Reader Design: Angela's Authentic Space

Yesterday was International Women's Day, and today, we're all about praising authenticity, love, and strength in this powerful StyleMutt community. Angela, who is hosting us in her home today, is a perfect example of all three of those things. This home for six plus her dog is a clear labor of love.

From Angela:

“I’m not sure if I really have a specific style. I just buy what I like. But it could probably be described as a little midcentury modern, a little boho, and a little Scandinavian. I aim for all of the rooms to flow together and feel cohesive. ”

“My goal for this house is for it to feel comfortable and to be a haven for us to relax and unwind. We are very informal, and the majority of items in our house are thrift or clearance finds. I never want our kids or guests to feel like they can’t touch something.

Our living room is our main hangout place..we have fires in the winter. The kids play piano and my husband plays guitar, and most nights we are having a dance party to our favorite songs on our Alexa.

The dresser in our living room is one of my favorite pieces. I found it on the Facebook Market place for $25! We keep games, audio books, art supplies, and of course play-doh in the drawers.”

Function is absolutely key for this family, and Angela has made small changes to improve life from day-to-day. An example?

“Another goal of mine is for our house to be completely functional and realistic for our family. We turned our front entry coat closet into an office nook this last summer. We now each keep our coats and shoes in our own bedroom closets. It’s a lot less clutter, and this space is much more functional now.”

Angela's use of neutrals and plants makes the home a place her entire family can look forward to spending time in. It's clear this family loves to be together, because they've created a space that reflects their personalities and their values. 

Angela, thanks for hosting us today - and congratulations on your stunning home! Follow Angela along on Instagram at @restoring_home to see more. See you next week!

Living Room for Life's Next Chapter

Hi Friends! Jumping on today to share a bit of transformation in our home, and in my heart. When we moved into this, (our first), house, Colin and Shire we're 10 months old and according to BabyCenter.com Mason was the size of a kumquat, whatever that is. I had one main objective - to prove that it's okay to not surrender your home just because you have children. If I'm being honest, that's really what was on my heart. Just being real here!

In the name of proving a point and being brave, I opted for white slipcovered furniture. White appealed for so many reasons - aesthetically it felt calming and airy to me, and I figured I could always use bleach when running them through the wash. So for the better part of a decade that's what we've had as our babes have grown into active big kids, now 8, 8, and almost 7. White stopped working for us over the last year or so; I'm sorry to say this if your kids are younger than ours, but big kids sweat! And then they start getting kinda stinky. And they flop their sweaty stinky bodies on the sofas when they come in tired from hours of outdoor play. And sure, if the sofas are slipcovered there's no permanent damage, but here's the thing: If you are in a stage of life where you need slipcovered furniture, chances are YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO WASH THEM. At least, that's been my perspective. So I had a decision to make - either forbid my precious family whom I share this house with to not sit on the furniture unless they're cleaned up, or find furniture that can be more easily cleaned.

Living Room one year ago

So despite my love for the white sofas and having a home that isn't just for the kids, I felt ready to jump in and embrace this new stage of life with older, sweatier, dirtier kids who are juuuuust starting to give off the first whiffs of BO. To be clear, I made this decision because I knew there was no way I could fully enjoy this new stage of life or my home with white sofas. That's me and my uptightness. Every person/family is different and there are certainly loads of people with white slipcovered sofas and kids and they're happy as clams because they're so laid back it's annoying. I wish that was me, but it's not. I've been ready to throw in the towel and tap out.

When I decided to part ways with slipcovered furniture I wanted something I could wipe clean, (leather), would get better with use, (leather), and had great reviews from others with a lot of activity in their home: This lead us to Article, and specifically, the Sven sofa!

This is not a 'which design is better' thing and I'm not making any case over visual appeal here. For us this is about maximum function in a house full of kids, many of which wander in from the neighborhood.

While we've only had the Sven sofa for a few weeks and I can't speak to the long-term quality just yet, (though the reviews were fantastic), we have been impressed with the comfort and durability thus far as our family has piled, (literally), on the piece numerous times since we unpacked it. I've already seen my kids fall asleep on it during our pre-bed reading time together and it's the first place they come in the morning to transition from sleep to awake.

A few more shots of the space show nothing else has changed. The ivory shag rug was an inexpensive Amazon find from Safavieh that has spoiled our feet all Winter long! It's SO thick and soft and when our new sofa is crowded, no one minds moving to the floor.

Even our chair is stain/smudge proof! That one wasn't intentional, though. After our very grown-up sofa purchase we didn't want to spend money on a new chair and this had been in the boys room for several years, (a $10 thrift store find that I got for free with customer loyalty points).

