SUMMER PROJECTS THAT ARE USEFUL FOR US GALS

two aprons, the one on top: www.kaboodle.com
the apron on the bottom, blue-pink: overthetopaprons.blogspot.com
These shabby chic aprons appear on google.com and I wrote down the source.
These are lovely and it is wonderful for young girls to learn sewing by using a pattern and making an apron that they can use right away. Summer is a perfect time of year to refresh ones sewing skills or to learn how to sew. These aprons are wonderful gifts. Choose the color combination that you enjoy.

QUEEN OF KITCHENS

Isn't this a very familiar kitchen? Shabby Chic coloring and beautiful. A kitchen should be both functional and beautiful. Mais oui, tres chic! I absorb the beauty in this kitchen (which does not seem ideal for a busy kitchen with many children in it in terms of function). I can feel the spirit of Chopin in this kitchen. Do you know what I mean? Living with art and beauty, color and design, and musical notes of romance and melody ... the perfect kitchen for those who enjoy living with art.

PRESERVING THE PAST

Stylish Shabby Chic cups and saucers. I have always found great beauty in old-fashioned china, dinnerware to be precise. Tea cups and Coffee cups, and for those who do not drink herbal teas or regular teas and coffee, these are suitable for apple cider/apple juice, hot cocoa/chocolate, cranberry juice and so forth. I like the old-fashioned cup and saucer sets as opposed to Mugs! The delicate elegance of cup and saucer has faded, but I grew-up with cup and saucer, and I cannot help enjoying the old-fashioned sets of dinnerware. Fancy or simple Fire King, it did not matter which was at the dinner table when I was a child. I found as much beauty on this sets as I did on the lovely flowers that I praised and enjoyed at close range. The stylish elegance and delicacy of the past should be preserved. There are a 'few' sets of china that are marketed as cup and saucer. No more mugs, please!

I LIVE SHABBY CHIC A LA MODE

I adore Shabby Chic, though I do not favor white, especially not whitewash walls. I like pink, but I love peach and purples and browns. So why do I find Shabby Chic irresistible in its romantic, simplistic style? I guess the answer is that Shabby Chic offers a refreshing look. The design reminds me of Art Deco buildings in my childhood. Furthermore, I like the modern-Marie-Antoinette shabby chic, tres chic look with all the French trimmings. I guess that is my answer. I may like early American and the country look, but the shabby and the chic blend well. I do not have the accent to force the vowel in the word 'tres' as in 'very' in French. Pardon the keyboard ... Press on any of the images in my blogs for larger photo resolution. Enjoy your day and have a shabby chic day.

The Monument: A Shabby Chic Masterpiece!

For those of you who enjoy shabby chic this is either a very familiar photograph or a new discovery,and I call it The Monument! When I found this kitchen in google.com I think it stated that it was a French kitchen. I am not certain and I have since misplaced the direct link. Regardless of its origin, the creator/s of this kitchen have brought many of us endless moments of happiness and I wish to thank you at this time!

ARPON: COLOR COORDINATION

If you are not a 'pink' gal, blue is a good combination cooling down the warmer, soft pink. Make it shabby and let it chi, that is, simple cotton fabric and make it chic, make it stand out by adding a lovely combination such as blue and pink. I like calico, too. Sturdy cotton material is ideal. I have fabric for an orange/green apron. I have not yet found the fabric for an apron using pastel blue and pastel pink such as on the image presented on this blog. There is something special added to homemaking when one wears an apron, but not just any apron. Choose a model and color scheme that you enjoy! Color and style and comfort make a difference.

Shabby Chic: A Matter of Personal Taste in the Shabby or the Chic

If you like the country look, then add more of the shabby. If you like to create 'a look' and enjoy elegance and/or a focus area, then add more of the chic. Eclectic Shabby Chic blends the old with the new, the classic with the romantic, the stripes with the flowers. Create your own look and make it work for you!

