiful pulls but our timeline was tight so I put in a rush order.

But by some quirk in the system, the hardware ended up taking the scenic route through who-knows-where snail mail land and I had to go with an unconventional alternative to meet my clients deadline.

Stupid Hardware. Why you gotta play me like that?

I kid you not, as the shipping company was pulling away with my client’s precious dresser cargo... UPS pulled up and unceremoniously tossed my package of hardware at my feet then drove away.

Practically.

I could have returned them. I really could. I didn’t charge my client for them so it'd be my money I’d be getting back.

But they were so stupidly beautiful.

So I added the I-wanna-hate-you-but-I-love-you brass pulls to the 2018 Furniture Flip Bucket List and I waited for the next suitable piece...

This 6-foot 6-drawer dresser:

And transformed it to this:

Alright you brass pulls. You really can slay.

The color is our favorite "Scholar Green" by Ralph Lauren.

I was trying to recreate this fresh look from Chelsea's hunter green flip circa last year...

Mid-Century in 'Scholar Green'

January 2017

My original plan was to strip the base down and leave it bare blonde wood just like Chelsea did. But when I sanded it down, I found that the legs and front bar where two very different types of wood and there was no sanding out that reddish color. So I leaned into it and stained the whole base in a cabernet.

Plus those red wood tones make the perfect compliment to styling with my terracotta collection (like I need an excuse - I’m certifiably obsessed).

As I am also with plants. Plus, to mix things up, I used the Tapti rug by Mela Artisans as a wall tapestry.

Well hardware, I’m a little less mad at you, but maybe helping me sell this big beautiful behemoth will officially get you out of the doghouse. Email me about picking up in Leesburg or about your third-party shipping options.

Hunter Green 6ft Dresser
Now Available for Sale
72"L x 18"D x 30"H
$695

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

Three down, Four to go. Catch up on the 2018 Furniture Flip Bucket List:

Hi friends! Over the better part of the last decade I have found a tremendous amount of enjoyment from home decorating and styling. I desire to further my knowledge and soak in as much as I can both from a creative standpoint as well as the business. A large part of this business is understanding the ebb and flow of trends. Trends have always fascinated me even well before I stepped into the interior decorating world. How does an idea take off and become trendy? Who gets the ball rolling? Is it every day people or the rich and famous?

Then you have trend predictions which further add to my curiosity. One of the first trend predictions I started following a number of years ago was the Pantone color of the year. Didn't know there was such a thing? Here, take a look at some of their recent selections:

How do they pick the color year after year? I understand it from a marketing standpoint. With every declaration of which color will be leading the way that year you see the ripple effect right down to the most accessible and popular shopping destinations, such as Target, HomeGoods, Pottery Barn, etc. And then the celebrity designers partnering with those stores, (think Emily Henderson and Target), start styling their projects with the newest goodies available, showing everyone just how to incorporate the declared color of the year in a tasteful, manageable way.

This year the color turned out to be a twofer! They picked not just one, but two colors for 2016: Rose Quartz and Serenity. Here, they created this image of a faceless woman wearing a flowing cape to make the announcement:

Since this is an honest place I'll admit, I wasn't terribly excited by this combo. It brought me back to the days of when we had new boy-girl twins under our roof and everything was baby pink and baby blue. And really, other than a blush crocheted throw pillow at target I've barely noticed these colors make any strong statement this year.

Then something strange happened. I started noticing a different color breaking through the color-of-the-year combo - dark green!

If you're a big Fixer Upper fan you may recognize the photo above and the one below. They're just two examples from Joanna Gaines' strong use of dark green in their latest season which finished earlier this year. I noticed this color in just about every episode and I absolutely adored it.

And with the Fixer Upper cult following, I wondered if anyone else noticed as well. So I picked up a can of dark green, (Behr's 'Secluded Woods'), to refinish a mid-century dresser last Spring and it got scooped up within days. I had so many inquiries on that piece that once it sold, I had an immediate request for a nearly identical custom piece, (below on left).

I took the Summer mostly off from refinishing to focus on my family and some design jobs, but as soon as the kids went back to school last week I painted this beauty below in Ralph Lauren's 'Scholar Green', and it was taken within two days.

Is there a new color trending? Will it carry over to 2017? I sure hope so as we've got a little surprise to show you in a design job we're working on right now! But until we're ready to reveal, here are some more stunning examples of this moody color casually staking its claim:

Thank you all for stopping by!