What Is the Shabby Look?

A cottage with "shabby" decor

The shabby look, also known as "shabby chic," makes use of vintage furnishings, quilts and throws, distressed tables and well-used accents to create a decor that is comfortably casual yet trendy.

Origins

The shabby look is an offshoot of the French country decorating style, influenced by today's emphasis on recycling vintage items. The characteristic warm, casual cottage-style wood furnishings, lace curtains, overstuffed easy chairs, and colorful accent pieces become distressed, vintage, mismatched and chipped.

Furniture

Central to the shabby style are vintage wood or metal end tables that you paint white, then treat with a crackle finish or distress with sandpaper to give the pieces a used look.

Upholstery

The shabby look includes mismatched slipcovers, such as one with a tiny floral print and another made of ticking stripes.

Window Treatments

Lace or crochet-edged curtains are perfect components of the shabby look. Decorators may give them a tea-dye bath for a desirable vintage tint.

Accent Pieces

A mismatched china place setting is a fitting centerpiece on your distressed coffee table. A chipped vase full of big, fragrant cabbage roses makes a great shabby accent.

Lighting

A flea-market chandelier is a wonderful finishing touch. A mantelpiece with pastel candles in a mismatched grouping of holders is the coup de grace.

References

• Home Decorating Coach
• Shabby Chic Chandeliers