Consider your Shabby Chic requirements in design...

Ask any designer what they think the term ‘shabby chic’ means and you will probably get a similar answer from them all.

If they are talking about a person and the way they look, then they may describe that person as stylish rather than fashionable. They will have enough confidence in themselves that they will have their own style and it will reflect quality as opposed to newness.

The same description can be used for ‘Shabby Chic’ in the home. It does not have any particular style; it balances all that is elegant with things that look old or worn, even if they are not.

To some the term makes them think of large country houses, where glamorous parties were once held. The sofas and soft furnishings are now faded by time but they still exude all that is good taste and quality.

Others think of French Châteaus, with large sweeping lawns outside and inside large light pieces of furniture, ornate mirrors and chandeliers making the most of the natural light flooding through the large floor to ceiling windows.

Other descriptions of ‘shabby chic’ in the home are American shaker style, Scandinavian painted furniture and an English country cottage with fresh flowers, heavily scented candles and comfortable soft furnishings.

The thing that all of these descriptions have in common is that the type of furniture you visualise is elegant, light, ornate and above all timeless. Referring back to the ‘shabby chic’ person described above, stylish rather than fashionable. Or as the name implies: Stylishly shabby items combined to create a chic style, in a room that is comfortable, functional and very pleasing to look at.

If you are thinking of decorating your home with the ‘shabby chic’ look , then before you go off and spend fortunes on the furnishings, think about the type of house you live in. Is it a modern house, are the rooms large or small and are the ceilings low or high. The use of ‘shabby chic’ can be used in most styles of homes but the way you design it will be different for each style. For example traditional, contemporary, cottage, etc. The different styles that were described above.

Once you have decided on your own personal style for your style of home (and again before furnishing) you should decide on how you are going to decorate the walls and floors. Obviously what you want to achieve is a timeless and elegant look but it also needs to be versatile and user friendly, able to withstand the look whilst allowing you to live your day to day life. With this in mind it may be best to think of whites, off whites or other muted colours for the walls. That way you can dress them with ornate mirrors or wall lights later on and the colour won’t detract from the furniture.

Ideally floors in the ‘shabby chic’ room should have a natural look and be easy to care for. Depending on the style of your home you may decide on wooden flooring, perhaps bleaching it for the Shaker/Scandinavian style or a dark stain for the French Château look. Any type of floor can be covered in rugs to give a focal point and also to add to your ‘shabby chic’ look.

So now your have the style and know the look that you want to achieve for your room, you are now ready to go shopping for ‘shabby chic' furniture and furnishings!