Blue + Leather Dresser || Why Shop Small

A few months ago I got a handwritten note when I ordered a broom off amazon. It totally shocked when it fell out of the box like a Willy Wonka golden ticket. It read “Thank you for purchasing from a small business on Amazon. Your order means more to us than you know.” I was so struck by the thought that I kept the note.

As a fellow small business owner, I could relate. I mean, I know that every time someone buys one of my pieces, I let a little piece of myself go home with them. I try really hard not to come across as a weird helicopter mother when I help them load up and try to casually ask for a photo of it in its “new home.” I scribble my cell phone down for customers “if they have any problems” or want to know how to best tuck him in at night. I fret over how he’s holding up - is he making new friends? Are they feeding him well? Did they put him in a forgotten corner of the house or is he on display for all to see?

See, it’s more than just a hobby for us. When you buy from a small business, you buy something that’s been labored over. And loved. And it means more to us than you know.

You are feeding our families and clothing our kids. You are taking a discarded piece of furniture out of the landfill instead of adding styrofoam remnants from that assemble-yourself-box-store number you have to allen-wrench into being. And like Chelsea touched on in her recent post, that note got me thinking of new ways to incorporate other small businesses into what we do as fellow makers.

Whether we mean to or not, each of our products affects an intricate assortment of people. I purchased this vintage dresser from Geenae and her husband who were making room for a nursery. The dresser used to be his grandmothers, but with twins on the way, they needed the space. I was scheduled to pick up two of their dressers (the other became this white and wood number) when baby’s cold made me change plans last minute. Geenae was gracious enough to reschedule our meet for the following week so that I could focus on caring for Huntleigh but still nab some project pieces.

After conducting several repairs on Grandma’s dresser, I painted the body in “Deep Breath” by Behr Paint - a color I used for a custom build for clients Lauren and her husband this time two years ago.

This color has that inky quality I like so much in my darker pieces but it has vibrant teal undertones.

To finish it off right, I needed the perfect hardware. Instead of sourcing new pulls via an online dealer like I usually do, I decided to shop small.

I left the unique “bowling pin” peg legs in their original wood so I wanted pulls that would play off the brown tone. I found Julie and Brian selling these leather pulls in their Etsy shop YesterdaysNovember and thought they were perfect paired with their brass capped screws.

I also found Sarah from ModernMakerStamps (also an Etsy shop) who made my custom SMH logo rubber stamp so I can literally leave my mark on each piece I send into the world.

I even borrowed a few baby gifts that were also small business purchases from Huntleigh’s room for this shoot. The yellow letter board was shipped by Lyubomir and Yana in Canada and that gold mobile (given to us by my other beloved sis-in-law Casey), handmade by Eleonora in Croatia - both Etsy sellers, both small businesses.

In light of Small Business Saturday, Chelsea and I have both been thinking about how much your purchases mean to those of us who side-hustle for our families. If you’re also interested in supporting small businesses, Chelsea curated some superb mom and pop gift ideas this holiday that will not only say Merry Christmas to your gift recipient but to the small businesses you buy from.

We are so grateful to get to do the things we love but also to intersect with so many relationships along the way. As a small business, many of our customer interactions have turned into pleasant conversations or even the occasional “small world” moment. Chelsea and I create as an expression of worship and as an outlet for our insatiable imaginations - but it’s a sweeter joy to have these opportunities to meet you. I look forward to meeting whomever purchases Grandma’s re-loved 9-drawer. And to all our past customers and clients out there: thank you for shopping small!

Blue + Leather Dresser
Now Available for Sale
60”L x 18”D x 31”H
$745

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

Huntleigh's Room || 2019 Flip List Item No.5

She’s real! That’s the first thing I said to my husband when they held up our daughter to us in the OR. We didn’t plan on a C-Section but when your baby’s safety is at risk, you quietly cry your way through your first major surgery and wait for the wet sounds of a newborn using her lungs for the first time. And you thank God that there’s a healthy baby on the other end of those 38 hours in labor.

