[.ca] The Shabby Chic Home (ISBN 006039319X)

From Amazon.com:
Most people are familiar with the hallmarks of Rachel Ashwell's shabby chic style: fabrics in pastel florals and stripes, chintz sofa covers, antique-store and yard-sale finds turned into home furnishings and accessories. At the heart of this breezy style is a very practical idea: don't buy new--use what you have or can find at thrift stores and secondhand shops and enjoy the old-fashioned charm that only aged pieces acquire. The same idea goes for houses. The Shabby Chic Home shows how an older home can take on a shabby chic appeal by being brought up to date without sacrificing any of its charm. In The Shabby Chic Home, Ashwell walks readers through the renovation of her own 1920s home, from the purchase of the originally dark and gloomy house through the repainting (using layers and layers of white paint) of the home and the rebirth of the garden, yard, and pool, to the final decorating of the home for herself and her two kids. Along the way, readers receive advice on how to choose from among the thousands of paint colors, how to decide whether to live with the old or buy new, and why remodeling an older home might not be such a good idea. The latter part of the book explains how to add touches of shabby chic style to every room of a home--old or new--for a finished look. The result, shown in dramatic before-and-after pictures, is a home that's comfortable enough for a family to relax in, but still elegant and beautiful. Don't let the floral patterns and chenille bedspreads fool you: Ashwell's advice throughout is common-sense and economical. For instance, she recommends not wasting your time looking through every decorating option--if you like the first idea, color, or plan well enough, save yourself the time and stress and go with it. She also suggests resisting the immediate desire to throw out the old and bring in the new; try living with things as they are for a while, and you may find yourself surprised at how well you've come to like the funky tile in the bathroom or the noisy glass-door refrigerator. Here lies the appeal of a shabby chic home: sometimes old has a charm and lived-in look that can't be purchased from a home improvement store. --Kris Law

I Love this book:
I've owned this book now for two years and I keep referring to it over and over. I wish that Rachel Ashwell would come out with these types of books more often. This book continues to provide me with decorating inspiration. Also, I very much appreciate the fact that she doesn't go on and on for paragraphs at a time. Many other books on decorating have a tendency to become boring with too much wording. Rachel just gets to the point. Rachel's home is lovely and the pictures are fabulous. It's too bad that the Shabby Chic stores throughout the country do not follow her advice about home decor articles being inexpensive. I was utterly shocked and completely disappointed that the prices of things in the Shabby Chic stores are way through the roof, and unaffordable for anyone except the wealthy. It is a total contradiction of what Rachel Ashwell advocates in her books.

Very Disappointed:
Browsing the free pages shown on Amazon I thought I was going to get a book with lots of Photos of "shabby" style furniture and tips on how to get the look.Instead what I got was a book that reads like a 'day in the life of' story.I didnt want a biography.This book takes you along on the authors trips to assorted flea markets and whatnot and tells you what she bought and where she is going to use it.Not at all what I expected to get.

Somewhat interesting...but overall disappointing:
I was really excited about getting this book....I was hoping to get something that inspired me to find neat design solutions in the mundane and everday. You know...make something out of nothing. Well, there WERE some good ideas like that in this book, but I felt that unless you were a HUGE fan of flowers and girly prints you wouldn't really find much of use in this book. Granted, it's probably a personal style conflict that made me return this book, but if you can find this book used and for a good price, go for it. Not worth the full price.

I'm workin' toward this house...:
Except, mine will be on the Indiana or Illinois coast of Lake Michigan. I love Rachel Ashwell's frugal, classy style. She gives you a truck load of inspiration and understands empowering people to design, no matter if they are wealthy or shopping in ritzy alleys or at estate sales for goods. The results create sentimental elegance. If nothing else, you learn the power of white paint and good hard do it yourselfing. This book takes you there and Rachel does an excellent job of pulling you into her home. She leaves nothing out and the photographer deserves enormous credit. Buy it or check it out at the library today.

A bit disappointed!!!:
I must admit I usually write only positive reviews as I buy books very carefully. This is unfortunately a wrong buy. I like the Shabby Chic style and since she's the person to get inspiration from on this style, I immediately bought this book without hesitation. I must say I wasn't inspired at all not even on one item and I am usually quite easily inspired by just reading a mag, browsing through ebay or simply walking around the market. The pics are big but on flowers?? I think I should've got the first book instead.