Congratulations to William and Kate! In honor of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, I thought I’d pay a royal tribute to some gorgeous English inspired interiors. When I think of English decorating styles, I picture plaids and large floral prints, toile, Laura Ashely, Scottie Dogs and furniture with caster legs.
Here are some of my favorite English countryside pictures and some that really pay tribute to British heritage!
Last week I featured a celebrity home designed by Shabby Chic founder and entrepreneur, Rachel Ashwell, so this week I wanted to feature a glamorous home decorated in Paris Apartment fashion. The two styles – Shabby Chic and Paris Apartment – are my absolute favorite and I think in each décor scheme, you can find a little bit of one and the other.
Each room appears so glamorous, with their rich colors and decadent fabrics but at the same time, it does not have that “museum” “don’t touch” feel – it looks like people could actually live there. That is what I love so much about Paris Apartment style. I’ve taken the term Paris Apartment straight from my favorite book on Interior Design – by author, entrepreneur and Paris flea market extraordinaire, Claudia Strasser, in which she defines her style by choosing to decorate with what one loves, using items that have a history, and that are always beautiful. Décor items of this style are always luxurious whether they are of the highest quality or rich in color and material, showcasing a mix or vintage, modern and eclectic finds. Each room tells a story with its carefully chosen furnishings and deliberate organization but it is able to appear effortless at the same time.
This stunning Paris apartment was featured a few months ago when Christies listed it on the market. I don’t know what I love the most, from the richly colored walls to the elegant gold mirrors, the gorgeous oriental rugs and the sparkling chandeliers.
Situated on the popular rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, for a cool $8.8 million, this apartment could be yours. For any budget, with a little creativity and passion for décor, you could transform your own home into your very own glamorous Paris apartment! What flea market find do you love that you would use in your own Paris style apartment?
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Remember the sweet little French Provincial Nightstand I picked up over Memorial Day weekend? I have been pondering over whether or not to paint it or leave it as is; after some initial success with homemade milk paint on a demilune table and several frames, I have decided to try my hand at creating a matching bedroom set from the nightstand and an equally gorgeous vintage headboard. I bought several paint samples a few weeks ago from Home Depot, one of which a light grey, that I have been saving for such a shabby glamorous chic project; and with a tropical storm on the horizon, it’s the perfect weekend to put the brush and paint to work.
I have been trying to match up regular latex paints to those offered in Annie Sloan’s collection – because I just love love love her colors (and their namesJ) but I’m not so in love with the prices or the difficulty in finding them. I came across Behr’s Sterling (or as I like to call it, Glamorous Grey) – an almost perfect match for Annie Sloan’s French Grey – and I am ready to put it to the test on both vintage finds. Here are some inspiration photos I’ve been drawing on for this project (mostly from Etsy).
I hope to have some rehabbed and refreshed pix to post Monday!
What weekend projects are you looking forward to working on? Check out Miss Mustard Seed for more fabulous furniture fix ups at her weekly Furniture Feature Friday.
I found a fabulous vintage armoire circa 1930 at a local antique shop for $40 last winter. I thought it was such a steal! And a great project for cold and rainy days. I wrote last week about my new love affair with chalk paint – had I known 6 months ago that it did not require any initial sanding and priming, I’d probably already be done with the Great Armoire project – but alas, one cannot know the things one does not know and so I have made this project all that much more difficult. I first began by attempting to sand away the front doors –but I quickly realized what I thought was wood, was actually a veneer paneling made of particle board. It easily peeled off in some areas – and not so easily in others. I was able to fully peel off one whole panel for the left door but the right door continued to be a trying effort. Discouraged at how much time it was taking, I kept putting off and putting off the project. After my recent discovery about the miracles of chalk paint, I became more enthusiastic about scraping off the remaining particle board on the right door. To my surprise (and likely due to the recent humidity), the remaining pieces of particle board that wouldn’t budge all winter, came off completely in one weekend without nearly as much effort as I expected. I bought two new pieces of particle board to replace the old pieces I’d scraped off and now after I glue on the new pieces of particle board to the door panels, I will be ready to paint (finally)!!
Now I just have to decide on color – green, blue or pink?!?! Which color would you choose?
Here is my armoire when I first bought it, with the paneling scraped off and below that, some gorgeous inspiration photos, mostly from the online shops The Painted Cottage and Forever Pink Cottage Chic.
It’s that time of year again and flea markets, yard sales and estate sales are popping up more than ever. This Memorial Day I was driving to my local Salvation Army for their holiday 50% off sale to pick up a gorgeous brass and ornately detailed vintage Victorian style head and footboard when I spotted a tag sale on the side of the road. Right away my eyes were drawn to the two, too-cute Drexel nightstands that were parked right out front for all passersby to see. I couldn’t pass them up – but with my mind set on the vintage head and footboard I knew was at the SA – I decided that if the nightstands were still there on my way back (and the price was right), that I’d pick those up too.
