Manage My Budget

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Shabby Chic is a great way to turn a small budget into a full makeover. Flea markets, Thrift stores, and yard sales will be your friend after this article.

Flexibility is key if Shabby Chic is your goal, because the term itself has different meanings depending on who’s using it. It’s kind of like deciphering real estate ads. Where “cute” or “cozy” might mean a house so small the mice are hunchbacked, Shabby Chic can mean something of character that has a few scratches, or something of quality that’s fallen on hard times. Its value lies in its original quality and its durability, making it worth the effort to fix it up.

Using Shabby Chic as your home decor means developing a sharp eye for a piece of furniture, fabric, bric-a-brac or other object that might be worn but still has a few years left in it. Most of all, something that qualifies as Shabby Chic exudes that indefinable quality of charm.

If you’re able to find furniture which looks like it has had its years worth, paint peeling, tarnished copper, and even the scratches you’ve come across a great furniture piece for Shabby Chic.

Old faded quilts, lace curtains, and large overstuffed armchairs are a must in a Shabby Chic room design. They are frequent in many thrift stops so make sure you check around.

To decorate successfully in a Shabby Chic style, follow these guidelines:

Look through your storage spaces, and those of relatives, friends and neighbors, for unused furniture, fabrics or home decor accessories. Next, browse flea markets, yard sales and secondhand stores regularly. It takes time, but the results are worth it.

Select carefully a few items to pair with your existing furniture and decor. You could try whitewashing or painting furniture, but remember, distressed surfaces add style to Shabby Chic. To hurry along the look of passing years, lightly sand wood furniture in several places.

Grays, pinks, greens, blues, creams, and whites are great colors to use in your design. You can use the neutral colors on the walls and then add the other colors throughout with linens, throws, and window treatments.

Top tables with old scarves and candles, and put plenty of pillows on the furniture. Old coffee-table books on gardening and flowers are also a nice touch.

Just because a piece of furniture has seen its better days doesn’t mean it has to be trashed. That is where Shabby Chic comes into play.

This last guideline is especially good news for those of us who inherited the chipped and nicked glassware and china our mothers, aunts and grandmothers couldn’t bear to throw away! Thanks to Shabby Chic design, we can display these blemished heirlooms with the pride our ancestors felt when they were shiny and new.

If you found this information about budget decorating helpful, then you are going to love these budget living room decorating ideas.