Last Updated on September 20, 2024 by Tanya Janse van Rensburg
Shabby Chic is one of the most enduring interior decorating styles.
It came into prominence in the 1980s, was popular in the 1990s, and remains so today in 2012. It has a comfortable, feminine feel achieved with well-worn, loved items.
It can move toward a casual cottage look or be influenced by the more sophisticated French provincial style.
Interior Design concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com
Using recycled items makes this a very eco-friendly interior design style. Vintage, antique, or just old items can be redeemed to create a fresh new look.
The wonderful thing about this décor style is you can express your individuality. This is one of the reasons Shabby Chic appeals to me.
However, in our house, modern styling wins hands down. This is because my husband and I love contemporary, and he hates Shabby Chic.
So, I do not indulge myself in the wonders of Shabby Chic, but I do enjoy my sister’s love affair with the style.
To create this style, find items of furniture that have been heavily painted. You can also use old, unpainted timber furniture or even new pieces.
Then, you can distress the pieces. With the pieces already painted you can simply use sandpaper to strip the paint to reveal the different layers of paint.
With timber furniture left free of paint, you can paint the item with one coat of paint, let it dry, and then place another coat of paint in a different color over the first coat.
When this is dry you can distress the item by using sandpaper to expose the first layer of paint and even the timber beneath.
This is easily achieved on the edges of furniture, for example, on the edge of a dining chair seat and back. If the chair's legs are turned, sandpaper the high areas of the leg to expose the colors beneath.
Timber doors and cabinets can be distressed similarly to the furniture.
French provincial, American Shaker, Scandinavian, and country furniture styles lend themselves to creating this wonderful warm style.
Walls can be decorated with stencils or toile, floral and antique rose wallpapers.
Interior Design concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com
Cotton and linen are the most popular fabrics used to achieve the Shabby Chic look.
The linens used today are based on old French linens. Fabrics and lace can be soaked in water and stained with tea to make them look older and faded. Sometimes, fabrics are bleached.
Chenille and chintz are also popular fabrics. These fabrics are used for comfy sofas, armchairs, cushions, pillows, bedspreads, and other soft furnishings.
Whites and pastels are the most common colors in the Shabby Chic style. Soft pinks, peaches, light greens, and blues with white are popular combinations.
Floral patterns are the most used, particularly roses. Stripes, dots, and checks in matching colors can be teamed with floral prints.
This is where the fun can start with creating a Shabby Chic masterpiece.
The items used to enhance the comfortable, homely, well-lived-in look are endless: from white tin jugs filled with pink roses to trays, chandeliers, candle holders, mirrors, teapots, old photographs, and clocks.
It is a fun individual style that has a welcoming, laid back and relax sort of atmosphere.
Found this excellent video with lots of examples of Shabby Chic styling that shows how varied the style can be; inspirational.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did; here the link http://youtu.be/UHxi12UaiZ0
Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com – concept creation online