Lighting of My Dreams || 2019 Flip List Item No.3

I have a secret weapon when it comes to introducing Caleb to new items in our home. See, my husband isn’t what I would call a fan of sudden changes. When I want to try something new in our home I follow a strict regimen of 1) casually mention the item in conversation 1-15months in advance 2) install it when he’s not home 3) call to warn him about it 4) tell him is just for a trial period if he hates it and 5) never disclose that the “trial period” is indefinite.

This method works to a point but it does not prevent him from griping along the way. So I have a secret weapon for that. The secret is to out-vote him 2-to-1. See, the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down is getting the dog to love it as much as I do. Think a living room rug is a waste of money? It’s totally worth it when the dog loves to roll around on it. Think a “decorative” old army cot is pointless? Not if the dog starts taking his afternoon naps on it. Think the old coffee table was just fine? Well now the dog can curl up at your feet under this one. Yeah, whatever I manage to drag in usually stays.

Now I have been campaigning for a better dining room light fixture for a year now but I’ve hit a bit of a snag. See, our current rental came with a mal-placed ceiling fan:

To me - this would be the perfect place for the diy chandelier from our last rental. But how do you spin a chandelier as a dog-friendly addition? Needless to say I’ve come up empty.

And then we had a little swing vote this spring.

Somehow Caleb has managed to beat me at my own game. If Caleb hadn’t married me, he probably would have married a ceiling fan… and apparently like father like daughter. Huntleigh’s developing eyesight is really into high contrast these days. And a spinning fan is the equivalent of a high school quarterback. One minute she’ll be playing quietly and the next she’ll be giggling at it from across the room. The longer this flirtation goes on, the stronger Caleb’s position in the matter gets.

Well played Caleb. Well played.

So how do you get a cool dining room light without replacing the ceiling fan? You install this bad boy:

I have actually admired this France & Son light fixture for a long time (did you catch that Chelsea used it in her latest eDesign reveal??). I used to sit in our last apartment and try to justify where I would use it but the scale just didn’t make sense in the bitty living room. When it became clear that this fan had to stay, I went back to imagining it in our new space and resolved to put it on my 2019 Furniture Flip Bucket List.

Now I wouldn’t call my style traditional in any sense, but I do have an appreciation for an old-fashioned look with a twist. We embraced the “traditional” moulding in our rental by painting it (and the walls) in a creamy flat paint and kept it fresh with our unconventional art positioning and eclectic dining set. Then juxtapose a light with odd modern shapes and our cool take on a traditional dining space is complete.

Caleb and I often disagree over form vs function. I always seem to fall in love with pretty things that aren’t always… practical. And Caleb will fight tooth and nail to keep something butt ugly… as long as it’s comfortable. Ha! God knew what He was doing when He paired us together. A marriage of opposing forces sometimes means conflict, but mostly it means compromise. Sometimes Caleb lets me do something he has deemed crazy (like two coffee tables) and other times I try to find an option that is both beautiful (for me) and functional (for him).

This wall-mount light is fully articulating so I can swing it over the dining room table when I want to pretend I have a real chandelier…

And Caleb’s precious ceiling fan can stay.

The oversized wall sconce also adds light to the adjoining living room.

This space is where we spend the majority of our time - which means I can stare and giggle at this light fixture as much as I want (like daughter, like mother). Let me give you a quick tour:

Even though our landlord let us paint the whole space, we didn’t want to wager that he’d be ok with us hardwiring a bunch of things into the wall. The swing arm sconce is a plug-in that we can take with us when we leave. And the TV is surface mounted above the fireplace with a hidden cable box. Can you spot it?

We used a HIDEit Mount to conceal the cable box behind the TV so we wouldn’t have to live with this electrical eyesore:

If you’re renting or don’t want to hassle with running wires through your wall, I highly recommend giving their affordable gadgets a try.

Across from the TV is a lucky $10 find - a mid-century arm chair with mustard vinyl cushions.

He’s guarded by a 20-year-old rubber plant I found on Facebook Marketplace. I knew I’d never be able to grow something this mature from seed so I’m hoping his age means he’ll mostly take care of himself. Maybe just do a load of laundry every now-and-then or need to be let in if he forgets his key?

