Sunday, June 26, 2011

Shabby chic living rooms

Shabby chic living rooms are so cozy. My favorite ones are on bit more shabby side of shabby chic, but not too crowded with details and furniture. Hope you'll like them, too! :)

This shabby chic living room is filled with natural light. It also has a boho / primitive feel to it. This comes mostly from details, such as stone table, clay jars and ethnic fabrics. All in all, a very pleasant space. :)



Next living room is vintage inspired, reminds of the 60's and 70's decor. A very bold choice for color scheme worked really well. Also, here's a great idea for some interesting and cheap seating - painted wooden chucks. They're easy to make and customizable for your own space.



We've seen distressed furniture making a huge impact before - distressed cabinets, tables... - but, I haven't been seeing this one so often; a distressed armchair. Very nice touch. Also, the wall has such a great texture.



Most of shabby chic living rooms have white sofas, and it's so refreshing to see this grey shabby chic living room. Also, notice the distressed cabinet, wow! And how chic is that mirror.



The old-paint-effect on these walls makes this living room so special. Everything is combined so well, and the details are just amazing.



Joining living room and dining room often results in absolutely amazing spaces, and this for sure is one of them. The color scheme makes this space a calm, natural-looking and cozy sanctuary. Off white, black and grey cover larger areas such as floor, walls, furniture..., and green and brown in details make such nice harmony. Both pics are of the same space, from different angles.





Next shabby chic living room features some clear lines, natural wooden surfaces, natural light and crisp grey blue details. We could say it's a combination of shabby chic and Scandinavian decor. Simple, natural and clear.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Traditional home design - Living rooms

In home decor I like more natural materials, natural light, open spaces... . It's great when space is all that and cozy & intimate, all in one.
Here are some living rooms that could fit this description.

In this white-beige-marine blue living room I'd remove some of the details. Color scheme makes this place intimate and open. Removing the armchair (maybe to the other side of the room) and the pillar with vase would do the trick for me. This is great design for beach houses with traditional home design.


In next black & white living room I really love most of the furniture pieces; writing desk in corner is so lovely, the coffee table is very beautiful,... , but I'd also change some things (wall tattoo, fabric on ottoman is a bit too much for my taste).


The wall color (between mustard and pastel lime) works really well for this huge space. This traditional living room has a bohemian feel to it (miss matched furniture, carper, wall color, details). I'm in love with that bookshelf!


In next pic we don't see much, but my guess is that we see the best of it - brick fireplace and huge windows! These are the key points of this place, and it's highlighted so well. Usually I don't like glass coffee tables much, but this works great for the space.


Stone floors, fireplace and wood lend this gorgeous space a natural / primitive feel. Other furniture and detail complete the look.


So much natural light fills this gorgeous off white living room. Light teal, pastel yellow and brown are great choice for the color scheme.


Such a serene space, this living room has a beach house feel, but not too highlighted. It's like you could guess there's a beach nearby, but there are no obvious details (ropes, starfishes, blue stripes etc.). I love the stripes, and even consider painting my own living room this way. Wide horizontal stripes make the space extended and more serene, while vertical stripes may be a little bit overwhelming (they would work better in huge spaces).


This living room is so chic and elegant, spacious and with lots of natural light coming from those huge windows. Look at the great details - golden side table is such a gem. Floors are amazing.


Calm and cozy living room with great color scheme (grey, teal).

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Shabby chic bedrooms

Maybe after browsing through tons of shabby chic bedrooms you found out that it is not so easy to come up with a shabby chic bedroom that isn't too girlie. Here's a list of shabby chic bedrooms I consider to have answered to that problem. In it's essence, shabby chic is romantic and feminine, and so are this rooms, but I think that in these examples it's dosed reasonably.

This bedroom is an example of bohemian *and* crisp shabby chic bedroom. Natural light is so uplifting, and distressed table and cabinet give charm to this bedroom.




If your bedroom is your sanctuary, you'll like how quirky and eccentric, beautiful and amazing next shabby chic / boho bedroom is! *.*



I love how dark brown furniture pops up in otherwise white space, just like in this bedroom. It makes it look exotic, fresh and so gorgeous. Maybe a little bit of curtain overdose, but all in all just perfect!



This next (shabby) chic bedroom is a bit girlie, BUT if you try to imagine it without the dress and few other details, I'm sure it could work for guys as well.



I like how simple next room is, it looks so peaceful and calming. Although it's on a shabby side of shabby chic, it's also elegant and romantic.



