The Shabby Chic Home

• Shabby Chic
• Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Treasure Hunting and Decorating Guide
• Shabby Chic: Sumptuous Settings and Other Lovely Things
• The Shabby Chic Gift of Giving
• New Cottage Style (Better Homes & Gardens)

Wonderful wide-plank floors, paned sash windows, an old brick fireplace, the charm of living with a home's small imperfections and making them a virtue. These are just some examples of what makes up a Shabby Chic home.

When she first saw what would be her future home, Rachel Ashwell, founder of the Shabby Chic line, was put off by its dark, witchy exterior, gloomy interior, and overgrown garden. But for weeks afterward, she couldn't get the house out of her mind. She went back, took a closer look, and started to see the charm that lay hidden beneath the surface. Excited by the challenge, she bought the house and went to work on it.

Inspired by the original design of the 1920s house, Rachel was able to transform it into her bright, cozy dream home, one that had the hallmarks of a Shabby Chic home: a practical amount of space, a relaxed atmosphere, and a comfortable beauty. Through simple instructions and detailed before-and-after photographs, Rachel reveals her decorating and entertaining secrets. Even the most apprehensive novices will learn how to incorporate Shabby Chic style into their everyday life and home.

Using her home as an example, Rachel shows you how to assess what needs to be replaced (in her home it was the dark tile in the pool and the bathroom doorknobs), make small structural changes (she exchanged a glass window for a glass door), and keep costs down while adding personal Shabby Chic touches. The gray marble countertop in the guest bathroom and the somewhat noisy glass-front refrigerator were fixtures she would have never chosen, but she left them alone and was pleasantly surprised by the character they added.

In her previous books, Rachel showed you how to recognize beauty in overlooked places. Now, in The Shabby Chic Home, she teaches you how to find it in the nooks and crannies of your own home and then apply it to everyday life. She reveals how work, love, a lot of white paint, and Shabby Chic details can turn any new house into a comfortable, functional, beautifully designed home.

I could move into a house she decorated and never change one thing. An older book that will actually never grow old. See you at the flea market. This book is a keeper. I really like this book and highly recommend it.

I will treasure it because this lady has captured my dream home without ever knowing me. If you like older homes and enjoy relaxed, light, airy, calming, clean, happy, unstuffy, uplifting ways to live in and update a vintage house you will like The Shabby Chic Home and the guidance and hints contained in it. I keep it handy so that I can thumb through it often. A beautiful book with great photos.

The photos are beautiful and just captured my spirit. There's just something about the Shabby Chic look, (like warmth, comfort, and inviting). This is my favorite of all the Shabby Chic books. and if you're looking at the various Shabby Chic books and want beautiful ideas, then this is definitely the one you want. (Let's face it, eating lunch on a beautiful antique china plate is so much more fun). Each time I look at it, something else reaches out and grabs me as a great idea. I also love how we can see Rachel Ashwells home before, and then after she got her hands on it.

There's just something about all the vintage linens, laces and antique china pieces in this book. I wanted my home to look the same way. The ideas and inspiration you receive from this book never ends.

I've owned this book for several years, and I still just love browsing through it. It's just a great book to dream in. There's this a sort of peace and relaxation that overcomes the reader while viewing the pictures. Maybe you won't duplicate a single thing in your own house, but who cares.

The good news with this book is that it's finally her home that she's describing, so there's no more of the star-struck name dropping of the earlier books (i.e., photographing actor Bruce Dern's house). Oh, the pain of being Middle Class. Her books are always incredibly beautiful and well-narrated. I called to price one of those luxurious sofas she shows and it tops $4000 *before* shipping from NYC, the closest outlet to me in the South. Rachel Ashwell has grown from a newly divorced mother trying to make ends meet to a powerhouse with books, stores and a TV show doing the same things my late mother and I used to do on weekends.

But I love her style and I've liked it for nearly 10 years since the first book. I loved watching her transform what appeared to be a dark Tudor disco house into a true home. But she has the wonderful new line at Target that is still relatively affordable. That being said, her aesthetic still influences me and I know I can reproduce that style using Craigslist, Freecycle, Goodwill, Salvation Army, flea markets and estate/tag/moving sales. I'll admit it: I really, really want to playahate.

And despite Shabby Chic's priciness, it's never pretentious. All it takes is a can of cream paint and a willingness to cart stuff into your new pad. I *still* can't afford to buy her stuff.

I never tire of the beautiful pictures in these books. Simplicity and beauty intertwine. Although not everything was "doable" in my own home, it was inspiring to look at Rachel Ashwell's gorgeous home. I love that she has a relatively small house (by California standards), making every inch count.