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!

Modern or Coastal ||Flip List Item No.2||

So I'm trolling craigslist [like I've been known to do] and I found a modern dresser in need of some TLC.  Now normally, I would pass right by a laminate dresser but this piece was... special.

It's hard to tell in this pic, but this "white monster" as I've affectionately nicknamed it, had a weird cream/white two tone thing going on.  But it was still a modern dresser with glossy-fronted drawers that slide like butter.  It the perfect candidate for Furniture Flip Bucket List item No.2: wrap a piece in a wood shim treatment.  

wood shims taper off to one end so that you can wedge them in to help level something.  I could have used flat wood and gotten more of a butcher-block look, but I wanted to use shims to recreate this uneven affect in my inspiration photo:

Source:  The Rycotewood Furniture Centre at OCVC

So I went about covering the bright-white yucky laminate portions of the dresser with the wood shims: the top, sides, and toe-kick.  I started out with the intention of creating a polished modern look like the photo above but as I worked on it, it began to steer me in a different direction.

I liked how raw and rustic the cedar shims looked untreated (and not to mention the cedar smelled AH-MAH-ZING).  So I just went with it and ended up with a piece that's both modern and coastal:

To play off the unfinished wood's beachy vibes, I styled it with some tropical leaves [that I may or may not have harvested from a decorative potted plant in a parking lot.  I kinda felt like Chelsea did when "smuggling" home some paint sticks for this DIY project].

I then added a couple seaside touches like this piece of coral.

To play up the dresser's more modern side, I added vintage candle sticks with clean lines.  Despite the uneven surface, the shims are narrow enough that items large and small can find a flat surface to rest on anywhere across the top.

And modern satin nickel knobs on the glossy drawer fronts make a nice modern finishing touch.

All together the piece sings a modern-coastal song:

Modern Coastal Dresser
$600
SOLD

As for the progress on my 2015 flip bucket list, that means I've got 6 down and 1 to go before the end of the year.  Woot Woot!

Want to catch up?  Since January, I've crossed off items:
No.6
No.5
No.7
No.4
No.3
and now No.2: wood shim treatment

Here's to hoping that I can squeeze in item No.1: Build my Own Bakers Rack before 2016!

Southwestern vs. SOUTHWESTERN!!! ||One dresser, two options||

Howdy, friends! Yee-haw, yippy-yi-yo, and ride em' cowboy. Or whatever. Western doesn't roll off my tongue so well, but I had a southwestern itch, nonetheless. I found the dresser above last week tucked away in one of my favorite thrift stores, (Pender Regift Thrift in Chantilly, VA). I intended to give it a really rustic finish by simply stripping the blood red stain and then wrapping it's simple wooden pulls in some leftover faux cowhide fabric from Cate's stunning upholstered bench.

After a 'lick and a promise', there was no doubt that this was a southwestern style dresser:

(And I couldn't resist staging this one with my Axel Co. hexagon shelf and arrow. They just restocked their shop for Fall/Winter - check out all the new goodies here!)

However, the 'afterclaps' of this makeover was just all 'beer and skittles'. I wanted to create a southwestern looking dresser and I did. But something just seemed off. I didn't hate it, but it was missing an element of sophistication that I was hoping for. It was far too literal and I realized I was looking for more of a southwestern whisper rather than a 'cattle call'. 

So I went back to the drawing board and found these stunning hexagon knobs at Anthropologie. 

Bulls-eye!

This three-across business is just so fun, isn't it!? 

I had so much fun staging with this branch - when I saw it in our back yard I knew he needed to join this shoot. However...

...just keepin' it real here, folks! It was monstrous and definitely not something I would permanently use in our home. In case you were wondering if I was just that cool and abstract. I'm not.

So here we are with two looks. One will be comin' with us to the Sweet Clover barn this weekend for the Labor Day sale, (Sat & Sun, 10am-5pm)! And now I'm excited to sit back and hear what you guys think! Which do you like better?! 

Thank you for stopping by and making us a part of your day! We're so grateful for you guys. XO,