Shabby chic is a style of

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

that chooses either furniture and

furnishing ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose aim is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. This includes most of the objects for the interiors of buildings, as well as interior design, but typically excl ...

s for their appearance of age and signs of wear and tear or distressing, distresses new ones to achieve the same result. Unlike much genuine period décor, this style features a soft, pastel-colored,

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...

look.

Description

Shabby chic furniture is often

antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

s that have been heavily painted through the years, with many layers showing through obviously time-worn areas. Furnishings that are not genuine relics are usually selected for their resemblance to older styles, and may be reproduction pieces with a distressed finish that is faux painted using glaze or rubbing and sanding away of a painted top coat to show the wood or base coats. Elaborate furniture

appliqué Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique ...

s depicting flower swags and

garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. In contemporary times ...

cherubs A cherub (; : cherubim; ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'') is one type of supernatural being in the Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the Garden of ...

, and other motifs may be added. Repurposed antique pieces of obsolete usage such as pie safes and jelly cupboards are popular in shabby chic décor. Also popular are pillows made of old

barkcloth Barkcloth or bark cloth is a versatile material that was once common in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. Barkcloth comes primarily from trees of the family Moraceae, including '' Broussonetia papyrifera'', '' Artocarpus altilis'', '' Artocarpus ...

fabric, vintage bed linens, chenille bedspreads, antique chandeliers,

jute Jute ( ) is a long, rough, shiny bast fibre that can be Spinning (textiles), spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', of the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ...

, and patterns of flowers, especially roses. Fabrics tend to be cottons and linens, with linen being particularly popular, inspired by old French linens. Pure whites, as well as

ecru Ecru is a grayish yellow or cream colour. It initially indicated the colour of unbleached linen (approximately #FEFEE0 ), and some English dictionaries still define it this way. However, over the years it has also come to be used for a quite di ...

s and worn or

bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

ed-out pastel colors, are favorites, and ''bleached'' and ''faded'' are typical descriptions, although fabric may also be stained with tea for an antique look. Vintage floral patterns with pale colors,

earth tone Earth tone is a term used to describe a palette of colors that are similar to natural materials and landscapes. These colors are inspired by the earth's natural hues, including browns, greens, grays, and other warm and muted shades. The term earth ...

s, and cotton ticking patterns are typical of shabby chic style. ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' used the term ''shabby chic'' to describe the

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

fashion designer Martin Margiela's 1992 fall fashion show, which took place in a

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

furniture store and featured models in "wrinkled jackets, baggy-kneed pants and coats with inner linings hanging down from unfinished hems." The general

color scheme In color theory, a color scheme is a combination of 2 or more colors used in aesthetic or practical design. Aesthetic color schemes are used to create style and appeal. Colors that create a harmonious feeling when viewed together are often u ...

, besides white, is soft and neutral, often sky blue, rose pink, and beige. Hints from French-style interior design often show in shabby chic homes, such as

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

-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 soft-hued accessories. Rose gardens are popular with the shabby chic style of décor. Decorators consider shabby chic a relaxed, romantic style that looks comfortable, inviting, and feminine. The masculine counterpart would be "rustic," with deeper or richer colors and

rustic furniture Rustic furniture is furniture employing sticks, twigs or logs for a natural look. The term "rustic" is derived from Latin (peasant; as opposed to urban). The style is rooted in Romantic tradition. In the US it is almost synonymous with the Natio ...

using unfinished wood, denim, burlap, sailcloth and homespun cloth. Varieties of shabby chic style include: * Cottage chic * Beach cottage chic * French country * Gustavian (Swedish)

History

The style started in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and evokes the type of decoration found in large country houses where there are worn and faded old

chintz Chintz () is a woodblock printed, painted, stained or glazed calico textile that originated in Golconda (present day Hyderabad, India) in the 16th century. The cloth is printed with designs featuring flowers and other patterns in different colo ...

sofas, curtains, and paintwork and unassuming "good" taste, in understated contrast to the sentimental, overstated

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

fashion. Though these forms were rather grand, the style has evolved to take in not just ornate decoration, as in the classic French

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

, but that of 18th-century Swedish and of the American

Shakers The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...

, for whom simplicity and plainness was essential. Recycling old furniture and fabrics has long been an important aspect of the look and was especially popular with the modern Bohemians and artisans who made up a sidelined

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

movement during the 1980s, when expensive quality décor became very fashionable with the upper-middle classes. Rachel Ashwell founded a furniture chain called Shabby Chic and in 1996 published a book around the aesthetic, which she described as "the aura of old money, cushy comfort, and crafted indifference." An offshoot of shabby chic is a trend towards "relicking" (from ''relic'') of guitars and bass guitars to create a "roadworn" appearance.

Origin of term

The phrase was used descriptively through the 20th century for both fashion and décor,William P. McGivern, Maureen Daly, ''Mention my name in Mombasa'', 1958, p. 33 and was popularized as an interior decorating style by Min Hogg in '' The World of Interiors'' magazine in the 1980s. It became popular in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the 1990s with a certain eclectic surge of decorating styles with paints and effects, notably in metropolitan cultural centers on the West Coast of America, such as

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, with heavy influences from Mediterranean cultures such as

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

References

{{reflist Decorative arts Fashion aesthetics Interior design

Description

History

Origin of term

See also

References