Alternative Bedside Ideas

Hi All! Last week our sweet friend, Iris, (Around the Watts House), alerted Cate and me of a fun opportunity to submit some refinished work to HGTV and we couldn't wait to spread the word to you! (Thanks for lookin' out, Iris!!!) The call is for all madeover bedside tables and nightstands - they're asking peeps on Twitter and Instagram to tag their new and improved bedside pieces with #HGTVmakeover for a chance to be shared in one of HGTV's upcoming blog posts! How fun! You have until this Friday, 2/20 to tag your work if you've got something to share!

I think our girl, Cate, has a pretty good chance with these beauties, yes?!

Interesting fact: My home has not a single bedside table! I actually never thought about it until Iris shared this HGTV contest for bedside tables with us! Here's why we've skipped traditional nighstands: The boys need about as little furniture as possible in their room. We've got their beds, a bookshelf and that's it. The rest of the space is spared for wrestling. And by keeping their decor simple, I'm pretty confident we've spared ourselves some emergency room visits. :)

Our girl Shire's bed is snug inside a little nook in her room. It's a cozy spot that fits her twin bed, but with only a few inches on either side there's simply no room for a table. So we placed a shelf above her bed! This acts as both surface space for her water bottle at night, a spot for her beloved knick-knacks, (she's a true bowerbird), and topped with a piece of art, it's also her 'headboard'.

And then there's our master bedroom. A couple weeks ago I shared our bedroom after stenciling the accent wall behind the bed, but I didn't talk about any other details in our room. If you caught that stenciled wall post, you might recall me saying the bed is an antique family heirloom which has been passed through my family over several generations. With my bohemian driven style, I just couldn't see anything holding it's own right next to that headboard. So, I decided to do something minimalistic and just float a pair of shelves! 

We used basic white laminate board shelves from Lowes, but topped them with a piece of stained particle board cut to the exact same size for a customized two-tone look, (which we echoed on our floating wall shelves as well).

These shelves meet our surface needs and we never feel like we need more storage. I love how using something simple at either side lets the bed shine!

I'm not sure if our bedside solutions meets the criteria for the #HGTVmakeover contest, but I thought them worthy of sharing for anyone else who might be stumped on bedside surface space! 

Thank you all for stopping by!

Don't forget to tag your refinished bedside tables and nightstands with #HGTVmakeover on Twitter and Instagram! We'd love to hear if any of our friends get featured, so keep us posted!

Salvaged, Rustic Farm Table - Do It Yourself!

Hi friends! Just stopping by to share a quick and easy 'how-to' for achieving that weathered, salvaged finish for almost any dining table! We've all seen the gorgeous farm tables filling antique stores and box stores alike, but did you know that achieving that time-worn, storied finish doesn't take as many decades as you'd think?! In fact, it takes about 30 minutes.

I found this octagon table at a thrift store a few weeks ago and was drawn to it's shape and base more than anything.

My plan was to strip the top completely and then re-stain it in something rich, like an Espresso. But, upon closer inspection it looked like a fun piece to IMperfect, rather than perfect.

The first step was thinning out the stain on the surface, which I did by dampening a rag with mineral spirits and giving the top surface a good wipe down.

While the surface was still damp, I used fine 220 grit sandpaper in the electric sander to further lighten the surface and remove some of the stain.

The final product! A perfectly imperfect, uneven, textured looking surface. Sanding with a fine paper gave the table a completely smooth and glassy surface, despite it's rustic, weathered look.

For the base, I used Rustoleum Flat White spray paint to paint the inside white, then used Annie Sloan's Pure White Chalk Paint to complete the outside of the base and apron.

Before + After

Two-tone Octagon Dining Table
Available for sale
$395

Thank you for stopping by!

Staging Smart: Tips For Staging Large Pieces

Hi, guys! In case you are just tuning in, we are in the midst of a mini series on staging refinished furniture for the purpose of selling! The furniture refinishing community is growing by the day and our desire here at StyleMutt is to bring folks together to share helpful information! We began last week with talking about why staging is so necessary, then we followed up with some specifics. Here are our techniques for staging smaller pieces, and tips for staging in limited space. Moving right along, we're tackling the bigger beasts today - your china cabinets, dressers, buffets, credenzas - the pieces you're going to put a higher price tag on.

We actually LOVE to stage larger pieces! It's a lot of fun to settle big guys in and dress em' up. We'll use everything from plants, lamps, books and candles, to large over-sized pieces of art. While you don't want your piece to get lost in a mix of 'things', it's also okay to put your own twist on it! When you stage a piece with your own style and personality, that energy and enthusiasm translates. So try a few things, step back, and if you like it, snap away! If not, keep playing until you're satisfied. 

Here are a few examples of our own pieces staged and as-seen in our ads on Craigslist:

1. This mid-century modern cabinet was an experiment for me in a new painting technique - denim! While I was thrilled with the effect and end result, I thought it best to keep the staging relatively neutral. I didn't introduce any new colors or textures, but rather complimented the denim treatment with low-key, natural accents. 

2. This hollywood regency style dresser which Cate refinished was the perfect piece to glam up, and Cate totally ran with it! A piece with a lot of punch needs to be styled appropriately. Neutral accents would have been confusing with this high-style piece. The bold hues were on point and reflected Cate's style and intention for this piece exactly.

3. This herringbone dresser was well suited for my dining room accent wall. It's not always necessary to stage with a crisp white background, and I think neutral pieces allow for a bit of freedom with their surroundings.

4. This completely transformed cabinet that Cate did was a great example of adding a little architectural interest to an otherwise simply shaped piece. The mix of metallics and overlapping heights across the top surface all worked to boost the character and appeal of this beautiful piece. If you have open interior storage, show it off as she did here with the basket of blankets.

5. This mid-century modern china cabinet was a beautiful opportunity to show off the versatility of a piece. I staged it both as a traditional china cabinet, as well as a bookcase for a living room or study. China cabinets are hot commodities as they're being seen more and more outside of the formal dining room. They're showing up in bedrooms and hallways to store fresh linens, I've seen them converted to media cabinets with a TV stuck inside - there are so many more possibilities for these pieces now! Help potential buyers to see the versatility in a piece by staging it more than one way. 

As you can see, there's a huge variety to how we style, but there is consistency in that all pieces are brought to life. Don't be afraid to add some real life and energy to your staged pictures; seeing a piece in context just gives it that much more character.

It definitely takes effort and sometimes even help to stage these larger pieces, but remember, if you think your piece is worth $X, it's crucial to make it look worth $X with decent pictures. So much of selling refinished furniture happens online, so pictures are the first glimpse a potential buyer will see of your piece. Make them count!

I hope this information has been helpful for you! Are there any other topics regarding furniture refinishing that you'd like us to discuss? Any questions? We're here to help and encourage, so let us know!

Thank you all for stopping by!  Have a splendid weekend!