Pendleton Slipper Chairs || 2018 Flip List Item No.3

First Flip List item of the year is a wrap!  Wait... what’s a Flip List you ask?  Well every year I set out to do seven new diy projects. Usually they’re a combination of things (both furniture and decor related) that scare me and things I’ve always wanted to try.

So this year’s list is as follows:

Now let’s meet the slipper chairs:

It was actually that citridelic yellow that drew me to them in the first place, but up-close, the fabric was sad and scratchy.  I loved the beautiful wood and cane frame so that had to stay, but the seat fabric was another animal.  I decided to do two things I’ve long wanted to do: 

1) Restore these beautiful chairs
2) Use a Pendleton Wool Blanket pattern to do it: 

Pendleton wool comes from a family owned company that's been weaving wool blankets for over 150 years.  They have a myriad of blanket patterns - mostly Native American inspired designs but they also produce a series of blankets unique to several National Parks.  It is these blankets that inspired my latest reupholstery project - specifically the Glacier National Park pattern.

Rainier National Park

Glacier National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Grand Canyon National Park

To me, the bright-colored stripes on the upholstery are a young twist on a classic design.  

To keep it fresh, I cut the patterns to be mirror images of each other instead of centering the design the keep it symmetrical.

I would have loved to use the real blanket on this project but they are admittedly priiiiiiiicey.  Plus let's be real... I don’t think I could bear to cut one up.  So instead I had a suede replica made by Spoonflower - something soft for the tushy (and less itchy than wool).  

The handy thing about the pattern was I could use the lines in the design to help create pleats at the corners. 

There is something somewhat traditional about cane-backed chairs.  So to me, pairing them with the primary colors of the classic Pendleton pattern makes them tres Ralph Lauren (as Chelsea puts it).

That gorgeous cane just needed a little oil to bring it back.

And this time, I moved the entire Matisse grid wall from our kitchen just to style this shoot.  

Pendleton Slipper Chairs
Now Available for Sale
$345 for the pair

If you are interested in this piece or a custom order like it, email me at cate@stylemutthome.com for availability or to ask about our third-party shipping policy.

One down, six to go.  Catch up on the 2018 Furniture Flip Bucket List:

Geometric Tallboy

In all my furniture hunting, I have not seen a piece with that geometric detailing down the drawer fronts.  When I saw it on the Facebook marketplace, I just had to get my hands on it! 

Now I have a rather strict price-to-distance ratio where I am more willing to buy a piece if the pick-up is local.  This hit my price point just fine but was waaaay outside of my usual driving radius.  I decided to reach out to the seller anyway only to find out there was already a lot of interest (I figured as much) so I was ready to let it go and keep hunting.  A few weeks before the holidays I ran across the listing again.  It turns out the seller was preoccupied with selling a house and hadn't locked in a buyer yet.  I blew on my fingers, rubbed my hands together, and went to work... 

Despite her slow response rate, my persistence paid off and paid off big!  Turns out it was already loaded in the family van and her husband was going to be traveling my way for work.  Score!  Over a month of begging the seller for updates while weighing the logistics of driving deep into Maryland and her husband literally dropped it off at my garage door at no extra expense!

Once I had it in the workshop, I realized I had to do some serious repairs to the veneer on the sides - repairs which I could not mask without the help of paint.  And so I turned to my new favorite "Black Boudoir" by Behr Paint. 

But I wanted to save as much of the wood grain as possible (just look at it!!!) so I settled on a two-tone look:

While he was dropping it off, the husband told me it was his mother's dresser.  I tried to do her justice by bringing it back to life.

The original knobs got a quick refresh.

The exposed wood on the drawer front got some serious conditioning.

Because of the repaired damage, the top, sides, and geometric detailing got a coat of paint and sealed in a wax which I buffed to a satiny sheen. 

For styling, I decided to play with faces - literally.  I hung a few of my favorite Matisse portraits above an offset it with my new favorite home décor accessory: a Jonathan Adler-esque Dora Maar-inspired vase.

Geometric Tallboy
Now Available for Sale
36"W x 18"D x 42"H
$495

If you are interested in this piece or a custom order like it, email me at cate@stylemutthome.com to ask about availability and our shipping policy.

Simple Christmas Tour

Hello, hello! 'Tis the season for Christmas decorated home tours, and while it's been really fun to see how other friends have decorated their homes for the holiday season, I wasn't planning to share my own home until yesterday afternoon! We've enjoyed getting our Christmas decorations out as a family and setting up our tree and lights, but it's kind of been something I just wanted to enjoy with my family this year. It's easy to feel pulled in a lot of different directions during the holidays, and with our plates full of other really good things, this was one that I was planning to shed. I confided my conflict to Cate who wisely advised that if it doesn't bring me joy, then don't worry about it. And at that, I decided to whip up this post!

I don't share a lot about life behind the scenes of StyleMutt Home, (not as much, anyways). But it's moving forward at Polar Express speeds, (just like anyone's). The way I decorate our home is every bit a reflection of that passage of time, our growing children, myself. Our home has always been an extension of the character of our family and my personal development as a creative individual. The reason I enjoy documenting our home is the same reason I journal - to be able to look back and see growth and movement. So, despite the simplicity, it warms my heart to share our Christmas 2017 home with you, friends!

Notice the angel on the far left, with her nose in the air and arms crossed. No candle, baked good, seashell or wreath like the others....she's my favorite. Hah!!

Oh my goodness, I hope I can still remember in years to come how funny it was trying to figure out a layout this year! We are right smack in the middle of a sofa debacle that is a story for another day, but we figured things out by using only the chaise part of a massive sofa / chaise combo.

Our kitchen has seen A LOT of action lately now that we're in full swing holiday party season. Yup, lots of mediocre baking going on in here. If you like quantity over quality, I'm you're gal! Lol! Between the kids' classrooms and their various activities, it's been one party after another!

Shire's bedroom is pure Christmas magic to me. I find myself in here without any reason to be; it's just a happy place. The bedspread was from my grandparents' old lake house, and the mini tree is on loan from my sister. I love that Shire's room is a compilation of special memories, people and places.

Our bedroom is the last stop because the boys room is just done being photographed. It's a charming hot mess and I love it because I birthed them, but their door is officially closed to the public. :)  I enjoyed adding a tiny bit to our own bedroom, though, to make it special for the holidays! The bunch of boxwood was just the kind of small festive nod I was looking for for our room. It suits the simplicity of the space well and because there's not a lot going on, I feel like you really see it, you know? I often tell clients, the less there is, the more you see.

The only other impactful addition to the room is the kilim rug  covered bench at the end of the bed! Both the rug and the bench were found on a neighbors curb on trash day, so I brought both pieces home and turned them into one!

Well that's it! Thank you so very much for taking the time to come by. I hope you enjoy these days until Christmas and have peace about what is on your own plate. A bit of advice - no one else will really notice what you don't get done. As I walked into yet another children's holiday party last night for my son's cubscout pack, I placed my 4 dozen brownies on  table full of other various treats and thought to myself, no one would have noticed if I didn't bring these. Here's to shedding the excess so we can focus on the priorities.

Merry Christmas and God bless!