Decoration: What Is The Shabby Chic Style?
If you love romantic and elegant atmospheres with a bohemian touch and antique furniture, you may have already adopted the shabby chic style in your home without knowing it! We propose to discover this style of decoration and its characteristics, as well as practical advice to create a decoration in this style, in a store or a room of the house.
What is shabby chic?
If you're wondering what the definition of shabby chic is, you should know that it can literally be translated as 'chic (and) worn'.
This rising trend in the decorating world refers to an elegant style (chic) but uses antique and slightly worn furniture (shabby).
Behind the apparent contradiction of this name is a style of interior decoration all in nuances, with a slightly outdated elegance.
Where does the shabby chic style come from?
Although the shabby chic style is reminiscent of a manor house in the English countryside or a castle in Scotland, this style of interior design was not born in the UK.
This decorating trend appeared in the United States in the 1980s.
It has been gaining momentum in France for a few years, carried by the vintage trend and furniture and other decorative objects found in flea markets...
How to make a shabby chic decoration ?
As you can see, all the subtlety of this interior design style is to conciliate elegance with a bohemian spirit.
The chic side of this style consists of making a room very bright by focusing on natural light and white as the dominant color on the walls and furniture.
For the flooring too, neutral tones are preferred with light wood flooring or white tiles.
Then just add a touch of vintage thanks to:
- antique furniture with wood patina
- objects found at the flea market
- traditional and authentic materials like wood, linen and cotton
With these two guidelines in mind, you can easily create a shabby chic decor in a store or at home.
This style lends itself particularly well to bedroom and living room decor because it is at once romantic, refined and warm.
To enhance the romance of this decorative style, don't hesitate to add lace and floral patterns in small touches, for example on bed linen or English-style dinnerware.
What are the advantages of shabby chic decoration?
As we told you above, one of the advantages of the shabby chic style is that it is not too complicated to implement in a room simply painted white.
Another significant advantage is that it doesn't cost much. To create this delightfully vintage decor in your home, there's no need to break the bank at a designer furniture store!
All you have to do is hunt around in flea markets or on classifieds websites between individuals and revamp vintage furniture by yourself.
You can also buy second hand all the antique objects you need to compose this type of decor, for example:
- an antique clock
- English style tableware
- old birdcages
- Jouy cloth linens
- candlesticks
Which color for a shabby chic decoration?
As explained above, white is the color of choice for a shabby chic home.
You can use it on the walls but also on bleached wood furniture, to buy as is or to renovate yourself.
To add a touch of color to your decor, don't hesitate to combine white with soft colors like light gray, pastel blue or powder pink.
Also consider fresh flower bouquets to add the perfect finishing touch to this chic and romantic decoration.
