A little while ago, the good people at Chairish reached out to me and asked if I would like to participate in their exclusive Mix n Chic Style Challenge. To be honest, I had never heard of Chairish before, which is an exclusive, curator approved, online marketplace for vintage and used furniture. Well, hello, nice to meet you! I quickly said ‘yes’ and I am really excited that they thought I was a good fit to take on their blogger challenge. Plus, they have the most amazing furniture and decorative pieces to choose from, it was so much fun pulling the style board together. The hardest part was making up my mind!

So what is the Mix n Chic Challenge? The challenge is to mix and match Shabby Chic into a room of my choice featuring items from Chairish. I chose the French settee as the foundation of my design in which to build everything else around it. Funny enough, the timing of this blogger challenge has been perfect because I have been wanting to figure out how to decorate the sitting area space just adjacent to our kitchen. There is already a linen covered settee in the area and I keep having this vision of creating a gallery wall above it with all of my vintage pictures and treasures.

RUSTIC & SHABBY BEACH

1 – Vintage French Settee with New Linen Upholstery
I absolutely adore this settee as its a bit more curvy than the one I currently have. It is key that it is upholstered in a neutral linen colour because it makes it easy to swap in and out throw pillows from season to season — which is a big deal for me. I would rather spend a few dollars to buy some new pillows than fork out bigger bucks because I am ‘tired’ of a large investment piece. And believe me, us designer people can get tired of things pretty quickly.

2 – Shabby Chic Beachy Lamps
Wow! Check out these vibrant and bold indigo blue lamp shades. Now I must admit I have done a switch-a-roo here, as I swapped out the original rattan bases for the other mid-century white ones that I liked better (see below). But this is the great thing about vintage lamps. If it comes with shades or a base not to your liking, it is so easy to swap out either of them and it changes the look instantly. In fact, I love the contrast of the mid-century look with the beach-inspired lamp shades. I think they look amazing together!

3 – White Mid-Century Table Lamp
I am usually not attracted to mid-century pieces, but I just love the graphic pattern and visual weight of this lamp. White is such a great neutral that it can be mixed and matched with anything of different styles.

4 – Gold Wash Leaf Ash Tray
Eeks! I picked this out and then realized later, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s a bloody ashtray!’ No smokers in this house, but I figure ‘why not’. It brings a touch of nature and the perfect little place to keep things, like a set of keys.

5 – Decorative Piece of Coral
My fiancé loves to scuba dive so this is a small memento to remind him of his many trips and bring the sea a bit closer to him everyday.

6 – French Country Round Butler Accent Table
I know it’s a sin to be ‘too matchy-matchy’ but I really love how the blue of these tables ties in with the lampshades as well as the Paris sign. I love the overall balance that is achieved with the matching side tables and lamps. And with the central focus of the round mirror in the middle of the wall, it really makes my inner Libra a very happy and balanced girl.

7 – Hierarchy Accent Pillow
I love crowns and I love hearts, so this pillow is the cutest thing ever! I am a very picky colour person and red must be one of the colours I do not like at all. But in this small dose, it adds a bit of ‘pop’ and is a symbol of my love for my sweetie.

8 – Postal De La Tour Designer Pillows (Pair)
One of my very first jobs during college was at a stamp & coin shop. I never collected stamps or coins as a kid, but I definitely grew to appreciate it. I love being surrounded by things that have meaning to me. To some people, objects are just things, but to me they are a reflection and reminder of who I am.

9 – Painted Round Wood Mirror
I own a very similar round mirror currently sitting in storage. Now that I have done this style board, I definitely need to get it out and up on my wall.

10 – Ozark Folk Art Antique Tin Letter ‘S’
I love that these have been made with vintage ceiling tin tiles. The rusty colour of the letters tie in beautifully with the brown wood frame of the settee.

11 – Milk Glass Decorative Plate
I collect vintage fine bone china saucers so instead of a milk glass plate, I would hang up a plate of fine china with beautiful satin ribbon for some romantic charm.

12 – French Porcelain Enamel Street Sign
Many years ago I was lucky enough to spend 3 weeks in Paris visiting a girlfriend. This charming sign is the perfect reminder of my time walking the streets of Paris.

13 – Large Retro Light Up Marquee Ampersand Sign
How cool is this? Great for adding some sparkle and ambience.

14 – Ozark Folk Art Antique Tin Letter ‘R’

15 – Large White Concrete Deer Wall Mount
When I was a kid, I always thought it was creepy to have heads of dead things on the wall. Funny how tastes can change and deer heads have become a design decor staple. At least I can sleep at night knowing that this guy is made of concrete and was never alive in the first place.

16 – Nuvolette Wallpaper – Cole and Son
I have been crushing on this wallpaper design for a while now. I thought it was just a phase and then I would be wanting something else, but it has definitely stuck with me and still on my ‘love/want’ list. The name of this wallpaper design is called ‘Nuvolette’ and it is a smaller version of Cole & Son’s existing Nuvole design. It comes in three colour ways but my favourite is still the black and white version which is so striking like a stormy sky at sea.

A big thank you goes out to Chairish for this wonderful opportunity to create a Mix n Chic style board. In fact, this has been my very first blogger challenge and the first time I have created a style board with furniture and home decor accessories. I loved every minute of it and can’t wait to start creating my gallery wall/seating area in real life!