Shabby Chic Lighting & More

Revamping Your Home

January and February are usually gloomy months. New Year festivities have long past and winter feels like it’s here to stay forever! Use all this time spent indoors to take a good look at your home and its decor. Why don’t you start de-cluttering your surroundings, getting rid of all those useless things you have accumulated in 2008 and turning your house into a fashionable eclectic home?

Whether it’s just a lick of paint or a full house make over, here are some interior design tips that can come very handy.

These days it’s a lot more fashionable to go for an eclectic look rather than opting for a particular style. Achieving an eclectic look is not that easy, though. It’s not about throwing different items from a variety of styles together. It takes consideration, thought and care to achieve, although the result should look quite the opposite: as if it all just casually came together. It’s a smart and clever shabby chic mirror mixture of styles: vintage, contemporary, retro, rococo, bohemian and many more!

In order to start the revamp, it’s advisable to focus on one particular room, or even on one particular side or corner of the room. And it’s important to have a specific aim in what you want to create, rather than improvising as you progress.

For example, a great reading corner could be achieved with a vintage French armchair, a retro chrome floor lamp, and a modern mirrored side table to lay your book. A great tip: throw a faux-fur blanket casually over the back of the armchair and leave your favorite book on the side table.

Combining modern, vintage and retro looks together will work here, as you are trying to create something specific, as opposed to randomly scattering furniture items and accessories around the room. This reading corner could possibly change the look of the whole room!

Another way to work on the eclectic look is mixing painted furniture, such as white country style furniture, and warm wood tones as well as rich upholstered items, like a modern Chesterfield sofa upholstered in a lavish black velvet fabric. The painted furniture pieces will provide a casual look, while the rich velvet sofa will bring warmth and comfort.

Interior designers like mixing dark and light colours, vintage and contemporary - like putting an antique mahogany chest of drawers with a wicker piece. It all needs to look airy and simple, not too fussy. Simplicity is the key!

A charming looking bedroom may consist of an antique white Rococo bed, a “shabby chic” French armoire, two contemporary mirrored nightstands, and a lovely antique chest of drawers. Add some gorgeous cushions and silk sheets for the bed, a Venetian mirror for the wall, and two modern chrome bedside lamps with oversized shades, and you will have achieved a perfect eclectic look, yet inviting and romantic.

We hope this article will inspire you to have a good look at your house and to make a few simple and stylish changes so that you can enjoy your home even more in 2009.