Baby and dog abstained from voting on the plant, so I resorted to bribing Caleb in order to keep him. Now Caleb has the plant naming rights - and he’s been torturing me with some hilarious (and obscene) titles but mostly we just call him BAP (Big Ass Plant).

Behind BAP are the stairs to the top level and a pair of cabinets from the US Patent Office. I bought them off a retired employee who even had the original patent paperwork for the uniquely designed drawers!

Beyond the dining room, you can see the stairs to the lower level and our sunny kitchen.

And that concludes our main level tour! Like I said before - if he hadn’t married me, Caleb probably would’ve married a ceiling fan. But if I hadn’t married him, I probably would’ve married this light.

That’s a wrap on this year’s bucket list - with 6 months to spare! I can’t promise I’ll be that efficient next year, but I’m already dreaming up some new goals to meet and challenges to tackle.

Five down and that’s a wrap! Catch up on the 2019 Furniture Flip Bucket List.

Design Reveal: Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY!

We’re in Brooklyn!! This project represents a long time dream - designing in New York City! What can I say, I’ve always been charmed. This was actually my sixth or seventh design job in the Big Apple but the first one I’ve had the opportunity to take photos of. Coincidentally, I am working on two more apartments just around the block from here, (one being a generous word of mouth recommendation from these home-owners!).

When these adventurous globe-trotting clients approached me with little more than a random piece here and there in each room, I was so smitten with them, the stunning archways in their home, and their goldendoodle, Nala, that I couldn’t wait to jump in. Over the course of six months we worked together room by room, item by item, detail by detail. Oh how I have looked forward to this day!

It all came together SO well and I can’t wait to walk you through! The MO with this home was to achieve a simple but eclectic look with a balanced global vibe. With space being limited, we enlisted the help of local contractor Ethan Abramson to design and install storage in every room. I’ll point out his work as we go along but I can’t tell you how fun it was to work on custom pieces with such a skilled craftsmen. Would highly recommend Ethan to anyone in the area! Let’s head in, everyone!

Entryway

You walk into this apartment and immediately enter a long hallway. Creating depth of view is one of my favorite design elements - giving you something to see down the length of a space from either end. A personalized curated gallery wall pulls you into the home, while a graphic wallpaper, and architectural accent chair bid you farewell. (If you’re interested in the sources used throughout this home, please see our list at the end)

When less is more, I like to use interesting pieces. A single accent chair by itself had better be something special, otherwise, why?

The wallpaper was possibly one of the first decisions in the whole home! This is the only place it’s used which I think just makes it that much more dramatic.

Speaking of dramatic…

Dining Room

We were so intentional with every detail in this space I can’t help but look at the collective whole and remember the conversations and design renderings created for particular elements. It is a process of pure creativity that I have fallen so in love with over the years.

The clients had this idea for a gallery wall here and my gosh did they hit a home run. Notice the continuity among the frames - all thin, and either black, white, or natural wood. That’s it! There is nothing visually connecting the actual images, but the carefully collected frames create cohesion and freedom to display whatever suits them.

The light fixture was actually left by the previous owners and totally works for our purposes. Its thin and the right scale and the only brass used throughout, setting it apart as the primary decorative accent in the dining room. With the cutout looking into the gallery wall hall, I opted not to add anything else to the wall space surrounding the table, so this visually impactful fixture works beautifully.

Living Room

I can’t move on without pointing out the trim. First of all, so thick, old and regal. I’ve never ever painted trim a contrasting color, but the clients had this idea to do something different and accentuate it. In the early renderings I used black and that felt too stark. Gotta start somewhere, right?! After doing some research on similar architecture I found three images with white walls and beige trim and fell. in. love. I sent over three color options, the clients tested, and we came to a unanimous decision to use Clay Beige, by Benjamin Moore. Walls in Swiss Coffee, BM.

The first of Ethan’s pieces - this wall unit! He built the cabinets and shelves above, using Rejuvenation brackets we selected.

The triptych is just the bees knees! The clients found the street artist, Dede, in Israel and looked him up upon returning to the states. They commissioned this special piece for their last apartment and were not sure it would have a place in this one. My top choice was over the sofa if the dimensions fit. It’s just the right kind of drama needed for this room! Still so thankful this installment fit!

