Rachel Ashwell coined the phrase Shabby Chic in the 1980's and actually owns and sells a line called Shabby Chic, but she named a style that my Grandmother used long ago...The practice of not buying new, but using what you had and sprucing it up with lace and pillows of stripes, checks and floral fabrics to make a comfortable home.........Everytime I went to visit her, I would set down on the couch and fall asleep!.......She owned a second hand store in Nebraska and raised her family during the hard years of the Depression and World War Two..........Although lace curtains are a staple of shabby chic, at times she even cut butcher paper like snowflakes and pasted it into the window frame with flour paste for curtains..........

Today shabby chic brings to mind white painted wooden furniture, light colored slipcovers, and pastel colors of whites, creams, pale pink, blue and pale sea foam green........You don't need to spend a lot of money on this decorating style as any garage sale or flea market can supply many durable items that can be refurbished or painted to make a relaxing and family oriented room.......

The great thing is that you can mix and match........add prisms and lace.......basically have a ball and enjoy what you have created........the ultimate style for the creative person.....add candles and flowers and you are on your way.........It combines old even worn furniture with painted table, throw rugs and lace...........You can even take some fabric that you have and make it look old by staining it with tea........be sure to test a little corner to see what color it will turn out to be..........of course all the vintage fabric on ebay will give you lots of ideas.....

You can set that old white chair out in the garden with a pot of geraniums on it.....and anything Handmade is a bonus......

To me Shabby Chic is a softness.....soft pillows, soft colors, soft floors..............soft on the budget.......