- Hardcover: 208 pages
- Publisher: Harper Design; 1 edition (Mar 23 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 006039319X
- ISBN-13: 978-0060393199
- Product Dimensions: 26.2 x 21.1 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 962 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#93,514 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Books > Home & Garden > Expert Advice > Rachel Ashwell
- #15 in Books > Home & Garden > Interior Design > Style
- #69 in Books > Home & Garden > Crafts & Hobbies > Decorating
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Most people are familiar with the hallmarks of Rachel Ashwell's shabby chic style: fabrics in pastel florals and stripes, chintz sofa covers, antique-store and yard-sale finds turned into home furnishings and accessories. At the heart of this breezy style is a very practical idea: don't buy new--use what you have or can find at thrift stores and secondhand shops and enjoy the old-fashioned charm that only aged pieces acquire. The same idea goes for houses. The Shabby Chic Home shows how an older home can take on a shabby chic appeal by being brought up to date without sacrificing any of its charm.
In The Shabby Chic Home, Ashwell walks readers through the renovation of her own 1920s home, from the purchase of the originally dark and gloomy house through the repainting (using layers and layers of white paint) of the home and the rebirth of the garden, yard, and pool, to the final decorating of the home for herself and her two kids. Along the way, readers receive advice on how to choose from among the thousands of paint colors, how to decide whether to live with the old or buy new, and why remodeling an older home might not be such a good idea. The latter part of the book explains how to add touches of shabby chic style to every room of a home--old or new--for a finished look. The result, shown in dramatic before-and-after pictures, is a home that's comfortable enough for a family to relax in, but still elegant and beautiful.
Don't let the floral patterns and chenille bedspreads fool you: Ashwell's advice throughout is common-sense and economical. For instance, she recommends not wasting your time looking through every decorating option--if you like the first idea, color, or plan well enough, save yourself the time and stress and go with it. She also suggests resisting the immediate desire to throw out the old and bring in the new; try living with things as they are for a while, and you may find yourself surprised at how well you've come to like the funky tile in the bathroom or the noisy glass-door refrigerator. Here lies the appeal of a shabby chic home: sometimes old has a charm and lived-in look that can't be purchased from a home improvement store. --Kris Law
From Library Journal
Ashwell (Shabby Chic and Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Treasure Hunting & Decorating Guide) shows how she transformed her own Malibu home, a 1920s natural-wood dwelling built by a Swedish boatbuilder, into a reflection of the "Shabby Chic" style that she has popularized with her home furnishings and fabric lines. Taking a house with "good bones," she dramatically changed the look of the house with simple adjustments, such as using lots of white paint. (To those who protested her painting the natural wood, she replied, "Oh, well.") Given the continuing tendency to gut or tear down older homes, her recommendations are refreshing. A good purchase for public libraries.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Shabby Excuse for a Decorating Book,
By Liz Kaltenbronn (Lake Ozark, MO USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Shabby Chic Home (Hardcover)
I have never been so furious than when I started realizing what this book was really about : How to get an Unsuspecting Public to Pay for the Rennovation and Decoration of Your Newly Purchased Home".There were at least four pictures of Rachel's bedroom, three of her kitchen, and one page devoted to a glass (not even crystal) door knob. When your book has the word decorating in it, you tend to think you're going to get decorating ideas, not 30 personal photos of the author & her family (16 of which are the author herself!). As for the photography in this book, it's lovely, she really knows how to focus the camera on an open drawer w/plastic hair clips, and make it look decorated (fine if you have so much room in your vanity that you can devote one drawer to clips, and leave it open to boot!) There are less tha 20 pages of decorating related material in a book of 200 pages, and some pages are questionable. Not once do you see something shabby made to look Chic as the title implies. Lets face it, a french provincial antique giant armore painted w/blush paint and a cream wash can hardley be considered Shabby when it probably cost very close to this side of $1,000.00 used! Ashwell has reached the ranks of such peers as Truman Capote & Margaret Mitchell, if her name is remembered anywhere outside of California, she'll be known for one book and one book only, and even that comparison is a major stretch! Trust me, don't be one of the readers that assumes "she's done it again" because she mostcertainly has not. But perhaps you could use a book filled with expensive pictures the Ashwell's flower vase, the four items on the back of their comode and my favorite, the picture of THE LABORERS THAT WORKED ON HER HOUSE.It's no wonder Rachel's smiling a big grin on her face on the cover and I know why!DO NOT PAY FULL PRICE FOR THIS BOOK!
2.0 out of 5 stars
Very Disappointed,
By
This review is from: The Shabby Chic Home (Hardcover)
Browsing the free pages shown on Amazon I thought I was going to get a book with lots of Photos of "shabby" style furniture and tips on how to get the look.Instead what I got was a book that reads like a 'day in the life of' story.I didnt want a biography.This book takes you along on the authors trips to assorted flea markets and whatnot and tells you what she bought and where she is going to use it.Not at all what I expected to get.
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm workin' toward this house...,
By
This review is from: The Shabby Chic Home (Hardcover)
Except, mine will be on the Indiana or Illinois coast of Lake Michigan. I love Rachel Ashwell's frugal, classy style. She gives you a truck load of inspiration and understands empowering people to design, no matter if they are wealthy or shopping in ritzy alleys or at estate sales for goods. The results create sentimental elegance. If nothing else, you learn the power of white paint and good hard do it yourselfing. This book takes you there and Rachel does an excellent job of pulling you into her home. She leaves nothing out and the photographer deserves enormous credit. Buy it or check it out at the library today.
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