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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The One Room Challenge- Week 1!



I was so excited when Linda from My Crafty Home Life invited me to participate in The One Room Challenge. Now you might be wondering, what is The One Room Challenge all about?

The One Room Challenge involves 20 participants from DIY bloggers to designer bloggers who will have just 6 weeks to makeover a room. For six weeks, we will all be posting progress or updates on our rooms every Wednesday.

Click here to view all six weeks of The One Room Challenge!


Honestly, none of the rooms in our house is decorated at all except for our living room which is about 80% completed. I immediately knew that I wanted to tackle our master bedroom. Currently, we are still sleeping in the guest bedroom and it has been very inconvenient with no attached master bath and a working closet.  

We already started our master bedroom project last year. I remembered painting our master bedroom during the Mother's Day weekend because I remembered casually saying this to my husband, "Oh, and that's how we celebrate Mother's Day, right? By painting our room?"

Anyway, a little background about our home. We bought an older home about 2 years ago and there were a lot of things to fix in the house so decorating took a backseat. I don't want to bore you with the details and I am sure those of your with older homes can relate, yes? 

Our master bedroom is a nice size room with a small, attached bathroom. Looking at the room, we knew that one of the previous owners must have knocked down a wall and joined the two rooms together to convert it into a master suite. The tell tale sign is the obvious support beam in the middle of the room.

I would love to show you the before picture of our master bedroom but unfortunately, we don't have any. To give you an idea, the room was painted in a salmon color with a bright red focal wall. It doesn't work for us at all.

Like all areas of our home, we will be doing it on a small budget. We will be keeping our set of bedroom furniture in a dark cherry finish that we already had for six years. To freshen up the room, I am planning to add some new accessories and new bedding.

Here is a snippet of our master bedroom.


Do you noticed the missing baseboards and the unfinished wood floor installation?

We have already painted the room in a light gray color last year while my husband is currently working on the hard wood floors. I think we must have shopped for wood floors for at least six weeks before we decided on this one. It took us a while to reach a compromise, to make a long story short. You know how that goes..... I wanted to get something nice that's more expensive but he wanted to get something on a budget.   

Speaking of wood floors, my husband has been working so hard on the installation since early February this year during every weekends but up until now, it's still not completed yet. We realized we have been moving at a snail's pace. 

And the reason why? He chose to install the wood floors using the more time-consuming nail-down method instead of the more popular staple-down method. And unfortunately one day, while using the mallet, he accidentally smashed his own finger. He bled quite profusely. Fortunately, his injury was not serious with no broken bones or anything. With an injured finger, he took a break. Then, a few months later, he got sick and took another break. 

Did I mention what my husband do in between installing the wood floors and taking breaks?


He sorted the wood planks. According to him, he needed to find planks that are not slanted so the wood floors will be all lined up perfectly. He even used the spirit level and made remarks on each planks to determine which plank is good or bad. I don't realize my husband is such a perfectionist until now. And I thought I am the only one all along! You always learn something new about your spouse, yes?


So now you understand why our wood floor installation took that long to complete and besides, it's the size of two medium rooms. The hardwood floors is almost 75% completed now and we still have another 25% more to go! 

The pressure is on because the makeover of our master bedroom will depend greatly on the completion of the wood floor installation! Let's hope my husband can get the floors done by week 2 or at least by week 3 so we can have a reveal by week 6! Keeping my fingers crossed!

My plans for the coming weeks will include:

1. Finishing the hardwood floor installation.

2. Reattaching the baseboards to the drywall.

3. Touching up the paint color.

4. Sewing/ buying the curtain panels.

5. Hanging the curtains.

6. Assembling our four poster bed and rearranging the furniture.

7. Buying accessories for the room.

I have more plans in my mind for our master bedroom but if we managed to complete everything on this list in just six weeks, I will be thrilled.

For the window treatment in our room, I am thinking about getting my own fabrics and sewing them by hand (I do not know how to use the sewing machine) or getting ready-made curtains. I will need a total of 8 panels.

In the end, I bought these West Elm curtains when I saw them on sale thinking these might save me a bit of time. I know that I will still need to take a few inches off the curtains because they are 124" long and my bedroom's ceiling height is just 92". 




Anyway, after I received them, I was more disappointed than excited because the color is all wrong. I wanted a dark gray color. What color does it look like to you? It looks like gray, right? In reality, it is more of a medium taupe, like this. It's a nice color but it's not the look I am going for!




I am so bummed because I know I couldn't send it back since it's on sale. So, if you are interested in a few panels of brand new 124" long, unlined thick cotton taupe curtains in great quality, please let me know. I am selling these for just $35 per panel plus shipping. These originally retail for $50 or more per panel. Couldn't remember the exact price. Please email me at mixandchic(at)yahoo(dot)com if you have any questions. Anyone who is interested to get all 8 panels or willing to do a local pick-up will have first priority. 


