Old-Style Interior Design

nabowla · 7 May 2005 at 6:57PM

I was browsing through a few books on 'shabby chic' interior design recently and loved many of the ideas. However, they were all far too expensive for me! One idea particularly caught my eye - beautiful, mis-matched but elegant china pots in the bathroom cabinet for all of those bits & bobs that usually live in scruffy plastic bags. The photos looked fantastic but the sources - new and antique shops - were definitely aimed at the Notting Hill set. Not to worry, I thought, I can scout round our local posh charity shops and find something for a fraction of the price. But I couldn't find anything I liked at all. I came back from this morning's expedition feeling utterly fed up and very tempted to go out to the big department stores in town and blow lots of money.

Then I had a brainwave. I turned out some of my cupboards and found all sorts of beautiful little pots and bowls that I don't use and had been planning to send to the charity shop. A plain white ceramic sugar bowl I found looked identical to the £40 bowl in the photos in the books. An old glass jar that I'd kept for years because I like the shape is now an elegant recepticle for all my emery boards etc. The inside of the cupboard looks terribly chic, just like the books and magazines, and I haven't spent a penny. What a result!

So, this got me thinking. There's a wealth of expertise on this boards - what old-style tips can the experts pass on for creating a home that looks like the magazine photos but at the fraction of the price? Have you redesigned a room without spending any money at all?

To start the discussion off, my tips are a) don't buy design books/magazines but borrow them from the library instead and b) scour the cupboards before you go shopping - you never know what you might find!

Queenie · 7 May 2005 at 7:14PM

Don't have kids, don't have pets and only view your home from outside through the window

Ok, seriously - are you referring especially to "Shabby Chic" or trendy/modern/current fads?

Which ever style you go for, the very first thing would be to buy/decorate in neutral colours - they are your backbone. You can seasonally change the room simply by changing cushion covers and other soft furnishings.

Personally, I never worry about the latest trend - I can't afford to! I have *my style* it's more country/eclectic LOL
(Eclectic: Methods, beliefs, ideas, etc. that are eclectic, combine whatever seem the best or most useful things from many different areas or systems, rather than following a single system)
To prevent me from getting fed up, I'm working on seasonal changes - ie: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter; just like when we all rummage in the loft for our Christmas decs, I have ornaments, photo frames, cushion covers, quilted throws, coffee table linens etc based around seasonal colours. This takes time to build up and organise.

So, I can look through a fair range of magazines at most times of year and my home will always be in vogue LOL. Furniture is predominantly "classic" style so that it doesn't 'date'. Bit like putting together your clothing - classic styles mainly, then dress it up with accessories to ring the changes and, once in a while, I get something modern because it takes my fancy!

I've bought some beautiful embroidered linens at charity shops!
Many of the soft furnishing I make myself.
I go to 2nd hand furniture shops - sometimes I find *just* the right thing, other times I just browse.

squeaky · 7 May 2005 at 9:22PM

Not to belittle their goods at all, but I'd bet apprentice tycoon would be able to help you out here - either directly, or with their knowlege of a few sources.
I'll give them a shout and point them here.

apprentice_tycoon · 7 May 2005 at 10:09PM

squeaky wrote:

Not to belittle their goods at all, but I'd bet apprentice tycoon would be able to help you out here - either directly, or with their knowlege of a few sources.
I'll give them a shout and point them here.

I have no great design skills but since I've been ebaying and buying at antique auctions I have seen LOTS of pretty bits and pieces that have been put together in box to sell after Grandma died, there are the mundane every day cups, saucers and plates but more interestingly there are often her best china cabinet pieces. There is rarely a full set of anything, often just oddments, these can be displayed as trios (cup, saucer and plate) with the little brass or plastic covered wire stands, I have 4 shelves of just cups and saucers that were bought singly on holidays and each one is a memory of French junk shops (Brocante was the first French word our kids learned to read when they were tiny....'not brocante again'....).
If I had a useful tip it's to see if you can find a book called Flea Market Finds, how to restore and display by Caroline Atkins. it's a Country Living book that came as a freebie with a subscription (which I cancelled soon after, Martin would have been so proud!), I've seen them on Amazon at a reasonable price. This book turns things like nice old wooden shoe trees into clothes hooks for the bedroom door, you just need to look at an old piece with different eyes like Nabowla did with her bowls and jars

Pooky · 8 May 2005 at 7:37AM

I've always found that one of the easiest ways to transform a room is via the soft furnishings. Learn how to use a sewing machine (you could do it by hand if you're that patient), look out for fabric at bootfairs, charity shops and jumbles and pick up anything that interests you.

I've got a box under the bed full of fabric, from old shirts to the latest bootfair find of 6 metres of "Disney Dalmations" fabric - shocking pink but the bloke only wanted £2 for the lot...when I got home there were 3 reels of cotton and around 5m's of heading tape for curtains. I've no idea what to do with it at the moment but inspiration will strike i'm sure. 25 metres of Harry Potter fabric went down well with my daughter, got the lot for £10, used it to make curtains and covers for her room and sold the rest on ebay for £15!!!

