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Shabby Chic is a form of Interior Design where furniture and furnishings are either chosen for their age and signs of wear and tear or new items are distressed to achieve the appearance of an Antique.
The term was coined by the “World of Interiors” Magazine in the 1980’s and has since been used as a name for a U.S. Company founded by Rachel Ashwell.
The style started in Great Britain and evokes the type of decoration found in large country houses where there are worn and faded old chintz sofas and curtains, old paintwork and unassuming “good taste”. The end result of “shabby chic” is to achieve an elegant overall effect as opposed to the sentimentally cut
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The early forms of shabby chic were rather grand but the style has evolved taking inspiration from many forms of decoration. These range from 18th Century Swedish painted decoration, the French Chateau as well as the American Shakers where simplicity and plainness were essential.
Shabby chic items are often heavily painted with many layers showing through obviously worn areas. The style is imitated in faux painting using glaze or by painting then rubbing and sanding away the top coat to show the wood or base coats.
Fabrics tend to be cottons and linen, with linen being particularly popular, inspired by old french linens. Whites and worn or bleached out pastels are favourite colours. Fabric is often stained with Tea to give it the look of old fabric. Bleached and faded are terms often applied to the style.
The essence of shabby chic style is vintage and antique furniture painted white
(or another soft pastel colour) and distressed at the corners by sanding. Pink, Mint Green and Soft Aqua are also popular colours seen in accessories and fabrics.
Popular decor items are pillows made of vintage fabric, vintage linens, chenille bedspreads, vintage chandeliers and anything with roses on it.
It is a soft, relaxed feminine romantic way of decorating that looks both comfortable and inviting.
French Style
French Style can mean so many things in interior design from the understated pale aged shabby chic look to the ornate and grand “Rococo Style” to the more recent revival of “Boudoir Style” Chic using jewelled colours together with Gold French Style Furniture.
The French Country Chateau look of shabby chic would be furnishings that are possibly rustic and gentile in look and design whereas the Rococo look is usually bold, rich in colour and excessively designed. Whilst the Boudoir look can hint at both of these areas underlining sumptuous ornate Rococo with aged and slightly more effortless French Style Furniture.
Rococo
Rococo is a style of the 18th Century art and interior design. During the reign of the French King, Louis XV, a new style of decoration evolved. It was much lighter and more fanciful in concept making use of asymmetrical arrangements, curving lines and unusual combinations of natural motifs. Rococo style rooms were originally designed as total works of art with elegant and ornate furniture, small sculptures, ornamental mirrors and tapestry complementing architecture, reliefs and wall paintings. It was largely supplanted by the Neoclassic style of French Style Furniture.
The word Rococo is seen as a combination of the French rocaille, or shell, and the Italian barocco, Baroque Style. Due to love of shell like curves and focus on decorative arts , some critics used the term to derogatively imply that the style was frivolous or merely modish.
Boudoir
A Boudoir is a lady’s private Bedroom, Sitting Room or Dressing Room. The terms derives from the French verb “bouder” meaning “to pout”.
Historically, the boudoir formed part of the Private Suite of rooms of a lady, for bathing and dressing, adjacent to her bedchamber. In later periods, the boudoir was used as a Private Dressing Room and was used for other activities such as embroidery.
Latterly, the term Boudoir has come to denote a style of furnishing the bedroom that is traditionally described as busy or ornate, with a focus on Renaissance and French Inspired Bedroom Styles.
