Reader Design: Erin's Fresh Family Home

I'm so excited today to be featuring Erin, who has a stunning family home in Raleigh, NC. Now, I remember when Erin's home popped up on Instagram a couple of months ago. At the time, I remember thinking to myself "wow - I've uncovered a seriously hidden talent. We have to share this!" Of course now, Erin's home has captured the hearts and eyes of many - and for good reason!

Erin's home is many things - bright, happy, homey, welcoming... and the perfect representation of "style mutt-hood." I'm coining that phrase now. 

“I love all different types of styles, but I’m most drawn to classic mid-century modern pieces, clean and simple lines, and I love the Scandinavian aesthetic as well. I live in a more traditional home, so it has been a bit of a challenge mixing all the styles together to work in the house. I’m still working and revising (always), but overall, I just love what I love.”

What Erin loves feels new while still feeling totally nostalgic. And I don't mean new as in "just purchased" or "this month's West Elm 'it piece.'" I mean it feels new - interesting, different, nuanced in a way we haven't seen, but still familiar. Am I making sense? Stay with me...

I can only guess that it is because of where Erin draws her inspiration. It's not Pinterest boards - though I will never detract from the inspiration a curated Pinterest board can bring.

It's her own inner compass. 

“I think I found my style in my 20’s (vintage dresses galore), which more or less found its way into my home. Over the years, my style has evolved into more of casual look as I have two kids and work from home. I still love to dress up (if only some of those dresses still fit!) and have vintage in my home, but I like to mix it with newer pieces. I want my home to certainly have character and soul, but also I don’t want to be living in a time capsule. ”

In her office, those vintage elements are clear.

“I love my vintage teal chairs in my office. They were a total impulse purchase many years ago in our old home and I still love them to this day. ”

And why fix what ain't broke, right? Erin, please keep on doin' you and stockpiling that stunning art, finding those perfect vintage rugs, and buying all the vintage furniture - chairs in particular. 

What a home! Thank you for letting us in, Erin. It's a delight. Follow Erin along on Instagram for more and stay tuned for her soon-to-arrive site!

Until we meet again (next week, don't worry!),

Petite Parquet Cabinet Converted

Hi friends! Back in today with another flip of a recently thrifted find! No yarn involved today. ;) When I saw this parquet and bamboo cabinet I was so excited to get my hands on it; the piece was in amazing condition, just needed a little TLC!

It looked a little sad sitting so low on the floor like that! So I took a cue from the beautiful parquet surface of this piece and ordered a set of hairpin legs. What I adore so much about hairpin legs is the balance between masculine and feminine - they're strong, sturdy, wrought iron legs but the lines look so graceful!

The one factor that hung me up on this flip for a solid week was what height to order the legs. Ultimately I came to two options; use the piece for its top surface and keep it at buffet height, or lift it even higher for easy access to it's cool interior storage. Since all signs pointed to this piece being a vintage piece, (albeit in fantastic shape), I wasn't sure how truly functional the top surface would be since the parquet creates a not totally smooth surface and I don't know how easy it is to clean. I concluded this piece would be best used as a storage piece so I found legs that would give it the height to make those cabinet pulls convenient to open without bending over. Once the piece was finished I immediately pictured it as a small space liquer cabinet/bar. The height and size would be perfect in a small dining room where square footage is precious, and you could even stash a stool or storage basket underneath!

I love the bamboo trim! Such a beautiful detail that just adds something special to this already unique piece.

Parquet and Bamboo Cabinet
$265
Contact chelsea@stylemutthome.com if interested in this piece or a custom order like it!

A Chair to Keep and a Chair for Sale

Hi Friends! Jumping on to share a couple chair flips I had the opportunity to finish uplast week - the first being the beautiful mid-century chair from this post! I let my emotions get the best of me and ended up just recovering it in the end. I was really smitten with this piece and as Matt and I are in the middle of re-designing our living room to include a much larger work space, I wanted to hold onto this chair to use at the new desk area.

I used fabric from a large sofa pillow my sweet friend Shelly and her daughter Katie made a couple years ago. We no longer use the pillow on that sofa but the gray chambray fabric was still in great shape and a pretty compliment to the warm wood of the chair.

The centered inside-out seam was just a fun off-beat detail that doesn't take away from the classic look of the chair, you know, just for fun.

When I came across this next chair for less than $5 at the thrift store I scooped it up just to play around with. On a whim, I snagged a ball of yarn on sale at Michaels and this beautiful blue and white 'marbled' pattern fabric. Then the fun began!

After unscrewing the backrest from the chair, I used every inch of the yarn to wrap around the two wooden braces to create a new textured backrest - and it's SO comfortable!

A blue and white combo is classic but this pattern feels fresh and fun - I love finding ways to marry the two! There's always an opportunity to maintain the integrity of a piece while tweaking it just enough to make it modern. Finding that balance is my goal with just about every piece!

Wooden Accent Chair
$45
Contact me at chelsea@stylemutthome.com if interested in this cutie or a custom order like it!
(Imagine this beautiful backrest around an entire dining table!)
 

Thank you so much for stopping by today!