Quatrefoil Credenza ||A Collaboration with Modern South||

Today I have the privileged of debuting not only a fresh piece but also a fellow creative!  Posts like these are some of my favorites - when two creatives join forces to make something together.  I connected with Cory of Modern South via Instagram and jumped at the chance to work with her on a juicy collaboration.

Modern South Studio

Original Artwork by Cory McBee
Charleston, SC

Cory and I share a mutual love of color and abstract art.  When we were looking for an excuse to work together, I had the perfect piece in mind to show off her ethereal landscapes art.  I found this four door credenza without a leg to stand on and the sweet quatrefoil detailing was so endearing that I couldn't pass it up. 

Plus I was jonesing to do something in a buttery gray again.

The classic lines of this piece called for a feminine and glam look - something a little softer than I normally debut in the garage shop.  

The paint color I went with was Hailstorm Gray by Behr Marquee.  In person, it's almost blue, almost purple, almost green and therefore an all-around very mysterious neutral.

It actually did pain me a bit to paint the burled wood inserts on the doors but there were too many areas of damage that needed repair and I just couldn't picture a two-toned look.  I think because the two-tone is more indicative of a modern streamlined piece that wouldn't fit a piece like this with more decorative details.  

For her new gams, I found these metal 7" legs.  Their sleek lines help modernize the credenza so it can appeal to a wider variety of home decor styles. 

The piece's original floret-ed knobs complimented the quatrefoil design on the doors too perfectly to give up so I gave the legs our favorite faux-gold finish to match.

Inside is a cabinet on the left

and a set of drawers on the right.

Any one of her prints would have been the perfect compliment, but Cory's "Blue Fever" and "Dreaming in Orange" make such a lovely couple. 

Blue Fever by Cory McBee, Modern South Studio

Dreaming in Orange by Cory McBee, Modern South Studio

The navy and blush paired with the gray and gold of their piece reminds me of a quiet sunrise.  

I kept a relatively neutral color scheme with the rest of my decorative items: dried eucalyptus in a white ceramic vase, a couple stacks of books, white picture frames and touches of glass and gold.

Cory's prints are the precise soft/ feminine accents I was picturing when I finished this piece.  If you want a set of your own, you can shop Modern South Studio or email Cory for customize print sizes.  And if you're local to the DC Metro area, this gray quatrefoil beauty could also be yours.

Gray Quatrefoil Dresser
Now Available for Sale
72"L x 20"D x 30.5"H
$685

If you are interested in this piece or a custom order like it, email me at cate@stylemutthome.com.

Milo Baughman Dining Chairs

Hi guys! I'm back from the trenches of a two week long virus that wiped out my kids...slowly...and one by one. Talk about long days spent in my bedroom, (the selected 'quarantine room'), sitting with each sickie at a time! It was after the first week that I decided, out of boredom, to jump on Craigslist and browse the pickins in our vast DC metro area. That's when I spotted the chairs that would bring me back to the land of the living!

It was a set of 8 Milo Baughman cane back chairs with black leather seats. The wood was scuffed up on most of the chairs and one had a tear right in the middle of it's backrest. I strapped in my sickie du jour, puke bucket and all, and drove to pick them up beating the next person interested by 5 hours. What a rush!

But so worth it.

Is it obvious how inspired I was by Cate's formerly available mid-century chairs and currently available settee?! These chairs are like the love child of both of those flips. (Don't think too much into that haha!) Anyways, I decided to pull the best six of my set and reserve two to play around with and sell as a pair later. I revived the wood on the set of 6 with oil, cleaned up the leather, and now they're just so devilishly handsome they're breakin' my heart!

Each chair is stamped and tagged underneath as proof of their manufacturing. They are original Milo Baughman for Dillingham chairs and I've found them over and over online between $1,500 and $2,800. I honestly don't know if my hands have ever touched a piece so valuable! I didn't want to change their look, but rather revive them for glory days yet to come.

Milo Baughman Dining Chairs Set of 6
SOLD
Please contact me at chelsea@stylemutthome.com if interested in custom order like them!

Thank you all so much for coming by!

Emerald + Gold Chairs

How many times have we seen office chairs like these?  Forgettable vinyl steelcase seats with laminate wood arm rests.  I myself saw these on craigslist a few weeks ago and kept on scrolling.  

But somehow, on the back-most burner of my brain, an idea began to percolate.  I lazily kept my eye on the post while the idea brewed and just when a solid vision started forming... the craigslist post was gone.  

Whomp Whomp

Had someone else seen what I had seen in these chairs??  Would I ever be able to bring my now piping-hot vision to life??  My FOMO kicked in and I started hangrily looking for a suitable substitute only to turn up a whole lotta nada.  Then a miracle occurred.  A few weeks later, the post reappeared on Craigslist!  The chairs had not sold - the post had only expired!  My project had not been poached.  I could I finally try out my hopefully genius (albeit simple) refinishing strategy:

Go for the Gold

Green and gold that is.  It's no secret Chelsea and I love how emerald and brass play off each other (see here and here to name a few ;).  

When I first saw these chairs, my brain must have subconsciously flagged them as having all the right lines for a modern, glam pair of chairs.  Once it occurred to me that our favorite faux gold treatment would instantly elevate the look of these chairs, I had to get a piece of that action.  

I was too impatient to wait for a sunny spring day to paint the frame so I tried spray painting on a misty morning.  The result ended up being a "beautiful blooper" as my mother would call it.  The moisture in the air didn't let the paint settle evenly which added a unique dimension to the patina.  If you want to recreate this effect (no matter the weather), I suggest intermittently using a spray bottle filled with water while the paint is still wet.

The laminate arm rests were a dead giveaway that these chairs were waiting area seats in a past life so needless to say - they had to go.  I affixed some brass nail heads to hide the old holes left from the screws.  

I love how the shiny new finish on the chairs instantly have that emerald vinyl running in the same social circles as trendy high-end occasional chairs.  Such a simple trick to transform them from lackluster to luxe!

Emerald + Gold Chairs
Now Available for Sale
22"W x 23"D x 31.5"H
$350 for the pair

If you're interested in these chairs or a custom order like it, please email cate@stylemutthome.com.