And you name her Huntleigh Wild:

Huntleigh is a blend of two family names - Hunt for Caleb’s grandma and Leigh for my sister. It seemed like the perfect way to honor both sides while still feeling unique and special. Yes, she’ll probably have to join the ranks of never-finding-your-novelty-keychain and spelling-your-name-for-just-about-everyone but I managed ok. And I grew to love being “Cate with a C.”

Wild became her middle name in utero mostly because it was all we knew about her at the time. We wanted a name that fit her personality but how do you choose one without ever having met? What we did know was she would kick up a storm until daddy wanted to feel and then mischievously stop right when he’d put his hand on my belly. She would demand bagels from me on the reg and then reward me with dragon-fire heartburn. She’d wait until I stood up and immediately slide into my bladder - pressing it like a gas pedal so I’d literally run to the bathroom. The little wildling. Don’t be fooled by that sleeping façade - she’s 8lbs of the best kind of trouble.

Now, I promised you a tour of her nursery and am holding myself accountable to that since it’s item No.5 on this year’s furniture flip bucket list. Now that she’s here and we’ve had a chance to settle her little space, I’m finally ready to make good on the promise with today’s tour!

It’s a shoebox of a room but we figure she won’t notice. When we found out we were pregnant, we gave our first born (the dog) the larger guest room as his consolation prize. That meant the wild child would have to make the little 3rd bedroom work so I set about painting over the “boy-blue” and gray racing stripe with a gender-neutral white (ironically over labor day weekend).

The white walls are not only rental-friendly (you’re welcome landlord) but they are my favorite forum to allow for playful pops of color. The main one being this persimmon dresser which you may recognize from this post. I knew even then that I was going to keep this bad boy for baby’s room (but I wasn’t quite ready to share the news with you all yet ;)

And what else but a wild honeysuckle branch to welcome our wild girl to the world.

The dresser is a little tall for a changing table so we hid one of those in the closet for easy access. The orangey-red flirts with the olive and chartreuse velvets in the room. It’s edgy but still softened by the touches of blush like this fabulous fringe mirror.

This mirror almost didn’t happen. It was a sweet steal on H&M Home which meant it went out of stock in a snap. I was actually crushed and kicked myself for slapping it on the registry instead of purchasing it. In my tunnel-vision desperation (I am my own worst client), I checked H&M Canada and UK just in case they could ship internationally. No luck. So I settled for keeping the browser open on my phone and would check it periodically just in case it magically went back in stock. And the day before I went into labor - I kid you not - I longingly opened the browser window to find that not only was the mirror back in stock, but it was half price! I was a mirror miracle!

Across the room is her crib. I’ve admired the DwellStudio Mid-Century inspired nursery line for a while (I even modeled this dresser after their gray three-drawer dresser). My parents were kind enough to gift us their adorable 3-in-1 crib for baby H as the crib of my dreams (and hopefully hers - sleep training am I right??).

The pillows are purely decorative and won’t actually be here during nap time but they capture the nursery color scheme and add some plush texture.

The pink rabbit was a special gift from my sister - Huntleigh’s namesake. We each grew up with a stuffed bunny bff. Mine was technically her back-up if she ever lost Baby but me being the typical little sister… I just had to have one too. So I helped myself thankyouverymuch. I at least had the good sense to give mine a cool name (my sis is the self-proclaimed non-creative of the fam). I still have Gizmo to this day - and if you pay attention on this tour, you can spot him watching over Huntleigh’s room from his place of honor.

The tricky thing about Huntleigh’s little room is there is no overhead lighting. A good floor lamp was crucial for any nighttime feedings or diaper changes. I registered for this one on Amazon and have been greatly pleased with it’s ambiance as well as it’s modern design. It even came with a soft-white LED bulb that won’t make the lamp hot to curious little fingers.