When I committed to embracing this next stage of life, I meant ALL. IN. We've got one learning how to play guitar, and we realized when it was in it's case put away he wasn't practicing much. The only solution I could think of was to get it out and seen; well guess what sound we wake up to now on Saturdays? All in.

Oh yea! Our new art :) After 15 Valentines Day's together, I think I got this year right; a canvas + a sharpie + my husband's favorite Philadelphia Eagles' trick play from the Super Bowl, the Philly Special. He's been running this play with the kids on the daily right here in the living room, so getting the play up on the wall just seemed right!

Thank you so much for coming by today! We sure appreciate you.

Beyond the Dining Table

Hi friends! If you've just arrived from visiting Corinna's boho bungalow at A Designer At Home for the Blogger Stylin' Home Tours, welcome! Isn't her place the coolest?! If you don't know what I'm talking about, let me fill you in really quick: I'm participating in a blog hop 'work and play' series this week with 29 fellow bloggers! Our talented, (and organized!!!), host is our sweet friend and fellow style mutt, Lindsay, over at The White Buffalo Styling Co., (you may remember her home when we featured her as a Friday Reader Design!). If this is your first time here we are so happy you've come by! My name is Chelsea and my incredible sister-in-law, Cate, and I started StyleMutt Home a year and a half ago after refinishing furniture, (and our homes), for years! Just like a beloved mixed-breed pup, "style mutt" is an affectionate nickname for those of us who enjoy an eclectic mix and appreciate various decor styles. You pickin' up what I'm throwin' down? Good! Let's get this tour started!

When Lindsay gave us the theme of Work & Play I knew our dining room would be just the space for this tour. This is the room in our home where kids crafts and article writing happen simultaneously. Where the lighting is just right for me to take stock photos and the kids can work on their handwriting right behind me. Where there is a large enough surface space to pull out finger paint, construction paper, glue, stickers and go to town - because what's a dining table other than a massive surface space for crafts?! Here, let me show you the space in it's early morning 'sleeping' state - before it's busy with little bodies who have places to go and things to do! (We have three little ones 16 months apart from 1st to last - boy/girl twins and then a wonderful surprise boy).

The dining room is open to our living room and the two rooms flow from one to the other so well, especially with all the light coming in from both sides!

And around the corner is our kitchen, so the dining room became a natural place for the kids to hang out anyways as I am easily accessible even when prepping/cooking meals.

Our industrial pipe shelves were the key that unlocked the potential of this space - when we were designing these shelves a couple years ago the most important thing was that they be uber functional. I wanted a desk space that was out in the open on our main floor so I could keep an eye on the crazyness. And I also really desired for the kids craft supplies to be out in the open for easy access when spontaneous inspiration strikes.

This table is hoppin' after school when the kids have finished their snack and linger around to draw or play together.

And it's not uncommon for a game of Go Fish to turn into BS. ;)

With the family computer here, I tend to sit and work on editing photos, write articles, or my kids can play some educational games.

I'd say this space blends work and play simultaneously and seamlessly.

Well, almost seamlessly...

Thank you all so much for coming by and touring our work and play worthy dining room! A source list will be at the very bottom for anyone interested, but a special thanks to four special people for making this space so much fun: Colin, (6), Shire, (6), Mason, (5), and my dear husband Matt.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Next stop on this Blogger Stylin' Home Tour is my friend Eileen over at A Creative Day! You'll love seeing the colorful space this fellow Momma of twins has picked to share for the 'work & play' theme!

Interested in catching the rest of the Work & Play tours? Here is the line up of the whole week!

Monday, April 18th:
The White Buffalo Styling Co.
Emily A. Clark
Cuckoo 4 Design
Bliss at Home
Iron & Twine
Nesting with Grace
Tuesday, April 19th:
Place of My Taste
The Chronicles of Home
Life on Virginia Street
Bright Green Door
Our Storied Home
WithHEART
Wednesday, April 20th:
The Wicker House
Primitive & Proper
DesignPost Interiors
My Fabuless Life
The House of Silver Lining
Thursday, April 21st:
Thistlewood Farms\
Simple Stylings
Restless Arrow
Katie Gavigan Interiors
Hi Sugarplum
Friday, April 22nd:
The Décor Fix
A Designer at Home|
Style Mutt Home
A Creative Day Blog
Style Your Senses

Dining Room Source List:
Table: World Market, Garner Extension Table
Metal Chairs: Restoration Hardware, Remi Chair (these were on sale when we bought them, so keep checking the site as they may drop again periodically)
Table Runner: Target
Curtains: Urban Outfitters
Mirror: Ross