Interior design for a home must take into account multiple aspects: size, usability, furniture arrangement, lighting, room orientation, and aesthetic style. There are many styles, from the most well-known—contemporary, modern, rustic, minimal, and industrial—to the more unique ones like jungle style or shabby chic.
Lo stile Shabby Chic: origini
Shabby chic is among the most popular and beloved styles. Literally translated, “elegant shabby chic” is a style that appears shabby and dated, but actually conceals a refined touch of sophistication and attention to detail, right down to the smallest details. This style is often associated with country-vintage, due to the presence of shabby wooden furniture and furnishings repainted white. Shabby chic originated in the English countryside and spread to Italy in the 1980s thanks to designer Rachel Ashwell, who brought this style to life by simply reusing old furniture to create a more homey and welcoming atmosphere.
The colors of the Shabby Chic style
The fundamental and dominant color of the style is undoubtedly white, which dominates both furniture and accessories. It is mostly found in a dingy or chipped look on wooden furniture, but it can also be found on other surfaces and materials. Its key function is to bring elegance and brightness to the home’s spaces. Along with white, cream and ivory are very popular, along with pastel shades such as light blue and powder pink, particularly suited to furnishing accessories and home decorations. As the colors used suggest, it is a distinctly feminine and pure style, which emphasizes accessories, thanks also to the use of flowers, lace, and embroidery.
The materials that accompany this style are wood, stone, and metal. All three materials should convey the idea of antiqued furniture, rather than antique, that is, made specifically to be worn and weathered by time.
How to decorate in Shabby Chic style
Today, this style is primarily used in cottages and country homes. The basic concept behind this style is to furnish in a retro style, with particular attention to natural materials.
A Shabby Chic Kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of the home, the room most reminiscent of grandma’s house, and with the Shabby Chic style, it’s easy to recreate this atmosphere. The essential furniture for a themed kitchen is a large bleached wood table, reminiscent of 19th-century tables with decorated legs and soft, sinuous shapes, surrounded by comfortable, upholstered chairs. The kitchen should evoke a country kitchen: white cabinets and display cases with thick decorative frames, a stone sink, and freestanding burners.
The Shabby Chic Living Room
Here, too, the use of light-colored or bleached wood furniture, lightly and deliberately distressed, returns. Sofas and armchairs with sinuous and elegant shapes, typical of late 19th-century homes. Metal makes its entrance in this space, found in its raw and natural form in the legs of coffee tables and furnishings. The walls can also be decorated in a theme, with striped or floral wallpaper or vintage-themed prints.
Shabby Chic Bedroom
The elements are dominant in this space as well: white is the main color, infusing the room with a relaxing atmosphere. The sinuous and soft lines evoke the romanticism of the style, embellished with vintage-style decorative elements and wrought iron. Typical country-style materials, such as wood and metal, are also used. The choice of accessories is crucial: bedspreads and cushions should recall Victorian style, with lace and lacework in soft, pastel colors.
The exteriors in Shabby Chic
This style isn’t limited to homes and interiors. Gardens also offer numerous solutions and inspiration. Essential elements include wooden and wrought iron tables and chairs, pastel-colored flowerpots and watering cans, and even old bicycles and repurposed carts.
Although the Shabby Chic style may seem neglected and unkempt, it’s actually the result of careful attention to detail, reminiscent of the past with a touch of modernity provided by light, bright colors. Like other furnishing styles, it’s not suitable for all spaces and homes: you’re unlikely to find a shabby chic loft, just as you’d be hard-pressed to find an industrial-style country house. Each style has its own scope and its own rules for proper application.