Style, Design, Color ... Eclectic and NOT Proud of it

Mix and match and you have the shabby and the chic, Shabby Chic. The world of flora and color charms our lives. I am a mix, French Shabby Chic, Retro 1970s Americana, and early American. I wish I could be defined in one category and not in more than one selection, but that is what I enjoy. I like avocado green which I call olive green. Yet, I like refreshing, uncluttered Shabby Chic and cozy, comfortable Retro 1970s. Many times I see Shabby Chic and it reminds me of the Art Deco I grew up with as a kid. When I see the exquisite style of sophisticated and gentle 'Marie-Antoinette' Shabby Chic. I identify with the style and it gives me great pleasure. I also like Boho / Bohemian Gyspy so much, primarily for its colors.

The solution to one like me who enjoys four different styles would be to display each style in one room. Ah, but I do not decorate with any of the four styles that I adore and just mentioned. The reason is that I like peach walls and some of the green, too, and that I have many books which distracts from decorating the interiors the way I would like it. I like the French sofa, but I do not like its texture or style. Shabby Chic uses so much of the whitewash that I do not like ... In fashion the answer is simple, house-dress and robe or Boho, but when I go out it is always stylish with a French-look.

My style in fashion is classic and French, and that is easy, but in terms of home decor, one has to consider what the husband likes, too. I wanted dark brown walls and colored ceilings. He wanted white ceilings and all white dolls. The bathroom appliances were not made in emerald green and my green bathroom became blue and white. I do not like it, but everyone else likes it, and my husband likes blue, and therefore I am happy. I used cobalt, very soft sky blue, and navy, added white to the crown moldings and bathroom closet and voila! It is lovely, but I wanted green. My husband likes it in the blues and it is a beautiful bathroom. It worked out. There are options and I am flexible. In my heart, I would have enjoyed the house in early American primitive design with one room in Shabby Chic, Parisian style!

Hey, Live a Little ... The Old-Fashioned Way!

We have phone texting, blogs, and live in a society that is very affluent. We have our basic needs covered and yet, do we value nature's beauty? Every flower and ever tree, and what about humor? Do we laugh or do we simply feel that we deserve more? There was a time when we had less in life. We were children and our world was limited due to our age. We had fun with basic games and doll-playing. Do children today invest hours playing with old-fashioned dolls, play stick ball and enjoy a basic little cupcake without the trimmings, today' fondant? Isn't this bag pretty? Shabby chic furniture, fashion, decorative items, hat boxes, and so much more that is of beauty bring us aesthetic blessings. I have two shabby chic boards on Pinterest. I decided to blog on this lovely and refreshing style.

~The Serenity of Pastels, Tres Chic~

Enjoy the merry month of May. For now, enjoy beauty in art and prose. The lovely painting in pastel is beautiful and tres chic! Dressing up makes one feel accomplished! A tribute to The Darling Buds of May, a sonnet by William Shakespeare.

SONNET 18

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

Wearable Shabby Chic, tres chic!

Wearable Shabby Chic ... Remember that in Retro television Mothers used to wear aprons? Donna Reed wore pearls as well. This stylish apron is one of many embracing the loveliness and quiet elegance of shabby chic. I will present a few additional aprons on this blog by and by. Bring out the sewing machine and 'shabby' your 'chic,' that is, your own style and have fun with this project. If you do not like wearing aprons, there are others who enjoy or need to wear them constantly. These make pretty and personal gifts that your friends/family will appreciate receiving. Think about it. www.socialmoms.net

When Old Meets New! It's Shabby Turned Chic!

Explore the possibilities offered by Shabby Chic and enjoy the beauty! This kitchen is very shabby, and yet, the chic blocks the reality of this old, old kitchen. In Europe buildings are remodeled, and not destroyed. There are possibilities to save a few areas of your homes, such as the kitchen. This concept of shabby chic offers the best of both worlds, the old and the new by personal taste or economic necessity. Creating the chic for the existing shabby is akin to a 'face lift' in the old design and condition of any room in the house. -Enjoy the beauty and count blessings for you have the gift of your visual sense to partake of this adventure in the art that Shabby Chic offers!

