Hi All! With each year that I've been refinishing furniture, I learn something big. Early on, it was basic refinishing techniques. Then I started to discover my own style, and began applying technique to a particular look. This past year what I learned had less to do with the process of refinishing a piece of furniture, and more to do with the community of those sharing the same passion.

Cate and I are still in the process of building StyleMutt and are in no rush to achieve every last one of our hopes and dreams for this small business. It's a brick-by-brick process and we are OK with that. But, the first thing we wanted to accomplish together was defining what StyleMutt would be. We desire for StyleMutt to be a helpful resource to its readers; a welcoming place to find inspiration, tips & tricks, and enjoy being a part of a community with similar interest.

With the furniture refinishing boom growing more popular each year, we see even greater importance in pulling together to share helpful information. Rather than simply share the 'Before + After' photos of newly refinished pieces, we'd like to share new tips and techniques that we're learning as well. There is a lot of information for how to refinish furniture floating around the web, but we'd like to extend our focus to include how to refinish, market and sell your furniture, if that is what you desire to do. With so many talented creatives refinishing and selling furniture, it can be difficult to make your work stand out and move your inventory at a comfortable pace. We have by no means perfected how to market and sell our pieces, but together we have sold around 225 pieces over our combined 7 years of experience, and have learned a few significant things that we feel help our pieces move.

To begin, we'll be using a few posts to discuss staging, starting today!

One of the most important things you can do for a piece you've put time and work into is show. it. off. Bring it inside wherever you feel you have the best lighting, and create a beautiful scene around it. Careful not to let the piece get 'lost', but don't be afraid to add a lamp, a stack of books, a vase of pretty flowers - simple items that help show your piece in context. I specifically like to show versatility with pieces I refinish. A dresser can serve as an entryway catchall, or a dining room buffet. A console table can function as a desk. Try staging your piece a couple different ways to show potential buyers that your piece would be a multi-purpose investment for their home.

Here is an example of a piece hot out of the garage and currently available for sale, that I staged two very different ways:

This mid-century modern china cabinet could serve as a library in a study or living room, or as a traditional dining room storage piece. Help potential buyers to see value in versatility. Don't you? I know for me personally, I'd rather put my money into something that I could move around and use differently someday, rather than something that's going to be a one-trick pony forever. Take photos in both settings and share both when you post your piece to sell!

Here is the mid-century cabinet in my living room:

And in the dining room:

And don't forget the close-ups so folks can see the details that give your piece additional character!

It's can be difficult to imagine how a piece of furniture might look in your home or where you'd place it, especially if you're only looking at pictures of a piece in someone's garage or sitting on their driveway. Make it easy for people looking at pictures of your piece to really see its potential. Proper staging and a dash of versatility, (when possible), go a long way. It takes effort, yes, but if you feel your piece is worth $X, take the time to make it LOOK worth $X! If it doesn't look fantastic in your pictures, it will be hard to convince people to take the time to see it in person. Just my two cents. :)

Two-Tone Mid-Century China Cabinet
SOLD
Please contact chelsea@stylemutthome.com if interested in a something similar!

Thank you all so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!

Hi friends! I hope you all had a wonderful start to your week. Ours has been a little rough around the edges - the Fall-back time change kicked our rears last year and it's doing the same thing this year. Our kids are waking up super duper early, getting less sleep, and are certifiable savages during the day. I'm digging deep to remain patient and calm and trusting the Lord that this chaos will not leave long lasting implications on our collective blood pressure....(kidding, partly).

Thankfully, I was able to squeeze in a really fun refinished piece last week before we all went off our rocker on Sunday! Like this set that I shared recently, I didn't have a really defined idea of what I'd do with this piece at first glance.

The interesting double-folding cabinets, tapered brass legs, interior storage, and overall quality of the piece were enough to seal the deal, and I stuffed it into our van with the three little ones in toe, (or is it tow?). After painting it white it just looked so bland, like a big white box. There are absolutely times when a can of white paint feels right, but this wasn't one of them. So, off I went to Home Depot to fill my inspiration tank, (as Cate calls it)!

And I found exactly what I needed!

Leave it to good ol' Ralph Lauren to create a brush just for applying a denim treatment. I mean, I know brushes like this existed before, but c'mon; Ralph Lauren is the king of denim. With this handy brush and the perfect shade of blue jean blue, (America's Cup Navy, by Glidden), I was equipped to turn this cabinet into something special.

Let's zoom in a bit.

I would suggest practicing the application on scrap wood before applying to your piece. I had a scrap of plywood which helped me get comfortable with this technique. I should have taken a picture of that! Let's just say the practice was VERY helpful. :) My biggest advice, (aside from practicing first), is not to load the brush with too much paint. You'll end up with really thick, dark smudges of paint, when really you want it to look kind of bled on and thin. Does that make sense? Just practice first, you'll see what I'm saying.

I'm completely smitten with this marriage of paint and my favorite fashion staple! I'm finding that fashion has more of an influence over the way I refinish furniture than I thought. This leather-pull piece combined two other loves; creamy off-white and leather!

Thanks to Facebook and Instagram, I was able to get some input when trying to decide on the hardware for this piece. I had two options: Brass handles recycled from an old piece, or these original pulls which I refinished in the same denim treatment. 23 votes came in - 20 for the brass and 3 for the originals. What a pickle! Both were stunning choices. In the end it came down to one tiny detail: the brass handles were not a perfect match to the brass legs. The handles were a much lighter shade and the difference between the two wasn't looking exactly right. And the point of this piece was to try a new technique and let that take center stage. The full length original handles won this round and are perfect for debuting this particular piece. The best part about making difficult hardware decisions? It can always be switched out. :)

There's still plenty of dazzling brass on this cabinet, though, and I think it's striking the balance between casual and elegant just beautifully. Like dressing up your best pair of jeans with heels and jewelry, (or saddle shoes and a leather elbow patched blazer if you're a guy - yea I like men's fashion).

Hello, Organization! Seriously, these drawers could be life changing for someone out there. And the double-folding cabinet doors don't hurt either.

After seeing Cate's latest piece, (already sold), we all discovered how awesome these kinds of drawers are when left unhidden! Removing the right cabinet door could instantly transform the piece, (again!), adding even more versatility to it's resume.

A quick interruption to share one of my favorite tablescape accents: Branches! Can you believe I pulled these branches from our back yard over a year ago? It's a miracle they didn't set on blazing fire above the candle flames...