Sponsored guest post!

This post is brought to you by Miele.

Vacuum cleaners may be one of the most complicated appliances and because of this, they are also the most difficult to fix. If you notice your vacuum cleaner is still working but leaving dirt behind, there is a chance you might need to clean it. Most of the time when someone's vacuum cleaner is not working properly, they go buy a new one and it never concern them with fixing the old one. Even the most popular brands of vacuum cleaners, such as Hoover, Oreck, Dyson, Eureka, Dirt Devil and others need occasional maintenance to continue working effectively.

Most vacuum cleaners come standard with a plastic plate protecting the belt, it is nice for ensuring the belts protection but a pain when repairing, and you will have to remove it. Now you should be able to clearly see the vacuum cleaners belt. Inspect the belt for any cuts, and check to make sure it is not stuck on any other parts of the vacuum cleaner. Finding a new belt should not be a problem, check locally for a sweeper repair shop in case you need more extensive work on your vacuum cleaner.

Because of regular use this brush may become clogged with all sorts of things you may have been sweeping up. Take a knife or sharp pair of scissors and cut out all of the tangled pieces of debris, but be careful not to damage the brush itself. If your vacuum cleaner still is not working properly, check to make sure none of its hoses are obstructed. If you notice its main suction line is clogged, try your best to fish it out with a pair of needle nose pliers or even an unwrapped clothes hanger. While you are checking the hoses, check to make sure the vacuums filter is clean as well. If all these techniques fail, you are probably going to have to have your vacuum cleaner professionally fixed.

But with vacuum cleaners from Miele you do not have these type of problems that keep running. 

A product review and a giveaway- Reflections On Canvas!

Last week, I received a gorgeous canvas from the wonderful people at Reflections On Canvas for a product review.

Reflections On Canvas offers hand embellished giclee on canvas from customers' original photographs. With a group of artists specializing in photography, digital graphic artistry and the traditional medium of paint on canvas, their talented team collaborated to transform your digital photo and preserve your special moment into a unique and original artwork.


Reflections On Canvas will make a perfect gift for yourself or others! Think about creating a canvas to cherish loved ones, heroes, family vacation, the home you grew up on or simply to memorialize the family pet. For gifts, think wedding gift, birthday present, retirement gift, anniversary gift, father's day gift, mother's day gift, the list is endless! 


I am sure all of us have many memories to cherish, preserve and reflect upon so Reflections On Canvas decided to offer all Mix And Chic readers a 20% off on all your purchases. Just enter promo code: CHICSUMMER20 at the "notes to artist" section when you place your order. Enjoy your 20% off discounts starting today through the end of August!


Are you interested to see which photo I picked for this review? One of our wedding pictures, of course! Check this out!


This is the photo I sent in.

What do you think? Don't you think they did a fabulous job on our wedding canvas? Let's take a closer look at their work.

The result is gorgeous and I love the vibrancy of the color enhancement.

Take a closer look at the beautiful brush strokes.

Hardware is included with the canvas for easy hanging.

Take a closer look at the hardware.

The canvas is stretched all the way to the sides so the canvas looks good in every angle.

Before the canvas get made, I had a hard time narrowing them down to our most favorite photo with the amount of wedding pictures we had. Mike, (the friendly representative from Reflections On Canvas who contacted me earlier) suggested that I send him a few of my favorite pictures so they can show me the digital proof proposals before we decided on our most favorite.

One of the digital proofs they sent me:

I sent them 3 of my favorite pictures on a late Friday night and received all three digital proofs the next day in the afternoon! Needless to say, I am absolutely impressed with their efficiency and great customer service!


I love their professionalism as well. They found a crack in the stretcher bar and wasn't happy with the end result of my first canvas, so they reprinted, restretched again and applied the finishing touches for my second canvas. I really appreciate it when businesses took the extra effort to make things right for their customers.


In short, I think the team at Reflections On Canvas delivered a beautiful and quality product with exceptional customer service. They answer all my questions promptly and the final result definitely exceeded my expectations. I can't wait to hang this gorgeous canvas in my master bedroom!


*I received this product to review for free but the views and opinions expressed are entirely my own.


Now, let's get to the best part. The fabulous giveaway! The generous people at Reflections On Canvas decided to offer one of Mix And Chic readers a $100 credit to be used on any of their canvases.

This giveaway is open to readers worldwide! Yay for international giveaway!

To enter:

Be a follower of Mix And Chic blog via Google Friend Connect, visit Reflections On Canvas and let me know exactly the size you are planning to get if you win, (please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions section). Don't worry, you can always change your mind later. (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. '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.)

 3.'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.)  

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

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

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

7. Bonus question 1: If you win, let me know the type of canvas you plan to create (family picture, wedding picture, vacation picture, etc). Would it be for yourself or a gift for someone?

8. Bonus question 2: Let me know what you love about Reflections On Canvas.

The last day for entries is July 18, 2012. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Thursday, July 19, 2012. Good luck, everyone!

A client's master bedroom project!

Recently, I have been busy working on a client's online decorating project. My client, Kathy has hired me to help her with two rooms, her master bedroom and living room. We started with her master bedroom first.

This is how her master bedroom looks like now.

As you can see, her bedroom has wonderful peaked ceilings and beautiful big windows that overlooks her backyard. Her bedroom is neutral, roomy and has a lot of potential.


In the questionnaire, Kathy wrote that she loves a little bit of vintage, handmade textiles and pieces that feel collected over time but nothing shabby chic. At the same time, she also likes the clean lines of contemporary furniture. She is drawn to blues, greens, reds and turquoise.


On the other hand, her husband, Robert loves sophisticated casual transitional style. His favorite colors are blues (in all shades), reds, grays and blacks. 


Overall, they wanted their master bedroom to feel warm, inviting, comfortable with some color, drama and pizzazz. They don't mind a little bit of bold color or a funky piece in their bedroom.


Kathy loves to read and has collected a lot of artwork. She hoped I can incorporate some of her art in her bedroom. All her bedroom furniture has to stay. Their favorite artwork that is currently above their bed has to stay as well.


They wanted a pair of new curtains, a pair of table lamps, a reading corner with a lamp and a nightstand for Kathy. They have an armchair and are planning to get it reupholstered. Since they do not have a proper bed, they hope to find a headboard or bed frame but they do not want anything upholstered.


After getting to know their style, their likes and dislikes, I came up with this mood board: 

I was sourcing for the headboard/ bed frame at first but during the first two days during our design collaboration, I saw this rug on One King's Lane and couldn't resist!

It is a very gorgeous rug and measures at 8' x 11'. It is a very good size rug and will work with her king size bed wonderfully. It couldn't be more perfect with the handmade textile look that Kathy loves and the color red that they both like. The price tag was $529 and I thought was a good deal considering it is made of 100% wool.

Kathy loves the rug as much as I do but she was a little concerned about the overall budget. Before the sales end, I sourced for all the must-have items to tally the grand total. I still went slightly over her original budget. Fortunately, Kathy bought the rug and it becomes the starting point of our whole design scheme.

For the wall color, I wanted something neutral and light to balance the bold color and patterns so I picked a light gray color for their bedroom.

However, they really liked the blue (above). They tried the blue paint color on their wall but Kathy didn't like it. I suggested a few blue gray paints, they tried it but still wasn't sure. Eventually, they picked a slightly darker gray similar to the one I suggested and they love it! I am happy that they eventually found a color they both love. 

Paint colors are always tricky because the same color might look vastly different in two different houses due to the amount of lighting received so it's always a good idea to try paint samples, just to be sure.

For her chair reupholstery fabric, I gave them a few options to choose from. We all decided on our favorite, the Duralee Kalah Blue fabric.

For window treatment, my first thought was red silk curtains. I found a great pair of red silk curtains at West Elm on sale but when Kathy decided to order it the next day, it was out of stock. Bummer!

After checking out other curtain options, Kathy decided to make them herself and go to a different direction. We decided to use white curtains and add this gorgeous red greek key trim for extra pizzazz.

It wasn't easy trying to find inexpensive red and white greek key trims online but I eventually found them on Etsy. I think the white curtains with the greek key pattern will be very chic, classic and sophisticated, something that Robert will love.

Although I have selected many of the key pieces for their bedroom, there are still a few small areas that required a bit of styling. I tried to stay on the original budget as much as I can so I incorporated a lot of things they already owned like artwork and books for the finishing touches. Using a mix of different artwork and books in a room will instantly create a cozy, collected, lived-in feel, something that Kathy is looking for.

Here is what I came up with to style her bedroom.

Besides artwork, Kathy also has a Greek figurine and a vase so I group them together with her Greek isle canvases to create a meaningful vignette. Kathy was born in Greece and I really wanted to give her something that is close to her heart. Unsurprisingly, she loves the vignette.

During the design process, we agreed on a headboard but finally went for a bed frame. I gave them a list of great options and they picked their favorite. However, they found a wonderful King size bed locally that they both love. It was on clearance for just $529 so I encouraged them to go for it. Here is the new bed that they picked:

Since their bedroom ceiling is quite high, I really wanted something above their bed to draw the eyes up. With all the hard lines of their dark furniture, I wanted something round or something with curves to soften them so I suggested a round mirror. Kathy wasn't sure about the mirror idea at first. She wanted her favorite artwork to stay above her bed.

As a designer, I wanted my client to be happy with their space. However, if Kathy really likes her artwork to stay above the bed, I am going to make it work. Still undecided, I came up with a side by side comparison moodboard, one with her artwork and one with a round mirror above her bed for her to consider.