J'adore Shabby Chic, Aussi

Source: I have copy/paste and edited f/ Wikipedia -please view complete article and their sources @wikipedia.com and the image on this blog is via google search/image: Alkemie: Bohemian Chic Meets the Modern Marie Antoinette
alkemie.blogspot.com

Shabby chic is a form of interior design where furniture and furnishingsare either chosen for their appearance of age and signs of wear and tear or where new items are distressed to achieve the appearance of an antique. At the same time, a soft, opulent, yet cottage-style decor, often with an affected feel is emphasised to differentiate it from genuine period decor.

Shabby chic items are often heavily painted through the years, with many layers showing through obviously time-worn areas. The style is imitated in faux painting using glaze or by painting then rubbing and sanding away the top coat to show the wood or base coats, known as "distressing" the finish of the furniture. Furniture pieces that are not genuine antiques are usually selected for their resemblance to older furniture styles, and may be reproduction furniture with a distressed finish. Elaborate furniture appliques depicting flower swags and garlands, cherubs, and other motifs may be added.

Fabrics tend to be cottons and linens, with linen being particularly popular, inspired by old French linens. Pure whites, as well as ecrus and worn or bleached out pastel colours are favourites. Fabric is often stained with tea to give it the look of old fabric. Bleached and faded are terms often applied to the style. Vintage floral patterns with pastel colours, cotton ticking patterns, or linen in earth tones, are all typical of shabby chic style.

Antique pieces such as pie safes and jelly cupboards are popular in shabby chic décor.[2] Besides white, the Shabby Chic style also includes soft neutral colors such as sky blue, rose pink and beige tones. Hints from French-style interior design often show in shabby chic homes such as Rococo-style lighting fixtures, furniture or wall paneling.

The shabby chic aesthetic also expands to the garden, with the same design principles of using timeworn garden furniture and feminine accessories. Roses gardens are popular with the shabby chic style of decor.

Other popular decor items are pillows made of vintage barkcloth fabric, vintage linens, chenille bedspreads, vintage chandeliers, and anything with roses in the design. It is a soft, relaxed, feminine, romantic style of decorating that looks comfortable and inviting.

Variants of shabby chic style include:
• Cottage chic
• Beach cottage chic
• French country
• Gustavian (Swedish)

The style started in Great Britain and evokes the type of decoration found in large country houses where there are worn and faded oldchintz sofas and curtains, old paintwork and unassuming 'good' taste. The end result of shabby chic is to achieve an elegant overall effect, as opposed to the sentimentally cute Pop-Victorian. Recycling old furniture and fabrics is an important aspect of the look and was especially popular with modern Bohemians and artisans that made up a sidelined counter-culture movement during the 1980s when expensive quality decor became very fashionable with the upper middle classes. The original shabby chic interiors were usually considered in themselves works of art.

The early forms of shabby chic were rather grand but the style has evolved taking inspiration from many forms of decoration. These range from 18th century Swedish painted decoration, the French Chateau as well as the American Shakers where simplicity and plainness was essential.

Origin of term

The term was coined by The World of Interiors magazine in the 1980s and became extremely popular in the US in the '90s with a certain eclectic surge of decorating styles with paints and effects, notably in metropolitan cultural centres on the West Coast of America, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, with heavy influences from Mediterranean cultures such as Provence, Tuscany and Greece.

Shabby chic is also a general term which can be used to refer to a person who is stylish rather than fashionable, where their style reflects quality as opposed to newness.

Welcome to Shabby Chic

This is a romantic French cake. I enjoy French Shabby Chic and the inspiration of romantic Marie-Antoinette! Welcome to my blog.

Welcome to my world of Shabby Chic. I enjoy various home style and home living designs: American country, Bohemian/Gypsy, and Shabby Chic / French Shabby Chic style in the 'home' and in my personal life. I am of distant French ancestry (Franco-Russo ancestry among many other nations and tribes), but Shabby Chic --French style rules! The refreshing and casually elegant style is special to me, though I do not like so much White or so much Pink. I do not like white walls and although I enjoy pink ... I must say that peach and lavender/purples and yes -- browns are my cup of tea! I like American country with that special touch of autumn hues and country flavors, but I also like summer shabby that is tres chic! I hope you will visit when I post from time to time and enjoy exploring all design styles and find one that suits you. Thank you ... Je vous remercie. Je n'ai pas d'accents (francais) dans l'ordi.