Shabby Chic Thread?

maypole

Pennylane

If you like the old eiderdowns go on to Ebay, type in what you are looking for eg quilts, bed covers and go to the Antiques from the list, you will get loads of lovely eiderdowns and things there. I like to check out the linen and pure cotton sheets. "countrycottagegarden" is where I got my first vintage cotton bed sheet, it is massive, she has some lovely bits and bobs and a lovely ebay site, sometimes in the pictures of the items you catch a glimpse of her own furnishings and I imagine her home is beautiful.

vivw_2

this table was bought second hand about 15 years ago ...has moved house twice with me and extends if you need it to, to about double the size

Mappygirl

I love reading this thraed!!!!!

Can't wait to decorate my longe and dining room in May. I'm going to keep my eye out now for stuff.

Pipkin - i would love a house full of 'weird' things! I love quirky stuff but DH isn't that keen! Also i've never had the courage to do it, normally play it quite safe when it comes to decor but this thread has given me lots of inspiration!!!!

Pipkin

Mappy, I think once you start all the *weird* thingummybobs just kind of blend into a nice whole that really does go together..:D

Things can be quite divergent, but really quite the same.. if you kind of stick to the same tones and materials, ( like I tend to go for enamelled items, wicker, metal, rusty stuff, buttons, americana, signs, gingham, heart shaped items, wreaths, twigs, and faded colours, nothing too bright... I make a lot of stuff myself too)

The nice thing too is that if I get fed up with something being in one room of the house I can exchange it with something from another room and it still works because there is a continuity going on.

It doesn't have to be expensive stuff, though I have a few bits that were expensive, a lot of it could come from Au Naturel, or Ikea (though Ikea has changed a bit recently, not so much country/shabby style stuff there now I think), witht the odd bit of Laura Ashley thrown in (if I'm lucky).

mary43

Being addicted to the 'second hand shops' what I get for home is normally so cheap if I get bored with it I can either give it back to the shop it came from or put it away with other bits and pieces and pass on to someone for birthday or christmas.

moanymoany

miserly_mum wrote: »

I really love the shabby chic look.

Unfortunately whenever i've tried to re create it in my house it just looks shabby, not a bit of chic to be seen :rolleyes:

miserly_mum - you little wag!

Know what you mean though, if you buy furniture ready shabby'd from Laura Ashley it works. Problem is it costs an arm and a leg! I've tried to do things myself and it hasn't been a great success.

I love the Cath Kidston catatalogue, but again the cost is very high. I also went to one of the shops and I was less than impressed with the quality.

rosieben

Having read post # 937 by JenniO on this thread
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=8406765#post8406765
I’ve realised that NOW is the time for me to have the home I want. At present I’m in a rented bungalow, so not able to decorate etc, but there are still lots of things I could do.

I’ve just had a wander around and made a list of things that I was planning to do ‘after I move’ and I’m thinking about how and where I can use some of them now. I think its going to be a busy spring!!

I agree with Mary, there's so much stuff around if you keep an eye on charity shops etc. I wouldnt enjoy it half as much if the work was already done for me.

mary43

moanymoany - never give up..........if you try something and it doesn't look right, give it another go or do it a bit differently. I've tried crackle glaze to give pieces that 'aged' look and failed miserably, but done ok with a sort of dry brush technique.............put on layer of paint, let it dry........paint over with a different colour then with a dry brush just brush lightly over it and you get a sort of grainy effect.
Or paint a solid coat of paint on an old wooden piece of furniture, rub it lightly with sandpaper so the wood shows through, then go over it with dark oak wax polish.
Maybe not as good as something professionally done but its cheap (and I'm all for that) and I've been happy with it.

roseiben - good luck. Renting somewhere does have limitations but its the little touches that make it 'yours'

mollymunchkin

I saw some nice large cream enamel tins in Woolworths today. One had 'laundry' and the other 'housekeeping' (I think?) in black lettering. They were a tenner each. I'd get one but it would only sit in the cupboard and therefore a waste of money :rolleyes:

HTH someone else though, they were quite nice.

needmoney

Here's a little bit about Rachel Ashwell, how she started.

http://interiordec.about.com/cs/designerinterview/a/ashwell.htm

I was painting furniture white in the sixties when I moved in with MIL and she let me paint the bedroom furniture. I,m sorry now because it was lovely old pine but it looke fab in white and I put modern handles on a few friends loved it

I'll still paint furniture now and wax it like mary43 said and it's a lovely soft finish.
Linda Barker recommends it.