Shabby Decorating

The Shabby-Chic” Style is a wildly popular decorating trend.  Although the term “shabby Chic” was made popular by Rachel Ashwell, (the owner of Shabby Chic Store and the 1996 author of “Shabby-Chic decorating”) the style has actually been around for decades.

 So what is shabby chic?

Shabby chic is a design style deliberately using worn and deteriorated items

Celadon greens, mint and seafoam; dusty roses; ivories, creams and faded  grays; a touch of pale sky blue; crisp, clean whites. Worn damask, faded velvets, tea stained florals, washed out cotton prints, tattered lace, monogrammed linen. Worn grandeur, the incomplete, the neglected, the crumbling, the cracked, the mismatched, the wrinkled – they all have a place of honour in the shabby chic home.

Simply put, Shabby Chic style seeks to find the elegance and romance inherent in "not-so-new" furniture and accessories and to combine them in new and unexpected ways. Shabby Chic doesn't have to be perfect. In fact, almost by definition, it is not perfect. It is, however, stylish and fun.

Shabby Chic has the cozy feel of your grandmother's attic. It's a nostalgic, homey, and comfortable style that envelops you and welcomes you to sit and stay a while. Shabby Chic doesn't have to be expensive. Adding a little Shabby Chic is fun, stylish, and affordable and only limited by your imagination.

So how do you go about introducing the shabby chic look into your home?

Shabby chic is an easy style to achieve because it can include anything you love, mixing colors, patterns and textures.  They key is finding a grouping of things you love and making them work together.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Shabby Chic relies on accessories to add personality and warmth to a room. Groupings of items, such as candles, fresh flowers, and framed pictures add romance and elegance to a room. Vintage tableware, usually mismatched, and such found items as a china teapot, further enhance the look.

Liberal use of white and off-white tones gives a fresh feel. Celery green, reflecting Shabby Chic's garden emphasis is another popular hue. This soft color is used to paint furniture, for window treatments, or as an accent color. Stenciling and hand-painted items further add to Shabby Chic's romantic look and can transform a garage sale reject into an original work of art.

Bring the garden inside with pretty floral patterns on tablecloths, pillows, and upholstery. Blending patterns and textures gives a Shabby Chic room a slightly offbeat, yet coordinated look. Fringing is frequently used to add interest to tablecloth hems, pillows, bed skirts, and window treatments.

Lighting is important for the romantic, soft feel of Shabby Chic. Subdued, indirect lighting, with candles and shaded lamps, helps to create this effect. Chandeliers, often in distressed iron, are another Shabby Chic hallmark. Frequently the bulbs are shaded to soften the look and give the fixture a country feel.

Slip-covered sofas and over-stuffed chairs, often with a natural muslin covering, are a hallmark of Shabby Chic, as are vintage Chintz floral prints, and are reminiscent of an English country garden. Ottomans, perhaps refurbished with a fringed fabric skirt, add a little romance to a furniture grouping.

Shabby Chic is all about finding new and interesting ways to use "old" items. For instance, a stack of suitcases might become a side table. Salvaged doors might be put together to form a stylish room divider, perhaps with mirrors added for interest. An old window frame might find new life as a picture or mirror frame, and old tin ceiling tiles are interesting when assembled as candleholders, boxes, and flowerpots. Architectural hardware, such as glass doorknobs, and decorative pieces, such as salvaged wooden cornices, are reborn when added to refurbished flea market finds.

There is no one furniture style in Shabby Chic design. The common denominator is old, interesting, and comfortable Shabby Chic furniture should complement each other in style, color, or line, but it doesn't have to match. In fact, it shouldn't match too closely or look like it was created together. Shabby Chic is a work in progress, not a pre-fabricated look.

The Shabby Chic charm in these items lies in their past and their history. Scratches and peeling paint are ok. In fact, they are encouraged.