How to achieve the shabby chic look with colour

ARTICLE Nikki Morris

The shabby chic look is generally conveyed through use of natural wall colourings, distressed furniture, sweet pastel accents, shaggy rugs, exposed or washed timber, antique memories and pretty detailing such as lace, roses and florals.
To achieve this look you could re-carpet in either a neutral sandy stone or a warm mauve based grey. Alternatively you could consider laying timber floorboards for a more vintage vibe. Floorboards could be stained with Resene Colorwood Whitewash and overcoated with Resene Qristal ClearFloor 2K Satin finish to give a matte distressed floor that feels like it has some old world experience. Floors could be decorated with a vintage shaggy rug in a tone of shell, stone, mauve or taupe which will complement the rustic ness of the timber.
Walls can be painted in stony neutrals or soft sweet pastels to help enhance this vintage feeling. Colours such as Resene White Pointer, Resene Merino, Resene Eighth Arrowtown, Resene Cloud, Resene Ebb, Resene Tasman or Resene Rice Cake are all ideal candidates to consider for the main wall colouring. Use a clean white such as Resene Half Alabaster for ceilings and trim to offset the hues in the wallcolouring.
Feature walls with Resene Anaglypta wallpaper coated in your favourite Resene colour is a fun way to add in texture and pattern. Patterns to pick can be either small floral prints or the traditional metal pressed ceiling panel designs. These wallpaper features can be painted the same as the other walls, in a contrasting complementary colour or they can be a bolder shade to create more impact.
Fun accent colours you could try from The Range fashion colours fandeck are Resene Secrets, Resene Emerge, Resene Siesta, Resene Bambina, Resene Renew, Resene Everest, Resene Triple Rakaia and Resene Miso. Resene Blackboard Paint can be incorporated with a pretty painted border in an open antique frame with a nice quote or image drawn in for fun.
Keep it vintage with some pretty prints, old school memorabilia, decorative mirrors, ribbons, fresh flowers and textured cushions. Old clothes, wine bottles, chadeliers and timber crates are all ideal items to use to create your vintage shabby chic look. Have some fun and start creating a scrapbook of ideas and colours you like so that the end result is the look you desire.

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You might be interested in reading: Choosing colour.

This expert advice by Nikki Morris featured on page 38 of Issue 006 of Renovate Magazine. Renovate Magazine is an easy to use resource providing fresh inspiration and motivation at every turn of the page.

 

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*All information is believed to be true at time of publishing and is subject to change.