Shabby chic decor paints a patina of romance and charm over a home, like the glow around the faces of beautiful actresses in old films. Giving everything new a well-worn appeal, shabby chic decor creates an impression of coziness, comfort, and good living. The feel of a home instead of a house. And following a few easy tips, you too can cast the soft hues of shabby chic decor over your home. From distressing your furniture to creating your own shabby chic wall art or choosing the right fabrics-shabby chic decor is easy, fun and soothing. So give it a try.
The Right Fabrics for Shabby Chic Decor
Like morning sunlight, the hues of shabby chic decor are soft. Whites and pastels, with the slightest intentional highlight, like a vase of red roses or purple lilies. Thus the room becomes the canvas of an Impressionist painting. Gauzy fabrics flutter at the windows, and lace graces bedding and pillows. The pale fabrics may have patterns or plaids, but these are subtle, while floral motifs are ideal representations of the shabby chic style.
The Right Wood Finish for Shabby Chic Decor
The well-worn, well-loved is the ideal in shabby chic decor. Accordingly, wood furnishings should have a distressed look. This can easily be achieved through a two-step painting technique. First paint the furniture white, then, once dry, paint the furniture again with a faded hue of your choice, like sage or pale pink. Once dry again, sand the furniture lightly to impart the shabby chic style to it. Then, around angles and corners that would normally become worn over time, sand down to the white paint. This elegant worn look is the hallmark of shabby chic decor. Alternatively, you might wish to create another famous shabby chic style, that of a crackled finish. The simplest way is to use Rust-Oleum’s Crackle Creations Kit which comes with easy to follow instructions.
The Right Wall Art for Shabby Chic Decor
If you can see the world through foggy glasses, you have the necessary skill to create your own shabby chic wall decor. Begin by choosing prints of Impressionist paintings from calendars, or images of fairy tales from books, or photographs of flowers or sunny fields. If the image seems too bright, don’t be concerned. The next step will mute it into shabby chic decor.
There are two ways to distress the image. You can overlay rice paper or a lace fabric over the print. Or you can dilute white paint in water and paint over the image. Choose simple frames and paint them as described above, this time sanding the frames heavily to expose the white undercoat all along the frame. Be sure that your images seem to belong to a single collection, and choose two styles of frames and interweave them on the wall, to heighten the shabby chic effect.
Complete your shabby chic decor by faux painting your walls with faded hues, following this simple sea sponge technique.
