Shabby Chic Furniture
Shabby Chic Furniture – Decoration Ideas and Deals for Your Home
Shabby chic furniture is becoming all the rage in homes of people that like contemporary style. Furniture that is unique, gives the home the feeling of homeliness and the feel of something special. Balancing old and tattered with new, restored and elegant furniture is what shabby chic is all about. Blending vintage lace and soft rugs with old lace and shimmering silver describes this concept. This combination creates an environment in your home that looks unique and special.
Rachel Ashwell started this new style way back in 1989. She got the idea when she was selling refurbished furniture that she bought from the flea market. She sold this along with washable slipcovers from the boutique she owned in California. Today, decorators around the world have annexed this contemporary style and homeowners worldwide now have this kind of look in their homes.
Shabby chic could be defined as the restoration old furniture and turning it into contemporary. The pieces of furniture are sanded and the repainted. Most often, the colors of this furniture are light & white in color. Adventurous people will go as far as pink, green and blue in light shades. The furniture should be intricate, plain or minimal, other furniture will not work to get the results that you are looking for.
Unlike with other paint jobs, you do not need to sand right through the previous paint layer. Only the parts that look best painted fully in the new color are sanded through. Once the sanding is completed, the item of furniture is painted in the new color.
Decorating in shabby chic is different to the traditional way used to decorate. Colors must be soft, pale, faded and muted. Floral prints combined with checks and stripes create an inviting atmosphere. Faded quilts are particularly pretty. Traditional rules for the combination of prints do not apply when you create a shabby and chic look, but it is easier to choose one color, such as a soft pink or pale green to repeat in all the different fabrics. Alternatively, keep the background color of all the fabrics, the same.
Be creative with your use of furniture. The idea is to choose selected items of furniture to use for a reason other than its intended use. Refinished wooden boxes could be used as tables to stack books, photographs or flowers or similar displays. A straight-backed whitewashed chair with a round seat could be put in a corner of a room with a shiny vase with fresh flowers on the seat.
For the bedroom, create a headboard with old doors, wooden tabletops or wrought iron gates. Decorate in rose or blue chintz, gingham or floral fabrics. A fluffy throw rug will complete the look.
In the living room, floral printed slipcovers can do the trick if you do not want to re-upholster the entire sofa. Old paintings of fruits, landscapes and flowers in beautiful old frames can grace the walls and you can display photos of the family in antiquated silver frames on an old repainted white wooden table. Old garden wrought iron garden furniture will match beautifully in the living room.
There are furniture shops that specialize in shabby chic styles. You can purchase shabby chic furniture either online or offline by visiting specialized stores. Many of these suppliers will also sell fabrics and other shabby chic decor items to help you create your perfect home.
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