Your home in shabby chic style: please don’t do it!

* Caution, this article may contain strong images that may be difficult for high quality design lovers *

If you already follow my blog and my stories on social media, I’m almost certain that in terms of design you already understand what my style is, on what aesthetic choices my taste is oriented, what I like, what strikes me, what I’m passionate about. If you’re here for the first time, check out my Instagram profile and you’ll understand better what I’m talking about.

That said, you can understand my dismay at seeing the appreciation for shabby chic style spread like wildfire.

Since you must never criticize without knowing, first I want to tell you what the shabby chic style is, where it was born and how did it become so well known.

In a few simple words, shabby chic is a style that prefers furniture, decorations and accessories with an aged and worn look. Do you know all those ruined furniture, repainted, recolored? Here’s all this is shabby chic.

Where the shabby chic style was born

Shabby chic was born in United Kingdom, inspired by the typical furnishings of country houses. Contaminations from the magical castles of the French Loire, from the Swedish furnishings and also from the American shaker style were added. It is from the 80s that it began its path of conquest of homes, becoming a disruptive phenomenon even in Italy especially in the last two years.

Literally “shabby” means aged, worn, so for shabby chic we mean a used chic, worn out class. For example, an old, repainted grandma’s furniture immediately becomes a shabby chic piece of furniture.

If today we hear about shabby chic, we owe it to the magazine “The World of Interiors”, which in 1980 described as “shabby chic” this style of used furniture that is given a new life. Since then, shabby chic has spread and has also characterized itself according to the personal “taste” of those who have decided to adopt it.

But what is it that stylistically characterizes shabby chic?

In addition to the aged and worn look of which I have already mentioned, the must-have of shabby chic are many. First of all the use of light colors, pastels, dusty shades, almost always not saturated. In shabby furnishings there is a total lack of contrasts. The fabrics used are linen, raw cotton, crochet hooks, lace, many fabrics easy to find in the homes of old aunts. Vintage and floral patterns are among the most popular. Wood and iron are undoubtedly the most important materials.

I leave a series of images to better understand what I’m talking about, but … they will not be as many as usual, it’s stronger than me, I just can’t XD

Why shabby is so successful

The reasons for the widespread success of shabby chic are to be found in the themes of upcycling and DIY. The strength of shabby chic is in its simple replicability, a style that can be done by anyone and at affordable cost.

Why is shabby chic repugnant?

Personally I have never hidden behind veiled phrases: I find the shabby chic is repugnant, among the worst styles ever put into circulation.

Despite becoming a real trend, it remains for me a washed-out, banal and impersonal style, not very elegant and without any high quality aesthetic appeal.

In shabby there is no attention to the lines, to the purity of the materials, to the refinement of the chromatic tones in contrast, to the textures, to the reflections of the surfaces, to the play of light, to the stylistic mixes, to the poetry that is part of every project. These are the ingredients that, in my opinion, can make a product or an interior expression of quality design.

Shabby chic is the decoupage drove to the edge, it does not have the technical mastery of antiques or the creative genius of restoration. I certainly do not want to call it an after-work hobby, but the techniques on which it is based do not even allow the comparison with the design. Design is another thing.

I challenge anyone to find a design icon that can be shabby.

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> The magic of the mirrored walls: double the space!

What do you think of shabby chic style? Do you agree with me or do you like it? Do you have a style that you particularly like? Which one? Tell me everything in the comments, I’m waiting for you!

photo credit: pinterest.com