Now, I am not sure if I want to look online for ready made curtains or make them myself. Decisions, decisions. Follow me and my crazy decorating journey and you will find out soon! I hope I didn't bore you with the lengthy introduction of my bedroom just now. :)


Next week, I will show you the first item that inspired the color scheme of our bedroom. 


The following are the 20 participants from The One Room Challenge.

Lauren - The Cottage Mix
Lindsay - Everything LEB
Barbara - Hodge:Podge
Tiffany - Living Savvy
Jessie - Mix And Chic
Danylle - Nana Moon
Jennifer - The Pink Pagoda
Bethany - Powell Brower Home
Emily - Rue de Emily
Lindsay - Sadie + Stella
Lisa - Trapped In North Jersey



I hope you will be following me and the rest of these talented ladies as we transform our spaces!

Monday, June 18, 2012

Giveaway- Win a £25 pounds gift certificate provided by Finishing Touch Interiors: The Boutique!



One of my wonderful sponsors, Finishing Touch Interiors: The Boutique is offering one of you lucky readers a £25 pounds gift certificate to be used towards any of the items from her lovely boutique!






Finishing Touch Interiors: The Boutique offers an array of charming and affordable range of homeware products. In this boutique, you will find shabby chic and vintage inspired goodies for the home from kids cooking sets, beautiful hand stitched kitchenware, linen cushions, bath accessories and more! 

Recently, Finishing Touch Interiors: The Boutique introduced a new gardening category with plenty of items for the kids from gardening tool boxes, gloves, watering cans to tomato growing pots and sunflower seeds to flower pot painting set among other kids' items. You really have to check out these fun items out especially if your child loves gardening!

Additionally, the boutique also includes an exciting new line of gorgeous hand printed designs from Anna Bird Textiles. Included in the line are beautiful printed cushions, tea towelsaprons and more! 

Currently, Finishing Touch Interiors: Boutique is offering a special discount to all Mix And Chic readers. Simply mention mix10 during checkout to enjoy a 10% savings. Hurry, this special discount will end until the end of July! 

Most of the products you see above are below £25 pounds so you have a lot of  great options to pick from! 

This giveaway is open to readers worldwide, yay for 
international giveaways!

To enter: 

1. Be a follower of Mix And Chic blog via Google Friend Connect. Visit Finishing Touch Interiors: The Boutique and let me know the name of your favorite item (basic required entry). Leave a comment.


For additional entries (an extra entry for each of the following):

2. 'Like' Mix And Chic on Facebook and leave a separate comment. (If you are already following, please leave a separate comment to let me know as well.)

3. 'Like' Finishing Touch Interiors on Facebook and leave a separate comment. (Hint, hint: Sarah, the boutique owner is always sponsoring a giveaway, so be sure to 'like' her page)

4. 'Follow' Mix And Chic on Twitter and leave a separate comment. (If you are already following, please leave a separate comment to let me know as well.)

5 'Follow' Finishing Touch Interiors on Twitter and leave a separate comment.

6. 'Follow' Mix And Chic on Pinterest and leave a separate comment. (If you are already following, please leave a separate comment to let me know as well.)  

7. Mention this giveaway on your Facebook status (include a link back to this post) and leave a separate comment.

8. Tweet about this giveaway (include a link back to this post) and leave a separate comment.

9. Blog about this giveaway (include a link back to this post) and leave a separate comment.


There is a total of 9 chances to win for everyone! So hurry, don't miss this fabulous opportunity!

The last day for entries is June 27, 2012. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Thursday, March 28, 2012. Good luck!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Guest feature at Jennifer Cederstam's blog!

I am honored to be a guest feature at Jennifer's lovely blog, Jennifer Cederstam today. She is a new blogger from the Philippines. In her lovely blog, you will find inspiring interiors, DIY projects, Feng Shui decorating and other helpful information regarding interior decorating. Do check out her blog when you get a chance!




Currently, Jennifer has started a wonderful new category in her blog called, "Interviews" where she will invite practicing interior decorators online to share their insights, design and decorating tips/ advice. I am so glad to be the first one to answer her Q & As. In the interview, I shared about what inspires me, decorating for small spaces, styling challenges and tips for decorating on a budget.


Don't forget to check out this link to find out more! See you there. Thanks Jennifer for having me over!

And the winner of the giveaway is ..........

It's time to announce the winner of the recent giveaway brought to you by Pillows By Dezign.


I used random.org to draw a winner and here it is. The lucky winner of the $65 Pillows By Dezign gift certificate is


the lovely Brooke from Inside-Out Design.