After she looked at the moodboard comparison, she decided to go with the mirror option. As a plus, Robert also loved the mirror too.

I think the mirror looks gorgeous. It is also visually light and will add a lot of drama and style in the bedroom.

The last moodboard I did is the vignette for the dresser.

I am glad that both Kathy and Robert like my designs. We hit a few design bumps along the way but I certainly had a lot fun putting this master bedroom design together. Kathy is a great client to work with and she is quick with her responses. Clients who give prompt feedback are a blessing because we can made design decisions fast and move forward in a timely manner. I also appreciate she took the time to send me lots of inspirational images and let me know exactly what they like and didn't like. And that truly helped me get a sense of both their style easily.

I am looking forward to see the result of Kathy and Robert's master bedroom makeover. I am sure you are excited to see the final outcome of our design collaboration as well. I will share any updates and progress on their bedroom whenever possible so follow along and check back regularly!

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

The One Room Challenge- Week 2!

I can't believe how time flies! It's the second week of The One Room Challenge already. You can read about the first week of The One Room Challenge here. 

I am getting more and more nervous now because the hardwood floor installation is not completed yet. It's only 80% done now. If it's not done by next weekend, we can't proceed with these steps and we will have no reveal. Just thinking about the worst makes me shivers! You can read all about our hardwood floor drama here.

Anyway, let's not dwell into the crazy hardwood floor drama anymore and move on to the pretties, shall we? For the makeover of our master bedroom, I already have a furniture layout plan in my head but don't really have a specific color palette in my mind until I stumbled upon this..........

Honestly, I am not a fan of blue before I saw this pillow. I just never find the color blue to be appealing for some reason. (I am weird, I know, don't judge.) But when I saw this pillow at Target for the first time, my heart skipped a little. Because I am not sure if it's a momentarily excitement, I didn't buy this pillow on the spot.


But after a few more trips to Target later, my heart still yearned for the same striped navy pillow. Before I bought them, I needed to know where I will be putting them first. My first thought was the master bedroom. I really liked the idea of injecting some blue in my bedroom since all the other areas in my home is blue-free (I wasn't a blue fan before I saw this pillow, remember?) so I thought it will be a refreshing change. So, yes, the above pillow is the starting point and inspiration for my whole bedroom design!


After getting the pillows, I found this on West Elm.

With my new obsession with all things navy and all things whimsy, I was attracted to this pillow right away. However, like most pillows from West Elm, they are not always cheap. I was not ready to fork out $34 just for the pillow cover and then pay an additional $16 for an insert. So I waited for a sale and fortunately, they had one! I was so thrilled and bought one online!

And one day while doing my regular window shopping at Crate & Barrel, I saw the above mirror. It looked fabulous and as a plus, it was on sale, it was really affordable so I bought two. I thought they would  really compliment my new pillows.

Before I know it, my bedroom was heading to a nautical direction. I didn't plan on it but it just happened. I always love the easy breezy feel of a beach home but I have never thought of doing any kind of "beach-inspired decorating" fearing it might look too "theme-ish". 

But since I am already headed to this direction, I am planning to add other elements into the bedroom so the overall design doesn't look too expected or contrived.

Anyway, I have bought a few expensive items at West Elm prior so I have earned my first $50 design dollars. With the design dollars, I bought the two items above among other things I picked up that day.


And speaking of West Elm, the curtains I bought from them earlier wasn't the color I wanted so I went hunting for new ones again. After hunting for days, I found the perfect one. 

It had the color I wanted and it absolutely fit right into my husband's budget for just $20 per panel. I was about to get other more expensive panels before I found this on clearance! He asked me to order right away before they are gone forever. I ordered them last weekend and they should arrive sometime this week or next week. It's 96" long so I will need to make some adjustments considering I have a 92" tall ceiling on my master bedroom.

I also ordered these gorgeous white cotton canopy bed curtain panels for my four poster bed yesterday. I hope the length is right.

I already had cream colored canopy bed curtains earlier but I am ready to switch to white ones this time with my new all- white bedding. I am so excited I can't wait to decorate this room in the coming weeks!

So, what do you think? Do you like the direction I am heading to? I have a few more accessories I bought during sales last year but you will have to wait till the final reveal on week 6 to see how I bring everything together!

I hope you enjoyed seeing today's sneak peek of all the pieces I plan to incorporate in the coming weeks! 

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

Beth - Chinoiserie Chic

Lauren - The Cottage Mix

Sherry - Design Indulgence

Lindsay - Everything LEB

Barbara - Hodge:Podge

Kim - Kim Macumber Interiors

Lisa - Lisa Mende Design

Tiffany - Living Savvy

Jessie - Mix And Chic

Linda - My Crafty Home Life 

Alison - My Little Happy Place

Danylle - Nana Moon

Nicole - Nicole Scott Designs

Julia - Pawleys Island Posh

Jennifer - The Pink Pagoda

Bethany - Powell Brower Home

Lindsay - The Pursuit of Style

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! 

