Shabby Chic Living Room - Retro Decorating Ideas

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People who like shabby chic decor tend to stay true to their artistic taste and style rather than constantly switching bandwagons like some trend slaves. "Retro" is a good word to broadly define this form of interior design, and "stylish" might be a perfect term to describe those who adore it. Unlike other vintage styles, shabby chic clearly stands for simplicity and feminine grace. A shabby-chic living room is usually adorned with well-worn yet dainty furniture, natural fabrics like cotton and linen, shades of pastel colors, and decor items that boast a soft feminine touch. If you are planning to decorate your living room in this style but not sure where to start, these ideas may shed some light and inspiration on your decorating project. Put on your interior designer cap and get ready to revamp your living room!

To create a shabby chic living room, you don't necessarily have to make a trip to an antique store and buy a whole collection of vintage furniture. An antique living-room set can be pretty pricey, but luckily, there's a way to save money on this. Visit a nearby thrift store and buy a few pieces of simple wooden furniture. They don't need to come in a matching set, but they should all have a retro look and seem compatible enough with one another. Then here comes the fun part: paint them all with the same pastel color. White, ivory and pink are probably the most popular colors for shabby chic decor, but other pastel shades will work just as beautifully. The final process is sanding the corners and certain parts of the furniture to achieve the time-worn look. Chipped paint is considered to be very stylish in shabby chic decoration.

In a nutshell, decoupage is a decorating technique done by gluing paper cutouts onto an object surface and coating it with special paint effects. It could be a nice art project to do, or if you don't have time for this sort of stuff, you can buy decoupage artwork from your local gift shops or online, for reasonable prices. Decoupage artwork goes very well with the shabby chic style, as it usually has a very feminine and retro feel. So if you want to make your plain walls look more artistic in a shabby chic way, try hanging up a few decoupage plates and photo frames. They don't need to be of the same sizes and colors but should have the same theme. Some great decoupage themes for shabby chic decor include flowers, shells, wineries, fruits, fairies, gardens and people in old-fashion clothing.

When accessorizing a shabby chic living room, try not to use too many ostentatious decorations, such as sparkling gold vases or extremely ornate candelabras. Shabby chic is about minimalism and unpretentious charm. So instead of rushing out to a store to buy new knick-knacks, look around your home first and see if there are anything you can adapt into unique room accessories. An old cupcake mold, for instance, can actually be a cute candle holder. Spending more money doesn't necessarily make your living room look more chic. Something antiquated and simple can easily turn into a stylish decor item if placed in the right spot for the right purpose. Doesn't the flower "vase" in the picture above look quite lovely?

Shabby chic is the opposite of Gothic decor, therefore a shabby chic living room should not contain any characteristics of a dungeon! If your room looks quite gloomy and cramped, you might want to get rid of your heavy curtains or put the bulky furniture in another room. Lace and sheer cotton are good options for curtain fabric. The furniture should be lean-looking and not take up too much floor space. If your living room has a very limited square-footage, choose furniture that can do double duty. The coffee table in the photo above is a great example, as it also serves as a storage chest.

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