Shabby Chic Interior Design: 7 Main Characteristics

Shabby chic interior design has been a popular choice over the past few years, offering a good opportunity to revitalise your home.

So, this article will discuss the origins of this design and give some valuable tips for shabby chic design style.

What is Shabby Chic Interior Design?

The term shabby chic was first coined in 1980. It has been inspired by rustic French living, blending the traditional nuances of antique furniture with a minimalist, sleek color scheme.

How to create Shabby Chic interiors?

When incorporating a shabby chic style into your own home, you must use all of the available space to your advantage. Therefore, include items that stand the test of time and can accentuate your existing furniture.

For example, try placing a vintage light fixture in the middle of your kitchen or living room. In turn, this creates a central focal point that brightens the entire room and helps create a cohesive shabby chic theme.

You might also want to read more about The Scandinavian Interior Design Style

The Main Characteristics of the Shabby Chic Interior Design

So, shabby chic can be expressed in various ways, making it an incredibly versatile style for any home. That being said, there are a few reoccurring motifs that help this bohemian interior design genuinely come to life.

So, let’s look at the 7 main characteristics of the shabby chic interior design style!

1. A diverse selection of antique pieces

Although shabby chic frequently calls upon past design choices, there is no set period from which these pieces must originate. As such, you’re free to make use of a range of vintage pieces from any decade. This helps to make shabby chic so popular, as designers are not subjected to one period in time.

2. Blends tradition with elegance

Shabby chic is well known for mixing the past and the present. This design style harks back to 18th-century French living. Hence the ornate bed frames and wall panelling. Yet, shabby chic also blends the alluring pastel color schemes seen in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As a result, many interior designers enjoy pairing unique pieces from the Baroque period with the soft furnishing we see in our modern world.

3. Creates an eclectic environment in every living space

Shabby chic seems so unique because it gives the impression of a chaotic, and inconsistent space.

However, once you take a closer look at how every piece complement each other, you will begin to appreciate the true value of this popular design craze.

Shabby chic allows people to experiment freely by mixing an antique dining table with retro chairs, and so on.

4. Distressed textures and color schemes

Shabby chic does not require homeowners to fix every piece of chipped paint. This design style actively encourages people to let their furniture become rugged and tainted. This further emphasises the true beauty of vintage style. So, you can let modern furniture become rustic by letting its weathered areas shine through.

Related Read: The Complete Guide to Using Patterns in Interior Design

5. Mixing neutral and pastel colors

Shabby chic is known for its vast array of muted colors. Therefore, you can create a minimalist style without using the same colors over and over again.

Feel free to mix whites and greys with soft tones of pastel blues and green.

Learn more about shabby chic floors, reclaimed wood and tiles flooring

6. Spark your shabby chic interior design with gold and silver

Metallic colors are also an important part of the shabby chic interior design. They help epitomize a blend between old and new. You can achieve this look by scattering gold or silver cushions to your bedroom. Or you could use polished candlestick holders for the living room.

7. Feminine tones

Shabby chic style interior design relies on feminine undertones to show off its unconventional features. This can be shown in a collection of alluring ways, such as adding floral bedsheets or using various tones of pastel pink. These small touches help to brighten a room and create a more refined atmosphere.

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