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Shabby Chic, an everlasting trend that just keeps on growing, even after almost 20 years since it first emerged in the interior design world. Shabby chic brings together eclectic style mixing antique style furniture with feminine florals, pastels, lace and aged paint effects.
Popularity In Shabby Chic Furniture Continues To Grow
Over time the shabby chic genre has become an umbrella term for a number of similar styles or looks; you may have read of looks such as vintage chic, country chic, Scandi chic or Nordic chic to describe similar interior styling. In fairness these are unique looks in their own right, perhaps inspired initially by shabby chic ideals, but it is the term ‘shabby chic’ that has registered most in people’s hearts and minds.
The great thing about shabby chic style is that it is easy to achieve and put your own twist on. It’s also an inexpensive way to revamp your home by utilising upcycled furniture or creating the look by painting and restyling perhaps slightly more modern furniture.
The best way to start is with a blank canvas of white walls, or just off white for a softer feel. You can then add pastel shades such as pinks and duck egg. If you’re lucky enough to have great floorboards through your home, keep these natural or opt for white washing to add to the look.
When it comes to adding shabby chic furniture opt for floral soft furnishings with upcycled wood pieces and maybe a little wicker or rattan, again white or grey washed.
From this base you can then purchase unique second hand artifacts, antiques, flowers or pieces of timber that will enable you to add your own personality and bring out the quirkiness that shabby chic style commands.
Still stuck for inspiration? Well we’ve put together a number of ways you can bring the shabby but chic feel into your home without making it look like an open house jumble sale.
Salvaged Furniture
This type of furniture is at the very heart of the shabby chic look. Choose scrubbed pine to create a vintage feel, as well as seeking out second hand items that may well become feature pieces for your chosen room.
Soft White Colour Scheme
As mentioned before, opting for a soft white colour scheme gives a blank canvas for you to create your shabby chic look as you choose. Add soft furnishings, salvaged wood furniture and maybe even a little glam with a vintage style chandelier.
Vintage Mirrors
Not something you can always just pick up on the high street, however it is worth taking your time over the right mirror and finding the one that helps set off your shabby chic furniture and decor to perfection while celebrating what is truly vintage.
Soft Pastel Shades
The great thing with shabby chic is that you can choose to add colour as you wish, whether it be keeping everything white other than soft furnishings or introducing colour through distressed colour painted furniture, with French Grey being a personal favourite of ours; however equally for a more feminine room a Soft Pink or a Duck Egg shade may not go a miss.
Romantic Bedroom
It has to be said shabby chic does tend to air on the feminine side. When it comes to shabby chic furniture and bedrooms a shabby chic style works perfectly. A bed layered in vintage linens, pastel coloured throws and cushions in floral fabrics while finishing the look with white painted furniture, ornate picture frames and mirrors, very much one for the fairer sex! Good luck getting your partner to sign off on this one, perhaps use this look for the guest bedroom?
Vintage Accessories
Allow your chosen vintage accessories to really shine with the traditional shabby chic white backdrop. Choose chandeliers for a little shabby chic glamour along with mismatched paintings and vintage style frames, alongside a few antique pieces that reflect your personality. These could be very individual pieces collected on your travels, making each piece unique and special to you as an individual.
Mix and Match
This is exactly what makes shabby chic styling so affordable that the more you mix and match furniture, fabrics and accessories the better chance you have of achieving a true eclectic shabby chic look.
Salvaged Wooden Shutters
There is so much beauty to be found in discarded objects, especially those that would cost a lot to have custom made and not have half of the character salvaged wood has, wooden shutters are a great example of this. Salvaged wooden shutters are fantastic used for their original purpose at windows but also as decoration throughout the home.
Aged Metal Furniture
Aged metal is a great way of adding a more masculine edge to your shabby chic look, combined with the white washed walls and faded linens to make a real centrepiece while adding some subtle and soft lighting in the way of antique lamps.
Summerhouse Chic
The shabby chic look is extremely versatile in that it doesn’t have to be restricted to indoors, take the look outside and create a shabby chic haven you can relax in even when the sun shines. Revamp your garden shed with a lick of white paint; add some salvaged garden furniture and heap with cushions, throws and blankets to complete the look.
To start your shabby chic revamp, visit our website www.theorchardhomeandgifts.com or for more bespoke pieces call and speak to Mat or Jo on: 0845 643 0363
