The soft, feminine, beauty of shabby chic will create a dreamy atmosphere in any room. Creating a space in the shabby chic style can give you a sense of peace and calm, which is ideal in the modern, fast living world we live in today. Is it difficult to achieve? No, not if you follow these simple tips.
Creating the Basic Theme
The basic theme to shabby chic is white, pastel, vintage and rustic. Follow these simple anchors and the rest will follow. Usually the walls are white washed, which enhances brickwork perfectly. Pastel colors, such as duck egg blue and pale green, work just as well.
Antique Furniture
No modern furniture here, as the look you want is based on antique pieces. You need not go to the expense of buying antique furniture, as you can upcycle old wooden chairs, cheap pine tables and yard sale cupboards. With just the basics of DIY skills, you can transform any piece of tired junk into a dreamy piece of art. All you need is sandpaper, hard work, patience and milk paint. The latter, you can either make yourself, or source from a store such as www.realmilkpaint.com. The advantage of buying milk paint from a store is that you can be sure that it has been mixed properly; you can also choose from a range of colors.
Vintage Mirrors
Proper vintage mirrors cannot be copied, as they develop a unique patina over time that adds to their charm. Have a look around in yard sales and online auction sales sites for the best chance of buying one that would cost a whole lot more from an antique store. Even if the frame has passed its best, you can soon reframe it and paint it to match your room.
Dreamy Bedroom Touches
What can be more idyllic than an old brass bedstead and a beautiful white bedspread draped with a vintage quilt and cushions. This will look especially nice if you choose a faded, floral design. You can match these by painting the floorboards and using a few matching rugs. Add your vintage mirror and recently refurbished furniture for the perfect dreamy bedroom.
Salvaged Beauty
Salvage yards are the ideal places to hunt for rustic timber to make tables and benches. Old wooden planks can be fitted together to make a lovely dining table. Sanded and painted with milk paint, it will be the centerpiece of your dining room for the fraction of the price of a similarly looking store bought one. You can make some benches the same way and add a couple of old chairs. They do not have to match each other as you can soon fit some seat covers to bring them all together.
So why not have your own shabby chic inspired room, it is not too hard to create and will give you a lot of pleasure knowing it will still be fashionable in twenty years’ time. How many other styles can lay claim to that?