My other great bootfair find was a roll of voil, couldn't quite see what was on the roll but it had a really pretty lilac iris design to it, I stood and I looked and I watched the woman on the stall go off for coffee, leaving her poor hubby to deal with the kids and the stall......shame eh, she would have known that the fabric in question was worth at least £45.....he however wanted 50p. There was over 15ms on the roll and now looks lovely as full length floaty curtains in my bedroom. If I get bored and want a different look I can quite justify cutting the stuff up for dusters and starting again.

I love strong colours and would never decorate in neutral shades, far to wishy washy, but do try and go for a colour that you can put lots of other shades with. My living room is bulls blood red and I found some great fabric for curtains in a deep yellowy/gold colour - in a "seconds" fabric shop, I have a lot of windows in the room and the fabric cost me £200 with lining fabric, I saw the same stuff made into curtains in a large department store and I asked the woman to work out the price for me to buy ready mades.....£750 unlined!!!!!

The only neutral thing that I do sitck too is furniture, if it's not made of real wood then it has to be cream, that way it will last for years and fit in with everything. The sofas are cream with washable covers, everybody laughed at me when I brought them, having 2 kids and being a childminder they all thought I was mad, but I've only needed to wash them 4 times in the past 2 years and that was more to freshen them that for dirt. Of course should they get stained I can always dye them and get a whole new look.

In the past I've made curtains from sheets and duvet covers, pillow cases made good swags when they were all the rage.

It really is worth looking round your house and seeing what can be utilised before you go out buying new stuff.

moggins · 8 May 2005 at 10:39AM

Charity Shops are also a great one for ceramics if you're not looking for collectors pieces, I wanted plant pots for my kitchen to grow some basil in and found 2 ceramic ones painted with musical instruments, as my dh is a trumpet player they seemed very apt for my house.

You just have to keep popping in to see what they have.

Wilkinsons is also another good place to try, they have some lovely classic pieces in their furnishings section for very cheap prices.

needmoney · 8 May 2005 at 11:24AM

My house is full of 'shabby' don't know about 'chic' , but I'm quite pleased with some of the things [email="i@ve"]i've[/email] done. I painted old good quality wood furniture, my kitchen cutains are glued and stapled, my bed has two quite expensive looking pink silk cushions made from a charity shop blouse and I added some trimmings the equivalent would have cost loads if bouht ready made.

I have vases and pots that I painted to suit my colour scheme with ordinary emulsion and then polished with furniture wax, they will then take a quick light wash to get cleaned.

I saw a couple of years back a large vase that had a rough dull finishwith rope trim and little bits hanging from it. I came home and mixed ordinary sand with emulsion and painted a jug and stand then trimmed as seen and it cost hardly anything.

Here are some links and there are loads more

http://www.ourgardengang.com/magishoestring.htm

http://magazines.iviliage.com...

http://interiordec.about.com/cs/stylesofdecor/a/shabchic.htm

Galtizz · 9 May 2005 at 10:52AM

Make your own original paintings to decorate your house HERE. You can paint it with left over emulsion or tester pots to match your room. You don't even need to be able to draw. As long as you can draw a straight line with a ruler and be able to paint in the lines.

The Works sell the canvas things for a couple of quid. Or, you might be able to make one using plain fabric streched over a square frame made from bits of wood nailed together.

needmoney wrote:

I have vases and pots that I painted to suit my colour scheme with ordinary emulsion and then polished with furniture wax, they will then take a quick light wash to get cleaned.

I read in an old magazine (had a stack of old ones given to me for FREE from a friend who buys loads) The tip was to strip a wine bottle of the labels then paint it white (same way as Needmoney) and then paint the top lip of the bottle in a bright cheery colour then use it as a bud vase. They looked lovely.

needmoney · 9 May 2005 at 12:43PM

Galtizz wrote:

I read in an old magazine (had a stack of old ones given to me for FREE from a friend who buys loads) The tip was to strip a wine bottle of the labels then paint it white (same way as Needmoney) and then paint the top lip of the bottle in a bright cheery colour then use it as a bud vase. They looked lovely.

If you want to make the paint stick better, give the article a coat of unibond first, I don't because when I get fed up I just wash it off and do a new colour.

I have also painted storage boxes and decoupaged them or stencilled them.
Used to do loads of this kind of thing, must get creative again errrr - sometime. This site is resonsible for taking sooo much time;)

nicki_2 · 9 May 2005 at 1:28PM

The way I decorate is to raid my parents shed/greenhouse and I also get first dibs on anything my mum wants to get rid of in terms of curtains, bedding etc. I even get furniture sometimes!

I regularly mix my own paint colours by using whatever I have left over.
I've adjusted curtains as necessary and used the leftover material to make matching cushion covers.
I go to a fabric warehouse and by their bundles of reminants at £1 each and use it to make covers etc.
I used an old white sheet to line a pair of thin curtains for my daughters room.

The other day some workmen came to clear out a house nextdoor-but-one to us and they were about to throw a 6 litre tin of dulux paint in the back of the van when I caught them and asked if I could have it. That's saved me £5.

House Invaders eat your heart out!!!!!

needmoney · 9 May 2005 at 1:52PM

Nice one nicki:D I've also used sheets for thign or duvet covers, I had enough 'nice' material for a couple of cushions but by only using the 'nice ' for fronts and a nice old cream duvet for the backs I made more amd I mix my own paint too. Anything to make the money stretch but it hasn't always been about money I enjoy having a go.

I hope loads mor people post more tips.

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Old-Style Interior Design

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