DIY Planter ||Furniture Flip Bucket List||

Ok so something magical happened.  I made something I've always wanted to make using only the items I already had lying around.  That's a project with like no risk and all reward.  Hey-Oh!  Even better, this project also fulfills one of the items on my 2017 Furniture Flip Bucket List.  Double Hey-Oh!

So which item is the first I shall be crossing off this year's list?

Why No.3 of course.

The construction of this little guy was relatively simple.  All I needed was some round wooden dowels, a dowel kit, some wood glue, and a large ceramic planter.  Following along with this handy tutorial, I was able to assemble the four legs and the joining cross section. 

I built the stand to fit a ceramic planter I had lying around (with a dead plant carcass inside).  For extra stability, I secured the joints with wood glue and strapped the base in place to set.

Once the glue dried, I spray-painted the planter white and stained the legs a warm brown to get that iconic MCM planter look.

Now my plant children have a place of honor to reside.

Despite the glue, he's still not the sturdiest but I am proud I built him nonetheless.  And I still plan to improve my carpentry skills and build something SUPER solid to fulfill item No.7 this year.

But of course in the spirit of the upcoming Oscar's, let's play a little round of

WHO WORE IT BEST?

Leave your votes in the comments below xoxo.

One down, six to go.  Catch up on the 2017 Furniture Flip Bucket List:

2017 Furniture Flip Bucket List

Oh yes my friends.  I'm rolling out my 2017 Furniture Flip Bucket List to...DAY!  For those of you are new to StyleMutt Home (hey there!), every January I issue a "declaration of intent" for the coming year - a list of DIYs that I want to challenge myself with.  And I have certainly found myself challenged (see items No.1 from 2015 and 2016), but I love seeing where this list takes me each year and love even more being able to laugh at myself along the way.  It's cathartic.  

So let's pull that red velvet curtain off for the big reveal of 2017's list:

Source: Walton Woodcraft

No.1: I love the look of the un-honed wood (especially juxtaposing the super industrial) so I've decided I want to make something with a live edge.  

No.2 This past summer, I scored a cash of brass hardware from my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore for a whopping $7!  I've used the long pulls on these mudroom benches but still have a plethora to play with.  My hope is to find the perfect piece(s) to use them on some time this year.

Source: Pigment

No.3 I have always loved the style of these planters.  This year, I've decided to stop admiring them from afar and make one of my own.

Source: Chairish

No.4 Now this one didn't make the final list until like yesterday.  I scored an adorable set of Broyhill dining chairs that are in desperate need of an update.  I am not sure what direction I want to take them in yet, but I'm excited to see what idea I land on (suggestions welcome!)

No.5 Play with leather (no not like that ;)  Chelsea and I have often loved the warm yet sophisticated look of leather in our home decor.  For that reason, I know I want to do a leather-related project.  

Source: Mark & Spencer

No.6 My style has been continually evolving in our apartment.  The dining and living room officially feel "me" but our bedroom still comes across as a staging ground for shoes and dirty laundry ;)  I want to get to a point this year where I can come home to our master bedroom and feel settled in the decor.  So stay tuned...

And finally...

No.7 Build something.  After my baker's rack fiasco, I decided that this year I need to develop some real carpentry skills.  I have no idea what to build but I'll add the caveat that I want to build it well.  And I probably won't try to build a baker's rack...

Thank you friends for following along my (mis)adventures!  If you'd like to see how last year turned out, check out this post.  And I hope you'll stop in again to see how this year's list is faring!

Reupholster a Chair ||Wrapping Up the 2016 Flip List||

Happy New Year StyleMutts!  Well, this may be a day (or two) late and an item short, but I'm wrapping up my 2016 Furniture Flip Bucket List!  Huzzah!  I don't know about you, but that's still a win in my book ;)

You may recall that I've been tackling these 7 items in no particular order:

Well my friends, I still have No.1 and No.2 to go and may-or-may-not-have completed one and a half of them.  Much like in 2015, the Baker's Rack has proved... problematic...  But fear not!  I still have some proof that I at least attempted it this year (that counts right?!?).  You'll have to decided whether or not a good ole' college try is admissible in New Year Resolutions court, but in the mean time there's still a fresh-faced new chair on the docket!

I have ALWAYS been interested in upholstery.  Primarily because I can't tell you how many times I see pieces with "good bones" but terrifying tapestry.  It seems so simple "just switch out the fabric and viola!" but there's nothing simple about reupholstery let me tell you.  To get it done right, you either need to pay an arm and a leg plus a foot and a toe or have a fairy fabric-mother.  And seeing as I have neither, I decided to challenge myself to try something a little more complicated than my Serape accent chair.  And it's no surprise that a project as intimidating as this one has been marinating on my Flip List for 12 months. 

I was very selective when choosing my test subject.  I wasn't ready for a "whale" of a project like a sofa or a chaise and a wingback armchair with it's flourishing angles would surely be a hot mess with my sewing skills.  So I cherry-picked a forgotten chair with clean lines (that's Cate for relatively fool proof) complete with frumpy maroon fabric straight out a dorm room.

Ok so this reveal is gonna go down a little like Project Runway: the opening silhouette may be simple but it's a classic color pallet. 

Now strike a pose...

And then turn on the runway so we can see the back...

Boom.  There it is!

The leather strap was actually was a Target belt in a former life.  For such a simple chair, I wanted it to have a little somethin' somethin'.

The chair disassembled into easy-to-recover panels.  I even left the two side pieces off so the chair could "breathe" (and also, let's be real, not trap as many crumbs). 

The fabric I chose was a heavy textured linen.  Also it's from a painter's dropcloth.

I simply wrapped each panel like a Christmas present complete with snuggly tucked in corners.

Now that I have a more complex reupholstery under my belt (pun so intended), maybe I'll have the courage to try (dare I say it)... piping.

Linen & Leather Chair
Now Available for Sale
Price $95

If you are interested in this piece, or a custom refinish like it, please email mcate@stylemutthome.com

Now, I know what you're thinking: Wait Cate!  What about the last item on your 2016 list?

Ahh yes, the very same delinquent baker's rack from 2015 that rolled over to 2016 with the caveat that I would attempted to build it out of reclaimed wood.  Well... let's just say I saved the best for last...

Or should I say the operative word was attempted...

Ha!  Ok so what I may have in amateur upholstery skills I certainly LACK in carpentry skills.  (Insert shameful grin emoji here) But at least this way we can go out with a bang (up job) and a laugh ;)

Here's to a complete(ish) 2016 and to posting a new 2017 Flip List in the coming weeks.  Stay classy friends.

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Let's Recap The Year: