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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Mood board- Sexy and sophisticated living room!

When I think of a bachelor pad, I always think of a sexy, stylish and sophisticated space. And what better way to create a sexy place for a guy than using moody dark walls to create a sense of mystery and intrigue?

So, to get started on my mood board, I selected a geometric wallpaper in a dark gray followed by a handsome brown leather sofa with clean lines. In either side of the sofa, I incorporated two stylish and sturdy gold side tables with a basket weave detail to add interest. To create contrast against the dark walls and other "heavier" furniture pieces, I selected two sphere-based table lamps with white shades to lighten things up. 

Next, I picked a round elegant gold mirror as a focal point for the room. The repeated shape of the round mirror and the sphere table lamps helps to create a sense of cohesion. To keep things lighter and airier, I decided to bring in a glass rectangular coffee table with a subtle pattern that mimics the look of the wallpaper. A green tufted leather chair is chosen for a splash of color and a cow hide rug was selected to ground the overall design.


What are your thoughts on my design? Would you create something similar for a bachelor's living room? When you think of a bachelor pad, would you immediately think of sexy and sophisticated as well?

Saturday, December 24, 2011

My Dream Wish List!

Yesterday I had so much fun compiling a wishlist for things I like for $30 and under. Today, I am going to share with you another wishlist. This time it is my dream wish list, things I wish I had but couldn't afford. A girl can dream, right? If my hubby is reading this and decided to be super generous, I am more than happy to receive any of the items below for Christmas, on Valentine's Day, on my birthday or during our anniversary. I am flexible and easy to please, I know. :)




3. Lacquered Boxes (Orange & Black Trim): $325 (set of 3) $90-$140 (sold separately)


5. "George II" Chandelier: $1,495 (small) $1,795 (large)


7. X-Bench: $595



Which one is your favorite? Are you swooning over these fabulous goods as well?

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Christmas decor around our home!

I have been very late to the Christmas decorating party, I know. I wasn't ready to decorate my home for the holidays initially because my goal is to finish decorating the master bedroom first before everything else. Since we wanted hardwood floors for our master bedroom, we are still shopping for the right kind of flooring. The selection process is not easy because my taste and my husband's are so vastly different (he thinks honey oak floors are wonderful and there's nothing wrong with it). Not that there is something wrong with honey oak floors, I just prefer ebony/ dark chocolate brown wood floors for a more seamless look. The ironic thing is, our home is covered in these flooring. Yes, we can always restain them but it is not going to happen anytime soon because it is out of our budget.

So, at the mean time, while blog hopping and looking for holiday decorating inspirations for my blog, I felt so inspired by all the gorgeous Christmas decorations that I decided to go for it. And so, here is it!

Before we look at some holiday decor pictures, let's check out my super duper easy makeover with my preserved boxwood. I got each one for $13.90 each at Meijer, which is a total steal. On average, this sells for over $30. I saw similar ones at Restoration Hardware for $50 each and $20 each at Home Goods.

There is a reason I got such a great deal. As usual, while grocery shopping at Meijer every weekends, I love to browse at their selection of greenery and flowers. One day I spotted these. I have a habit of checking out the price for everything, okay, not everything, just mostly things I love. I looked everywhere even the bottom of the pot but I found no price tag.

I went to one of the employees and it took about 10 minutes before one of them decided each one of this gorgeous preserved boxwood sells for $13.90. I was so happy when I heard that, I actually bought three of them. I only used a pair for my Christmas decor.
  
This is how it looks when I first got it. It's very similar to the Restoration Hardware version, isn't it? I plan to put it on my fireplace mantel but it would blend too much with the stone. I always like a good contrast when it comes to decorating. So, I decided to get another vase to put it in.

I went to Ikea and found this fabulous vase for just $2.99 each. (I bought a pair of red ones for the holidays and a pair of white ones for regular days) Gotta love Ikea for their amazing prices! It fits perfectly, but do you see anything wrong with this picture? Yup, you still get a glimpse of the original flower pot and it doesn't look that great!  It's time for improvisation! 

My first thought is to get a ribbon to tie around the two flower pots to hide the "flaws". And how festive is this ribbon? I got it from Michael's for just $1.90 during their pre-holiday sales. Unfortunately, it wasn't like regular ribbon, it was like those plasticky,  disposible table cloth material. It was a tricky material to work with. Let's just say it took me 10 minutes to tie a somewhat presentable bow. (You can see a little wrinkle on the bow if you look closely enough, I don't remember how many times I tied and untied that bow, urgh! Anyway, ta-dah! The final look I was looking for!

Now, let's check out some holiday decor around my home. Oh, by the way, I switched my "stand-ins" fashion prints for a white faux deer head. I know many people like those prints, I love them too but I don't think they are ideal for the fireplace. For your convenience, I will include a picture before the switch to refresh your memory. You can read more about it here.

THEN
I always thought the ideal object to hang on my stone fireplace is either a mirror or a deer head. I have been wanting one of these deer heads since I first saw them at Z Gallerie a while ago. But I am not ready to part with $250 for this. So, I waited till the Thanksgiving sale and I got it for 20% off. The total is $200 plus tax. These large white lacquer deer heads are now on sale for $200, so grab it while it lasts. There is a whole collection of these faux animal heads at Z Gallerie but I picked this one because I love the sculptural look of the antlers and the scale is right for my fireplace!

NOW

I will let the rest of the pictures do the talking because I have been quite wordy today. If you let me go on, I will discuss all the deals I find and this post will never be up! :) 

Have fun viewing the pictures!







Our unlit Christmas tree.

 Our Christmas tree during the day.


Our Christmas tree during the night.










Do you like my holiday decor? I hope you enjoy this little tour of my living room during the Christmas season. Truth to be told, this is actually the first year that I go "all out" with the Christmas decorations. I have been collecting the ornaments and holiday decor over the years, though. Next year, I plan to decorate my dining area with a nice table setting for the holiday season. Do you have any last minute Christmas decorations to share as well? I would love to see it!

By the way, I am linking this post to Cottage & Vine. I hope you have fun checking out other fun and beautiful holiday tours, too. 

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

I am excited to announce the winner of the recent giveaway brought to you by the kind people at Affordable Lamps.






I used random.org to draw a winner and here it is! The lucky winner of the Affordable Lamps $40 store credit is


the lovely Brooke from Inside-Out Design.


Congratulations, Brooke. I will contact you shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered. There will be more great giveaways in the future. So, drop by regularly. 

Have a fantastic day, my lovelies !

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Guest feature at Sadie + Stella!

Today, I am a guest feature at Lindsay and Lindsay's (it's not a typo, this blog is truly authored by two stylish girls with the same name) lovely blog, Sadie + Stella. Their blog is fantastic with lots of gorgeous inspirations, great recipes, fabulous DIYS and more! And they also have a weekly series named "Favorite Room Feature" where they asked talented fellow bloggers to share their favorite rooms on their blog. I feel so honored to be part of this fun series. Please hop over and check out their amazing blog when you get a chance.


Here is a sneak peek of the feature: Favorite Room Feature: Mix And Chic.


Yes, it's my living room. Many of you may have seen my living room pictures on my blog a few times now but I also included a few never before seen pictures. Wondering what those pictures are? Go check out the feature. See you there! Thanks to both girls for having me over!

Monday, December 19, 2011

And the winners of the giveaway are ..........

I am excited to announce the winners of my recent giveaway.





I used random.org to draw 2 winners and here they are. The first lucky winner of Mix And Chic Interiors online room design giveaway is 


Tara from The Silver Lining.


The second lucky winner of Mix And Chic Interiors online room design giveaway is 


Maria from One Style At A Time.


Congratulations to both lucky winners. I will keep in touch with both of you shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered. If you didn't win this giveaway and would love me to design your room or simply needing a general design consultation to spruce up your space, just email me at mixandchic(at)yahoo(dot)com. Simply mention this promotion code: LAUNCH50 when you sign up to receive 50% off my design services. Only the first 5 clients who signed up will enjoy this discount, so don't delay!

Wishing you all a warm and joyous holiday season!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Giveaway- Affordable Lamps store credit!

Today, I am happy to bring you another fabulous giveaway sponsored by Affordable Lamps.

Affordable Lamps offer 30,000 lighting products for all places and occasions. In addition to low price guarantee, the best part is there is no sales tax nationwide. The kind people at Affordable Lamps decided to offer one of Mix And Chic readers an opportunity to win a $40 store credit for any of the products on their website. With a $40 store credit, you may get any one of these lighting below.






Or better still, you can use your credit towards these fabulous lighting (my favorites!).

















To enter:

You must be a resident of the United States. (Sorry, my international readers.) Be a follower of Mix And Chic's blog via Google Friend Connect. Visit Affordable Lamps and tell me the name of your favorite lighting. Leave a comment. (one basic entry)

For additional entries:

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' Affordable Lamps 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' Affordable Lamps on Twitter and leave a separate comment.

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

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

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

The deadline for entries is December 21, 2011. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Thursday, December 22, 2011. Good luck, everyone!