Shabby Chic is a common and popular home decorating theme that embraces all things country and farmhouse with a pastel-toned twist for a modern finish. Often coming hand-in-hand with French-themed designs thanks to their elegant curves, vintage themes, wooden features, and patisserie-inspired colours, Shabby Chic is a versatile and inviting trend, and we want to share with you some of our top tips for bringing this fashionable home design into almost any room.
A great place to start with Shabby Chic is with the walls. White, rose, powder blue, and beige are fantastic wall colours to base your decor around. The soft colours easily coordinate with your furniture and home furnishings and allow you to go big with other decor without making the space chaotic.
If you want to be more daring than just painting your walls one colour, try creating an accent wall with pale floral wallpaper, damask, or wood effects to create a warm yet rustic feel.
Once you have your wall colours and wallpapers, you can add accessories that will tie in with the rest of your furniture. We like to use distressed mirrors with ornate, antique frames and mismatched photo frames in the same vintage style or with a natural wooden frame.
One of the best things about the Shabby Chic trend is that you can use second-hand furniture or repurpose furniture you already have - in fact, it's encouraged! To upgrade your furniture to fit the trend, paint your wood furniture with furniture paint in pastel, grey, or white shades. Once dry, sand the edges to allow some of the natural wood to peak through, leaving you with a charming, distressed finish.
If your furniture has door handles, you can swap these for crystal-effect ones, floral ones, or even combine them for a mismatched finish that's inexpensive. The whole point of Shabby Chic is for your furniture to look worn, loved, and repaired, so you don't need your decor to be matching or polished.
Alternatively, you can shop for antique furniture with this desirable worn look in charity or second-hand shops.
You don't need a lot when it comes to accessorising your shabby chic home. Focus on florals, filling empty surfaces and shelves with vases of flowers - be unique with your vases; an old, vintage milk jug would suit the country aesthetic well and highlights the repurposed look you're trying to go for.
We love creating a focal point around the fireplace in living rooms or bookshelves in bedrooms - you can do this by placing white-washed lanterns around your chosen room fixture, stringing up bunting, and adding fairy lights.
If you're decorating a living room or bedroom, you can add soft furnishings to create a warm and inviting finish that's sure to make your space feel complete.
Cushions in pale shades with linen covers or decorated with tassels are fun options that are easy to coordinate, making them wonderful base cushions. Add one or two accent cushions with your base collection on the bed or sofa, preferably printed with florals, mandalas, or crafted from a rich velvet material. Rugs are also a great way to enhance this theme and help create a cosy environment.
Throw blankets look best when draped over the corner of your bed or placed casually over the back of your sofa. The aim is for your space to look effortless and a little, well, shabby! Perfectly laid-out soft furnishings in this style can sometimes be harsh on the eye and contradict the style, so don't be afraid to allow things to look untidy. The best Shabby Chic throws are often cable-knit, tasselled, or floral-printed jacquard. Think: your Nana's bedspread, but a little more modern!
When decorating your home in the Shabby Chic style, try to focus on woods, pastels, lace, and florals - these materials and colours work harmoniously together and make the perfect foundation for your decorating.