The mobile is another modern touch in the room. Made in Croatia, this Calder-inspired hanging art is just one of the ways I’m hoping to introduce a love of art to baby H.

I’ve also stocked up on some fun art-themed baby books that sit on drawers-turned-shelves along with some of her other fun toys. Oh and points for Gryffindor if you spotted Gizmo!

​For the most part, we’ve kept toys to a minimum knowing that baby stuff has a way of multiplying like rabbits (no offense Gizmo). I’m sure Huntleigh will have hoards stashed around the house when she’s graduated from the boobs and bowel-movement phase and becomes more interested in bells and whistles.

I’d be remise if I didn’t mention one other special piece of art in the room - framed notes from Huntleigh’s cousins (Chelsea’s kids). It hangs by the window above my nursing chair - displaying personalized messages to their littlest cousin that I will cherish forever.

We kept Huntleigh’s name a secret so they each addressed their notes “dear baby girl.”

Alrighty folks! That pretty much concludes this nursery room tour and it’s time to cross item No.5 off the list.

But for good measure, why don’t I throw in a quick little bonus tour of the dog’s…er… the guest room next door.

Please ignore my postpartum bed-making skills. I promise to do better if you ever come to stay with us - what is with that crooked sheet-to-comforter ratio?!?! 

This room design is rather simple - mostly white with winks of warm tones and greenery.

The campaign shelves hold a lot of our mementoes and hide a lot of our paperwork in the lower cabinets.

It’s no shoebox but the bed pretty much takes up the whole space. It has no headboard or nighstands but I did get some simple sconces mounted for some friendlier lighting.

Blackout curtains were a must for my husband if either of us were going to get some quality sleep in my third trimester. These chartreuse velvet ones were a fabulous find on Amazon and ended up being such an easy lux touch in an otherwise simple room.

Ok friends. Thanks for joining me for another peek at our little townhouse! And if you missed it, here’s our dining room, bedroom, and man cave tours.

Four down, one to go. Catch up on the 2019 Furniture Flip Bucket List.

Reader Design: Nancy's Love-Filled Nursery

I am so excited to return to our "new normal" Spaces programming - sharing a new amazing space with all of you style mutts each Friday! 

Next, we're off to Nancy's Love-Filled Nursery in Charlotte, NC. Nancy's mom, Elise, is a first-time mama who has created the most LOVELY space for her little girl. Brace yourselves: you're about to see a lot of white, pink, and gold - a combination which seriously knocks it out of the park!

From Elise: 

“When my husband walked into the nursery for the first time after my mom and I worked our magic, he said, “It’s so white in here!” That was music to my ears. I love white!”

Elise methodically planned every detail of this nursery prior the arrival of her daughter - and boy, can you tell! It's no wonder that when she was trying to choose which room in her home to feature with us, she went with this space. 

“I so enjoyed choosing Nancy’s crib bedding. I stayed in the white color scheme but mixed patterns: polka dots, hearts, and herringbone. The abstract art hanging above Nancy’s crib is my favorite element of the room. One of my best friends painted it based on two elements: my nursery inspiration board and 1 Peter 1:6-7.”

In true StyleMutt fashion, Elise also did some DIY work of her on the dresser. She snagged it for $20 and just repainted and added new knobs. And that was a great call. You don't need to meticulously strip and restore your secondhand finds in order to make them worthwhile. In my first apartment, I got a free Craigslist coffee table and painted it a bright turquoise - that wasn't exactly "on trend," but it was practical and easy to swap for another color when I needed a change! 

Another thing Elise nailed: the layered rug trend. Can you imagine waking up, rolling out of bed, and immediately hitting that shag rug with your feet?! What a way to start your day. I don't know about you guys, but I for one am very jealous of Nancy.

Thank you, Nancy and Elise, for sharing this beautiful home with us! Follow Nancy and Elise along at Her Heart and Home and on Instagram.