What is shabby chic furniture and how do you acquire that shabby chic furniture look?  Shabby chic is a mixture of elegant and worn out, timeless items.  This decorating style gets its inspiration from the collection of valuables found in the European flea markets.  There you will find treasures such as window frames and other architectural decorations as well as old, elegant furniture and decor.  The charisma in these objects lies in their history and their past life. 

1)  One of the characteristics of shabby chic is its practical nature for finding new uses for old, worn out furniture and décor.  This is an popular concept because of the ecological-intellect of our present day society. 

2)  Shabby chic furniture is not associated with any one style.  As long as it is old, appealing and comfortable, most pieces of furniture will work in this decorating style.  Shabby chic furniture is often used in unconventional ways, such as an armoire used for a bar or entertainment center.  Shabby chic furniture doesn’t have to match but should harmonize in style and color.

3)  White furniture is often associated with the shabby chic style.  A fresh coat of white paint can do wonders for a dark, dingy piece of furniture.  An old, worn look can be achieved by heavily painting then using sandpaper to rub away the top coat to show the wood or bottom coats.  Another technique to achieve a worn look is to lightly sand and rough up the corners of a piece of furniture.  This will give a worn out look to a newer piece of furniture.

4)  Upholstery fabric on shabby chic furniture tends to be light, airy floral patterns.  However, checks, stripes and solids are also used to give a slightly out of the ordinary, yet harmonized look.  Popular colors are soft green, pale pink, muted gray, white and off-white.

5)  Do you have a beautiful, much-loved antique or elegant piece of furniture?  Shabby chic is an excellent decorating style for making this antique or piece of furniture the center of attraction.  Add shabby chic décor from your own home or spend time browsing garage sales, flea markets and second-hand stores to find unique, worn out décor to complete your shabby chic look.

Shabby chic is the perfect decorating style for the person with a limited decorating budget.  By using time, creativity and imagination, you can create a beautifully decorated room (or house) that will be enjoyed for years to come. 

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Lynn Cressy