Vintage Chic

Vintage Chic

Looking for some wonderful ideas to create a shabby chic theme in your new kitchen?

Shabby Chic is a style that focuses on the comfortable, worn, good quality, well-loved, sensible and rather dilapidated elegance of an Italian villa. The air is of good taste, although well worn and old fashioned. To achieve an air of shabby-chic, you'll need to find furniture that is distressed or rustic, simple and comfortable. Almost any piece of wooden furniture will fit into this kitchen if its painted white.

Collect pieces from garage sales, markets and attics, paint in either white or soft pastel colors (pink, mint green or soft aqua) and then sand it off a little to show the wood or other layers of paint beneath and to make it look older. You'll be surprised at how beautiful and quaint it will look! Choose a large table and chairs for eating and preparing food on, a couple of dressers to display your plates, jugs and teapots, some raffia-seated stools, a large range cooker as your focal piece and you'll have the core of your shabby chic kitchen. Use the same colors in fabrics - popular decor items are pillows of vintage linens or lace and cottons worn with age but of good quality, inspired by old French laces and linens.

Bleached and faded is the sort of 'look' that accompanies this style. To add a bit of vintage charm, look for old shelving and vintage open cabinets in place of new cabinets to hold vintage dishes and tea cups. Anything with roses printed on it is popular, and floral chintz curtains or sofas, go really well with large porcelain jugs of fresh flowers on lace tablecloths. For easy complementing of colors, perhaps pick a base color like ivory, and fit others around that. Shabby chic style allows for mismatched color and follows no hard and fast rules. Typically the cottage feel is defined through the use of lighter colors. Soft pastels convey country comfort, but when it comes to color, there are no hard and fast rules. As long as the exterior finish is worn, any colors may be used.

Other accessories in a shabby-chic kitchen would be silver chandeliers or candleholders, copper and pewter items such as candlesticks, cream jugs and gravy boats, that are displayed on open shelving with lots of crockery in whites and pale pastel colors. The decoration and detail is more important than the colors. Soft throw rugs or quilts can give a sense of warmth and comfort.  Wrought iron is a well-loved material that can be picked up at second hand shops quite cheaply.

There are stores that supply already distressed shabby-chic style furniture and accessories, but you'll have more fun collecting your own pieces and painting them the colors you'd like to suit your taste.  Add an old-fashioned wood fire and you'll have recreated your grandmother's kitchen with flair and elegance, and the sophistication of the present.

About the Author

I am webmaster of a site called clever-kitchen-designs.com. This is all about my passion - remodeling or designing a new kitchen! This is something that YOU can do with guidance and perhaps some assistance from contractors for specific jobs. Let me help you to create a stunning new kitchen reflecting your chosen style!

50's/Vintage/Chic bedroom decoration ideas?

Hi, I'm a 14 year old girl and for my Christmas and 15th birthday present my parents are going to let me redecorate my room. I wanted to do a 50's vintage chic Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn stuff like that kinda room. So if you have any ideas PLEASE share!!
My main color is a light pastel pink and the complementary color is white, hope this helps.

If you want to add color use nice color solid frames...but for photos hang up all black and white photos of who you want. You can even have a wall full of mirrors....they had a lot of that look at the time. mirrored and chrome items. and with the mirrors get different size circle mirrors and arrange them so they look cute.....here's idea of the type of furniture you might like....

http://shakinstyle.com/wp-content/oldimages/shakinstyle//photos/uncategorized/2008/04/30/bh_prod121012_av.jpg

notice the style of the bed and mirror? kind of like that.....however if you want to add some color go with red/black and white bed set....it would look wonderful

here's a dresser

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krqqo4Yn5c1qa4t1x.jpg

also you could possibly get a nice vanity and i guess a small little couch that goes at the foot of your bed with this style

http://s2.thisnext.com/media/largest_dimension/91530A18.jpg

http://www.furnitureanddesignideas.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/z2.png

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p2bw3CgJ08k/SiSU1HWUK7I/AAAAAAAACtk/sEkw_ed7kss/s400/Bench_Seville+Dural.jpg

http://www.myparisfleamarket.com/cart/thumbs/DSCN1901.JPG

these are just a few ideas......i hope you like them .....if you don't like red then you can go with a pink. if you don't like this particular style you can go with something similar.....this was fun to look up.... lol

Vintage chic OOTD