As luck would have it, my vintage brass head and footboard was still available at the SA so I grabbed the tags to purchase. I looked around for some vintage frames I’d seen the other day, too, but they were long gone. However, to my great surprise, I stumbled across an excellent condition Louis XVI arm chair that was hidden by a monstrous pile of books that had been placed on its seat. When I drove around back to pick up my furniture finds, what did I see by the dumpster but the second, matching arm chair to my Louis XVI love! I asked the man working if they were throwing it away, to which he replied, “Yep, take anything you want over there.” My eyes lit up at the thought of not one but two Louis XVI arm chairs. The one by the dumpster was still in god condition but a piece of the wood that was supporting a leg had come unhinged from its screw – nothing a drill couldn’t easily repair! And so, I left the SA on my way to the tag sale with a car full of great vintage finds.
Check out my two new favorite finds (picture of headboard found online – very similar to the one I got; chair on right is my new Louis!)
Having only spent maybe 15 minutes at the SA down the road, sure enough, “my” two matching French Provincial nightstands, in their signature white and gold, were still there in their spot by the side of the road. I couldn’t pass them up! Now I just have to decide, do I keep them? Sell them as is? Or paint them in my newly created chalk paint that goes on so easily, so smoothly and so beautifully. What do you think? Is it time for another transformation? I think I’m going to try my hand at painting at least one of them in a paint that I bought from Home Depot, Behr’s Sterling, to match (as close as I could) Annie Sloan’s Paris Grey.
Did you get to any flea markets or yard sales this weekend? Share with me any treasures you uncovered recently. I’d love to see them!
I have been seeing beautiful painted furniture for years now that is made to look like it’s vintage or “Shabby Chic” and recently I have been more and more curious about the paint people are using to make these re-habbed and re-purposed creations. Most notably, the brand name Chalk Paint from Annie Sloan is the primary material of choice. The paint is beautiful and comes in 32 vintage chic colors, with names like Paris Grey, Louis Blue, Provence and Emperor’s Silk, further evoking a feeling of a time past. (Photo of paint colors from Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint collection on her website.)
However, with a monopoly on the market (you can’t find Chalk Paint from Benjamin Moore or the like), the price is about double that of regular paint; but if you’re someone like me, who loves to scour for a bargain, the web is full of homemade recipes to make your own chalk paint in a very simple – and very inexpensive manner. My favorite recipe is only 3 ingredients: ANY can of latex paint (3 parts) + Plaster of Paris (1 part) + water to mix; and voila! You have a limitless selection of paint colors and minimal time in adding the plaster of paris (with water) to it. Plus, one of the biggest bonuses about chalk paint is that you don’t have to sand or prime your furniture before painting it! That was probably the biggest attraction to me – that and the beautiful finish it leaves on flea market furniture finds.
Here is my flea market demi-lune table turned shabby cottage chic with my own homemade chalk paint using Behr’s Sea Sprite (baby blue). (I forgot to take a before picture but found one very similar on the web – see belo
w).
Here are some great blog articles on mixing your own chalk paint:
http://salvagedinspirations.com/best-homemade-chalk-paint-recipes/
http://inmyownstyle.com/2013/02/diy-chalk-paint-review-update.html
http://www.iheartnaptime.net/chalk-paint/
http://www.thevintagefarmhouse.com/2012/10/homemade-chalk-paint-pros-cons.html
Have you tried making your own creations using either Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint or your own homemade chalk paint? Share them with me here; I’d love to see and hear about your experiences.
Welcome to Tres Chic Decor! I am so excited to announce my new venture in the flea market/antique business, having moved my online business to a brick and mortar store! I am currently sharing a booth with a friend who is an artist and creator who paints with oil, knits scarves, sweaters and makes jewelry. My inventory is made up of vintage home décor treasures and finds with a little of everything, from smaller items like china dishes, painted frames and vanity trinkets to small furnishings, like lamps, rugs and chairs.
We added a sampling of our inventory into the booth this past Sunday and with much more inventory to be priced for sale and brought to the booth, I am currently seeking ideas for ways to organize the booth to optimize our inventory and selling potential.
I don’t have too much furniture yet; namely a Full/Queen head and footboard, a large 12 light rococo chandelier, a hanging pendant milk glass chandelier, a Victorian heart back chair and several “to be refinished” projects, from tables to footstools. Among a wide assortment of home decorating accessories, I have lot of frames, mirrors, fabric curtains, books, wall sconces and more.
This is a picture of our booth when we were beginning to set up.
Based on what I have in stock and what my partner has displayed, these are some of my favorite inspiration photos for organizing the booth. Think Shabby Cottage Chic meets Paris Apartment!
Do you have any great organization or display ideas for antique and/or flea market booths? Let me know. I’d love to hear your ideas and experience.
Tres Chic Decor 
