Yes I know I haven’t written for a while! We have been very busy stock taking and having a big sale, which went very well. We have now cleared plenty of room in the Coop for lots of lovely new Shabby Chic accessories!

As well as this I have been doing some research and apart from the divine Rachel Ashwell‘s ‘bible’ I have come across another lovely book called ‘How to create a Shabby Chic lifestyle’. It’s a little gem! It’s written by Amelie Rose - a perfect name for a Shabby Chic goddess and it’s full of fabulous tips to help you create the perfect Shabby Chic home.  The book is an easy read and comes with helpful advice on how to achieve the look you are after. Whether you are using recycled, up-cycled, antique, retro or new, to get the Shabby Chic look, it doesn’t matter, it all works! No matter what your budget is, you will always be able to find something to add to your collection, by browsing through antiques, local flea markets, scouring the internet or bidding on e-bay. The affordability of Shabby Chic is what makes it such a popular concept.

In her book Amelie includes a list of Shabby Chic items that are a useful starting point, I have listed them below:

Decorative mirrors

Chandeliers

Tallboys

Bureaus

Collections of photo frames

Sideboards

Lampstands

Table lamps

Pieces of crystal or china

Soft vintage throws and cushions

There’s enough here to get you started I think!

04.04.13

Look at the photo below of a pine shelf unit I am going to 'shabbify'. I'm going to use a light under coat and dark top coat - grey - and then rub through to the undercoat to reveal a perfect Shabby Chic furniture item! I'll take photos as I go along to show you how it'll turn out!

The first paint applied is a matt/flat cream emulsion.  I applied two coats, quite thinly.

I then rubbed an old candle over the shelf, in areas I felt would naturally show wear.  Over the top of this I applied a darker matt emulsion.  I used Dulux Potter's Wheel, which is grey.  I let this dry and using fine sandpaper, rubbed off the top layer, roughly where I had rubbed the wax.  I love the effect and it's so easy to do.  I was going to sell this but I like it too much.  Maybe I'll sell the next one!

24.03.13

Yes I know I didn't blog my Shabby Chic ideas last weekend. Well it was a momentous weekend for our small Principality and it would have been bad form not to celebrate! Unfortunately I enjoyed the celebrations so much that I wasn't up to scratch on the Sunday! But Sunday has come around again so quickly and here I am ready to impart some Shabby Chic ideas to help you decorate your home. Look at this small Shabby Chic bathroom unit I painted about oooh .... 12 years ago. Yes, Shabby Chic has been around quite a while and it's still a much sought after style. I think the secret is that it keeps adapting and evolving, and hopefully that's what Shabby Chicks will help you to do.

With this cute little unit, after a lot of elbow grease removing old varnish I applied a dark colour as an undercoat then the cream on top. I then brushed it with a special paint called 'crakle glaze' and watched it change, magically before my eyes, as the paint distressed as it dried. I think you can still get this product but it's in an aerosol now. It works a treat and really gives that distinct Shabby Chic look.  That's one way of getting the Shabby Chic look.

10.03.13

Well we're finally both in the same country and can now get down to some serious work!  We had a great time in the NEC Spring Fair and spent far too much money on beautiful Shabby Chic accessories.  We hope that they will inspire you and give you many vintage style ideas for your home.  We expect to take delivery of many of these new items in April.  Watch this space! 

Well 'The Boss' Sonja (ha ha! I let her think she is) has asked me to write some more.  I've been doing a little research into Rachel Ashwell - the doyenne of all things Shabby Chic - from Shabby Chic furniture, Shabby Chic accessories, Shabby Chic decor etc, etc!   A lady whose name has been synonymous with Shabby Chic for over 20 years.  She has retail outlets or should I say 'couture stores' in Los Angeles, New York and London, which she says are her creative playground.  A bit like Sonja and I setting up in Carmarthen Market - we take so long it looks as though we're playing!  All done in the interests of appealing to you, our customers and not to the fact that we have OCD!

We have something else in common with the lovely Rachel Ashwell, she also began selling her wares in outdoor markets but was lucky enough to open her first store in 1989.  Here's hoping. Rachel says that 'Comfort, the beauty of imperfection, the allure of time-worn objects' are what Shabby Chic style is all about.  We agree and in this blog we're going to give you practical advice on how to obtain these simple but effective results.

We will start with a simple shelf unit which we're going to 'shabbify'.  Keep an eye on our Pinterest boards for more Shabby Chic ideas.