This vintage inspired bedroom looks so great on its own. It's very easy to change details to add some pops of different colors, because the room already has a well rounded color scheme (map, curtains, wall...).

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Cheap home decor - shabby chic bathrooms

Few days ago I wrote about shabby chic bathrooms, and now I'd like to share some cheap and beautiful shabby chic bathroom decor ideas.

1. Handmade soaps, bath salts, oils etc. could be used like a very cute display in a shabby chic bathroom. There are many to buy online, or in your local handmade shops.


2. Vintage perfume bottles, soap dishes, etc.


3. Beach inspired decor like starfishes and shells. Shabby chic is white, remember! :)


4. Candles, lanterns and flowers.


5. Vintage signs for bathroom decor.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Traditional home design - Dinning rooms

Classic or traditional dinning rooms remind me of home cooked meals, healthy diet and lots of time with friends and family. They are considered to be focal points of any home.

This dinning room has so many excellent details, but I'd say that brick wall + fireplace make the best feature. Massive table is great, and it would also work in shabby chic decor.


Although I usually don't really like this shade of brown (chairs), I find this dinning room so well balanced.


I find next dinning room to be a good combination of traditional and country style. This dinning room just screams "Apple pies!" :)


This dinning room has it all - great floors, amazing fireplace, so much space for this long, long table. Even though this style is out of reach for most of us, there are some details that are useful to see, like natural wooden table and chairs, great grey color of the walls, and white details.


A mix of traditional and shabby decor works so nice in next dinning room. Bright white walls, dark furniture and distressed table are it's main features.


Elegant traditional decor is achieved in this spacious room filled with natural light. Cabinet is stunning, although I'm not completely sure it's the best choice for this space. On the other hand, I don't particularly like these chairs, but I think they're great for this room.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Shabby chic bathrooms

Bathroom is my favorite room in the house. I like spacious bathrooms with lots of natural light. Here are some shabby chic bathrooms that work great for me. :)

First, here is a shabby chic / bohemian bathroom. It's so romantic, and I could imagine some steamy hot baths in this place! The details are great, and so inspiring for my own bathroom.



Unusual coral/blue color scheme works so great for this space. I couldn't start listing what is it all that I like about this picture - the bath tub, simple and elegant details (pressed leafs), or the oh-so-gorgeous cabinet! The wallpaper on the cabinet really pulled the space together, and this could be a great tip for your own space.



So elegant, even if you try to imagine it without all the photo-shoot details, this bathroom owns it's elegance mostly to this soft powder beige color scheme. Lots of natural light makes it look fresh, but also romantic.



Blue, and all shades of blue, are such a common choice for a bathroom. Yet, this shade of blue (or green!) just screams "shabby chic!", details are so gorgeous, and the whole space looks like a postcard!



Now, an example of crisp & fresh shabby chic bathroom. Although, it also has elements of traditional style bathrooms, the tiles and some other details are so shabby chic on their own, so I decided to put it here.



Maybe it's a bit crowded, but it's crowded with such fantastic furniture, that I don't even mind! :) This bathroom is so chic & elegant, that I'm not really sure could I call it shabby at all. The towel cabinet is a dream!



I really like when dark brown furniture pops up like this in otherwise white space. This ladder shelf is so beautiful, and practical for bathrooms. I think the shelf could work just as good in other colors, depending what you'd like to achieve in your bathroom. Altogether, this is a school example of shabby chic bathroom.



Another nice, spacious bathroom with lots of natural light.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Cheap home decor - candle holders

Trying to think of cheap candle holders? Maybe make it yourself candle holders? Well, I hope this list of cheap or easy to make handle holders ideas will help you!

1. Old bottles can be used as chic candle holders. Finding some vintage bottles would be even better!


2. Old miss matched glasses or tea cups can be great as tea-light candle holders.


3. Old jam jars can be used as tea-light holders. You can even make them prettier with rice paper, decoupage... .


4. You can also make a hanging jar for tea-lights.


5. Old metal cookie molds can be used as tea-light holders.


6. If you have any power tools you could try making some wooden candle holders. They look very natural. You could also try paint something on the wood.


7. For floating candles you can use plates, bowls, glasses or aquariums. Add some fresh flowers, too. You could also put some river stones on the bottom.


8. Use old tin cans as candle holders. You can punch them to create some nice decor. Place the empty tin on a pillow filled with rice and punch it using hammer and a nail.