Happy 4th of July to all my American readers! I know many of you will be out there picnicking, back yard barbecuing or watching the fireworks later today but my husband will be spending his entire day at home installing the remaining hardwood floors. (Poor guy!) 

Have a great day, you all! 

A client's living room and dining room project!

I just wrapped up another client's project recently. Remember the online room design giveaway I did during April? I had two winners and one of them is Lilli from Blushing Cheeks. 


She asked me if I would consider her living and dining space as one area or if I am going to focus solely on her living room for the design collaboration. I told her that I would normally consider that to be two separate rooms for paying clients but because it is a giveaway for my readers, I volunteered to help her with both spaces.


Lilli's living and dining room area are quite neutral. In her questionnaire, she told me she couldn't paint the walls because it is a rental unit. She is also tired of the country and vintage look. She loves shabby chic but she is bored with the cream. When both rooms are completed, she wants them to feel casual yet elegant, current and with a modern glam vibe.


Here is how her current living room and dining room look like: 

She likes greens, pinks, whites, creams, silvers, corals, yellows, turquoises and light blues. Everything can stay or go except for the furniture and crystal barware.

Here are the moodboards I created for her.

The living room. (first draft)

From the pictures of her living room and dining room she sent me, I thought her furniture layout for tv watching is slightly inconvenient so I suggested that she switched both rooms. Her entertainment unit will be relocated along the wall where the door is and her sofa will be placed directly opposite her entertainment unit.

Since she got tired with all the cream but still wanted to keep all her furniture, I suggested that she paints them in turquoise, her favorite color, then distress them to achieve the shabby chic look she is after. She is a fan of chevron rugs so I picked a stylish gray and white zig zag rug for both her rooms.

I selected a silver sequined pillow for her sofa and an inexpensive starburst mirror above the fireplace mantel to give her that little bit of glam she is looking for. Since painting the wall is not an option, I try to incorporate more colors in the accessories to break up all the neutrals. I picked a fresh color palette that also comprises all her favorite colors to keep the rooms looking modern and updated.

The dining room. (first draft)

After switching both rooms, the dining room will now have a fireplace. I suggested that she uses a beautiful green geometric pattern fabric as the table cloth to introduce more colors in her dining area.

I also sent her a few fabric options for the dining chair seat because she intended to reupholster her dining room chairs for a fresh new look. She loves pink and animal stripe motifs so in the end, that is what she picked.

In her inspirational pictures, she showed me a lot of colorful rooms with high end crystal chandeliers so I knew I needed to get her a crystal chandelier for the wow factor. After browsing online for a while, I found a website with many inexpensive real crystal chandeliers. I gave her a long list of my favorites and in the end, she picked this.

Isn't this chandelier gorgeous? It is elegant, glamorous and surprisingly budget-friendly which costs less than $200.

Console table vignette in the dining room . (first draft)

After switching both rooms, her new dining area will be quite bare so I suggested that she relocates her console table to the wall where she puts her sofa now to create a new vignette. That way, she can still display her barware on the console table and at the same time, add some visual interest on the blank wall without spending a lot.

I sent her the moodboards after they are completed and I was thrilled when she told me she loved it. She also showed her friends the moodboards. All her female friends love it except her husband. Apparently, he is not a fan of feminine colors and bold patterns. So, I asked her to get her husband's input and suggested that he picked a few inspiration pictures for me. In order to make any necessary changes, I needed to know what he likes.

In the inspirational pictures that he sent me, the images has bright and cheery colors with minimal patterns and a little bit of gray. I made a few changes to my original moodboards but still kept some of the elements that Lilli was after.

Here are my revised moodboards:

The living room. (final draft)

The second time around, she told me she wanted to repaint all her furniture in white and ditch the shabby chic look so I picked all white furniture in my moodboard to show her how everything would work with all the new changes.

The dining room. (final draft)

She said she wanted to repaint the table so we took the table cloth idea off the moodboard. I picked a nice yellow geometric fabric for the dining chairs to replace the pink striped fabric.

What do you think of both moodboards? Which versions do you prefer? The first version or the revised version?

Personally, I like the first version more because you know me, I am a big fan of colors and patterns. I also love the pillow combinations as well.

During this design collaboration, I have discovered a new color scheme that I loved! The hot pink, bright turquoise and green color combo is youthful, fun and fresh at the same time and I hope to incorporate this color palette when I get a chance in the future.

I am looking forward to see Lilli's living and dining room makeover. I am sure you are excited to see the final outcome of our design collaboration as well. I promise to share any updates and progress on Lilli's home as soon as I can so stay tuned and check back regularly!

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