Congratulations, Brooke! I will send you an email shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered. There will be more fabulous giveaways in the near future. So, stop by from time to time. Have a beautiful day, my lovelies!
  

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

A client's living room project revealed!

I am so excited to share my first design project reveal with you! This design project means a lot to me because it's the first design I did for others and it's also the first design reveal I have received so far.

Do you remember the online room design giveaway I did during the Christmas holiday last year? One of the winners, the lovely Tara from The Silver Lining wanted me to help her with the living room. 

She loves neutrals but she wanted me to incorporate some patterns and colors into the new design. Her goal is for her living room to look casual, feel cozy and look pulled together. Style wise, she loves a mix of traditional, shabby chic and transitional. Her only requirement is that her sofa, console table, ottoman, curtains and her new paint color had to stay while the rest can go or moved to another room. She doesn't have a specific budget but wishes to spend as little as possible because she will be moving soon. 

You may read about our design collaboration here and her makeover progress here. She ran into a few hiccups during the implementation process but she tackled each and every obstacle like a champ.

Here is the result of her living room now:  











I think Tara did a wonderful job implementing the overall design, don't you think? We exchanged like hundreds of emails during our collaboration process but after I sent her the final moodboards, we had minimal exchange of emails. 

I encouraged her to send me an email if she is unsure about anything during the implementation process but the only "real" email she sent me was to ask if the lamp shade was too big for the lamp base. LOL. After our design collaboration ended, most of the emails were sent by me, usually notifying her about a great sale or a list of "perfect" items I found for her space. :) I swear Tara was mostly on her own during the design implementation, so major kudos to her for the fantastic design outcome!

The before and after at a glance:

Before

After

Before

After

The final version of all the moodboards at a glance:

The entertainment wall.

The pillow arrangement.

The console table vignette.

According to Tara, her living room is not 100% complete so she is looking at some Hinkley lighting to finish off the room but it already looks like a completed room to me. You can read more about her plans for her living room here. What are your thoughts? Do you like Tara's interpretation of our design collaboration? 

If you need help decorating your home, please click here for further information regarding my design services. 

Monday, June 4, 2012

Giveaway- A $65 Pillows By Dezign gift certificate!

One of my wonderful sponsors, Pillows By Dezign is offering one of you lucky readers a $65 gift certificate to be used on any of their designer pillows on their website!



Pillows By Dezign offers designer decorative throw pillowslumbar pillowsbed pillows,outdoor pillowsexclusive pillows (customized by designers) at an affordable price starting at just $36 with inserts included with an option of down/ feather blend form or polyester. All pillows are categorized by color.

The best part of all? If you couldn't find the perfect pillow for your home, you can always create your own custom pillow using a wonderful range of designer fabrics from popular brands such as Schumacher FabricsRobert Allen FabricsDuralee FabricsKravets FabricsOsborne & LittleRalph Lauren Home and more! 

If you are a designer and wishes to have affordable designer pillows for your clients, you are in luck because Pillows By Dezign recently offers a program available To The Trade Only. By signing up, you get to enjoy wholesale pricing!

If you are like me, you would love to get your hands on pretty designer pillows at a fraction of the price. I mean, who doesn't? No wonder celebrity designer, Nate Berkus also used them for two of his shows.

Anyway, back to the fantastic giveaway! 

This giveaway is open to all residents of the United States and Canada.

To enter:

Step 1: Be a follower of Mix And Chic blog via Google Friend Connect.

Step 2:  Go to Pillows By Dezign's Facebook page  and mention that you come from Mix And Chic blog.

Step 3: Please visit Pillows By Dezign's website and let me know your favorite pillow.

P/S: Simply follow Step 1 through Step 3 to be eligible for this giveaway. Leave a comment when you have done all the 3 steps above. One basic entry.

For additional entries: (an extra entry for each of the following)

1. 'Like' Mix And Chic on Facebook and leave a separate comment. (if you are already following, please leave a 
separate comment to let me know as well)

2. 'Like' Pillows By Dezign on Facebook and leave a separate comment.

3. 'Follow' Mix And Chic on Twitter and leave a separate comment. (if you are already following, please leave a separate comment to let me know as well)

4. 'Follow' Pillows By Dezign on Twitter and leave a separate comment.

5. 'Follow' me on Pinterest and leave a separate comment. (if you are already following, please leave a separate comment to let me know as well)

6. Mention this giveaway on your Facebook status (include a link back to this post) and leave a separate comment.

7. Tweet about this giveaway (include a link back to this post) and leave a separate comment.

8. Blog about this giveaway (include a link back to this post) and leave a separate comment.

The last day for entries is on Wednesday, June 13, 2012. The winner will be chosen via random.org and announced on Thursday, June 14, 2012. Good luck!