Shabby Chic Thread?

DanceInThe_Dark

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

glad you won it.. that chair is a bargin and has sooo much scope to have you can re-vamp it.... the same seller has a 1950's coffe table with a copper style top and a pld g plan paper rack, which could be really shabby chic'd

i think over the next week or so i will be trolling ebay with a toothcomb,

Thanks,
the dh wasn't all that keen on the shabby chic look but I showed him some of the great work you lot have done in this thread with painted furniture and he was very impressed.

You lot motivated me to paint the inside of a pine cupboard cream. It was a dark and dingy cupboard before and now it's chic!

Not got a clue what I'm going to do with the chair. I don't really want to paint it but maybe a sand down and a wax? Although I might change my mind when I see it...
With a good few comfy cushions I thought it would make a nice relaxing spot to read a book- especially next to an open fire in winter.

vintagepleasure

rachelleblondel wrote: »

code-a-holic wrote: »

http://www.westcoastweb.co.uk/claire/kitchenafter2.jpg
quote]

Glad to see that kenwood chef sitting proudly on the work top....a must in a shabby chic kitchen....none of this american kitchen aid nonsense:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

(I apologise to all you kitchen aid owners before I get shouted at hehe...)

How dare you?!!!LOL...I love my Kitchen Aid!!! Mind you I think I'm more retro than shabby chic!!

Seakay

lindens wrote: »

I have a spice rack here http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/7783653 which is very flat and uninspiring, can anyone think of what I can do to it?
I thought of painting a blackboard panel in the middle of each door??
I also though I could put painted writing on in french style lettering, can you buy transfers for that does anyone know?

Hope that link works.
Any ideas??

I think that it looks rather nice as it is, but if you did want blackboard panels then it would depend on how big the doors are - if they are quite small then I think that it would make then a bit fiddly to paint panels in. A matt paint with lettering sounds lovely - perhaps you could trace letters from a library book to make your own stencil? (greaseproof paper and a soft pencil, don't press too hard or you'll mark the book and it won't make the transfer work better. Transfer the lettering from the paper to thin card - it will come out backwards - and then cut out the stencil, Or cut out the letters from the paper and use the paper stencil as a guide to pencil directly onto your cupboard, and then fill in the outlines with paint)

vintagepleasure

I thought I'd show you one of my latest charity shop finds.It's a sewing box.The lid is hinged with a little removable tray inside.The sides were already painted in blackboard paint which is very handy!

I saw it for weeks in the charity shop and it wasn't until this thread inspired me to look at things differently that I decided to buy it.For the whopping sum of £3!!! It was unpractical with just the lid for access so I knocked out one of the panels and now it has a filing tray in there for all the bits of paperwork etc that float around the kitchen.

rachelleblondel_2

vintagepleasure wrote: »

How dare you?!!!LOL...I love my Kitchen Aid!!! Mind you I think I'm more retro than shabby chic!!

Hahaha to be honest I just couldn't decide which one to buy in the end so I decided to go with British rather than american but I still think they (KA) are great & fit in anywhere.....retro or shabby!!!:D

lindens

Seakay wrote: »

I think that it looks rather nice as it is, but if you did want blackboard panels then it would depend on how big the doors are - if they are quite small then I think that it would make then a bit fiddly to paint panels in. A matt paint with lettering sounds lovely - perhaps you could trace letters from a library book to make your own stencil? (greaseproof paper and a soft pencil, don't press too hard or you'll mark the book and it won't make the transfer work better. Transfer the lettering from the paper to thin card - it will come out backwards - and then cut out the stencil, Or cut out the letters from the paper and use the paper stencil as a guide to pencil directly onto your cupboard, and then fill in the outlines with paint)

Thats a good idea about tracing. Failing that i could do decoupage and cut letters out of something or even do them on the printer.

EmptyPurse

Not sure whether this is really "shabby chic" or "country cottage" but I've fallen in love with these:

http://www.lauraashley.com/invt/3392381&bklist=
http://www.lauraashley.com/invt/3373689&bklist=
http://www.lauraashley.com/invt/3392400&bklist=

Has anyone got any ideas about where I might get something similar without spending vast amounts of money?

HariboJunkie

I have boxes like that from Au Naturale. You could always add handles to them yourself if you needed to.
Not the same shape but I found THESE on ebay.

Alternatively you could cover some shoeboxes in floral print paper or fabric and make your own.

mary43

Was just going to sa that Haribo.............the magazine holder can be made from an old cereal box cut to shape and covered in some pretty wrapping paper, same with the shoe boxes. Be an awful lot cheaper.

rosieben

I've seen pics online (sorry cant find them now) of magazine files like these made from cut down cereal boxes covered with fabric and there were some covered with wallpaper too. They looked really good. Shoe boxes are great for storage and they stack so well!

sorry, cross-posted Mary!

just thinking about this, I think large washing powder boxes would be stronger than cereal boxes?