I honestly don’t believe we ever considered any other light! We had started down this road of edgy pieces with a subtle flair of drama. I’ve used similar sconces before and this France and Son number was just right for our far corner here. Can we also take a moment to acknowledge the clients incredibly green thumb - I’ve been loading up on her generous tips!

Bedroom

Hold on, scroll back up and take in that pocket door pull. The details of this home are just incredible! What a privilege to work on such a fun space!

You’ll notice in this room as well as the office coming up next that we opted for reverse walls - beige walls with white trim. They’re itty bitty spaces so it just felt like a fun opportunity to try something different in this home.

The bedroom is a story of small business owners. You may recognize Ethan’s work in the bedside tables, (inspired by similar I found on Etsy). You may also recognize some items StyleMutt Home has used before! The Marylou sconce from our friends at Rough Luck Studio, and the fibre art by a favorite, Designs by Filia.

More small businesses are represented on the bed. Pillows from fair trade global artisans, The Citizenry and Mae Woven, as well as Brooklyn local business, Brooklinen. The bed itself, as well as the office desk, (coming up), and the olive tree stand, (living room), are from Floyd - a company establishing the standard of modern-day furniture. They make furniture that is easily portable to those often relocating, but without sacrificing quality. West Elm recently partnered with them so I’m sure you’ll see more of them soon!

Curious how New Yorkers manage such tiny spaces? Epic closets. These were installed by the previous owners who gambled some solid square footage in the room. And worth every inch, if I do say so! Who could deny those leather pulls…

Office

We have two fine installments from Ethan in this space - a cute corner shelf that I wanted to use to soften the deep narrow space,

and the coolest bookshelves I ever did see!

This is artists work right here, people. The detailing is just everything!

And that’s it! I had so much fun working on this home I feel guilty calling it work - not every job feels that way but this one was a joy every step. The clients were beyond amazing and, as always, I am so touched to be trusted so fully with their home. Designing someones home is an honor I don’t take lightly, so when it’s all said and done there is definitely a bittersweet feeling left that it’s all over.

We have worked so hard to get here with StyleMutt Home Design but it still feels surreal to be sought after from around the country. It takes so much time and strategy to establish yourself not only as capable of doing the work, but as the top of your field. I don’t know what is next for us, but I have had this desire for some time to dig into how we got to this point in our business and use what we have learned to help other aspiring designers. With the completion of this project and wrapping up a couple others this week, my plan is to take the rest of the summer off from design projects and eat up the time with my babes. With design work on hold until September, I’d like to dabble in some writing to publish an eBook loaded with all the info of how we got to this point from scratch. It’s so much more than just dreaming big and I am really excited about creating a guide to help others reach their goals! If you’re interested in doing interior design and/or eDesign, shoot me an email at chelsea@stylemutthome.com and I’ll be sure to send you a note when the guide is complete!

Thank you all for coming by today! It’s always so fun to get to share these projects with this community and I truly am so grateful for you.

Some more photos of the trip - Matt and I went up together and had the BEST weekend celebrating our 13 year anniversary! I still can’t believe our marriage is a teenager now. There is absolutely no aspect of our life now that I would have guessed for us on the day we got married, and I think that’s just what makes it feel so grand. Making a life together with this man has been the adventure of a lifetime, that’s for sure!

SOURCE LIST
Entryway:
Sideboard - Article
Lamp - CB2
Rug - Loom and Kiln
Runnger - Etsy
Chair - Stowed Home
Wallpaper - Etsy
Tassel wall hanging - Holistic Habitat

Dining Room:
Table - Room and Board
Chairs - Serena and Lily
Linens - Parachute Home
Rug - AllModern

Living Room:
Rug - Serena and Lily
Sofa - Article
Coffee Table - Anthropologie
Table Lamp - AllModern
Sconce - France and Son
Pillows - Serena and Lily, Mae Woven, Anthropologie
Planters - Holistic Habitat

Bedroom:
Bed - Floyd
Duvet - Brooklinen
Pillows - The Citizenry, Mae Woven
Fibre Art - Designs by Filia

Office:
Desk - Floyd
Desk chair - Urban Outfitters
Yellow planter - West Elm
Pillow - Mae Woven

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.