shabby chic

[plasticpigeon]

I don't get it. Just like the appalling mess that people make in their attempts to "freshen up" old houses by rendering, plastic windows etc, it seems the same fate is destined for many pieces of old furniture.This is an example of something I would like to buy, as it would fit in the small space we have in the bedroom. the drawers inside rather than a rail are perfect as it would be for my smalls and t shirts, and the mirror would be the only full length one in the room. However it has obviously been painted and it says distressed and waxed. Why??? I'd have thought a slightly battered mahogany finish would be preferable, but rather rather than use skill to restore the varnish or french polish, the choice has been made to slap on some paint. If I want to strip the paint and refinish properly it will take me ages so it is effectively spoiled. If I want to paint it another colour I will find it difficult as it has been waxed. Unfotunately it is the people who take short cuts like this that make money.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281127092222?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2648

 

[MatthewC]

Unfotunately it is the people who take short cuts like this that make money.

I guess that's why they do it!

Hoever, I do agree with you. I'm sure it's just one of those fads made popular by all the TV shows and glossy magazines, so I reckon in 10 years time the same people will be doing a roaring trade buying it all back, stripping and polishing it properly!

 

[Moo]

That Annie Soane has a lot to answer for!

 

[tobydog]

In fear of upsetting a longstanding member of PPUK who is a great 'admirer', I blame Kirstie Allsop. I turned the TV on the other day in a 5.30am murky haze only to see her doing exactly the same to an old chair. 5 minutes was enough so I changed channels and readied myself for another re-run of Homes under the Hammer.

 

[angrybird]

An Antique dealer friend calls it shabby sh*t! says it all :lol:

 

[Zebra]

That looks really wrong on that wardrobe. I'm no great fan of antique furniture, but you can tell it's one thing masquerading as another. Especially when you open the door!

 

[JoceAndChris]

It's silly isn't it, and just plain wrong.

However, as a lover of all things Georgian I prefer the current vogue for painting things to the 80s vogue for wrongfully stripping pine. Absolutely can't bear exposed orangey pine, neither new, nor old. When you do see a piece in its original paint (which is rare) it's quite heartbreaking to think of all those interesting colours, with years of flaking and patina, dissolving in the caustic tank.

 

[88v8]

I don't get it. Just like the appalling mess that people make in their attempts to "freshen up" old houses by rendering, plastic windows etc, it seems the same fate is destined for many pieces of old furniture.

That was a high-quality piece. OTOH, if the size suits you, buy it and paint it the colour of the paintwork in your room. It may be cheap compared to one in original condition.

Why do people do these things? Well, no shortage of stupid folk and the supply is being constantly refreshed. Unlike the supply of old furniture and unspoilt houses.

O/t, but here's an example not far from us. C17 house, the exterior is nice, but the interior has mostly been turned into something like a modern 'Executive' home. And what a waste of a large bathroom. Those basins. Words fail me.... Perhaps a 2nd Division footballer lives there.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42166469.html

Ivor

 

[plasticpigeon]

My God Ivor, you absolutely couldn't live anywhere near me. That house looks very tasteful compared to the valdalism carried out near me. Look at this for an example.

before.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dynamickinacocksgreen/sets/72157622418100150/

after

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=38120099&sale=48347216&country=england

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-25715436.html

 

[mivec]

It's interesting following this thread as interiors are not often spoken about here, or at least interior design rather than the period details. It's something I am passionate about as much as the property itself.

Shabby chic obviously isn't the popular choice but it would be good see what style everyone does prefer or follows.

I'm not defending shabby chic, the notion of taking an average piece of old furniture and giving a fake distressed paint finish is very naff but the idea of leaving furniture, objects and even wall finishes in 'as found' condition rather than restoring them is more interesting.

What do people think of these types of interiors….

http://www.roughluxe.co.uk/images.html

http://www.baileyshome.com/about/photoshoot-location

 

[tobydog]

This is great news. My bathroom has had the RoughLuxe look for the past 18 months so my laziness has been justified. Thank you. Will I keep it this way, unlikely. I can see it working in a warehouse type apartment in trendy uptown but not in our 1640 timber framed place.

 

[JoceAndChris]

We sport plenty of RoughLuxe here too! :lol: - some that's just been left as is for 200 years and some where I've got the strippers out thrown them on the surface and thought no, that's interesting, I'm going to leave it right there. Whether those things will stay unpainted remains to be seen.

Here's a door I haven't painted yet - not very clear from the photo but this is a pine door in a 19th C wood grain paint. It's messy but I think it's more interesting than an eau de nil paint (which is going to be the colour of the room it belongs to)

I like rich, cosy interiors with lovely, expensive, antiques. And chickens. I do feel like we go from the palace to the slums within Beacon Cottage between the done and undone bits. :lol:

 

[Zebra]

How weird that Rough Lux thing is. Those mould-look walls. However, my bathroom now looks quite trendy.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

How weird that Rough Lux thing is. Those mould-look walls. However, my bathroom now looks quite trendy.

Indeed. I must have the trendiest cupboard under the sink in Norfolk.

 

[plasticpigeon]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Armoire-dismantles-East-London-/321123948320?nma=true&si=l4maRkbREHvfiwe9qDQY72SI%252F1c%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

I can't believe this guy bought such a nice piece and then painted it. I feel that I can't buy it out of principle.

 

[Cocoa]

I'll muscle in on this conversation and confess that I love shabby chic, which I freely admit is my own personal style preference. B

Yes, it does change a piece, and no it doesn't require the same level of skill as, say, a French polisher. BUT, it does mean that a vast amount of furniture will continue to be used that would otherwise end up on the tip, or languish for years in a charity shop... and then end up on the tip.

I know we have been talking about Georgian furniture here, but I'm thinking specifically of 1960's boxy teak furniture - I don't find it particularly lovely (and it is just coming back into fashion now so will be in greater demand). As an alternative to just being chucked, isn't it better that someone with a particular taste can give it a new lease of life with a lick of paint and different handles, or that a thrifty purchaser can get an affordable older worn out pieces, going cheap / cheaper / cheapish in a charity or second hand shop and make it their own without having to resort to Ikea (which I find - on those few occasions I have had to go there, not really that cheap, particularly given the relatively poor quality of what they sell, never mind the ubiquity)? And of course, as soon as we're talking Ikea / Homebase et al and their cheap throwaway flat pack furniture, we're talking questions of ethics & sustainability as well. At some point, people will have felt about lovely Georgian furniture the way I (and possibly some of you) feel about 1960's teak.

The way people live also changes - houses are getting smaller, people own far more clothes than they did a hundred years ago, fitted cupboards are much more streamlined and offer more storage - which means that at some point wardrobes / armoires will simply not fulfill modern requirements and at some point there will be a lot of older pieces knocking around unwanted, just as fitted kitchens have entirely replaced the need for a sideboard in many homes. Again, so much better to modify if that means the piece isn't lost altogether! Here's one of my favourite examples, and I'd love to replicate this in my own home :wink: http://dornob.com/tables-sawed-old-furniture-sliced-stacked-into-shelving/#axzz2XvFm9zjf

Thus ends my impassioned defence of shabby chic!

 

[plasticpigeon]

Yes, it does change a piece, and no it doesn't require the same level of skill as, say, a French polisher. BUT, it does mean that a vast amount of furniture will continue to be used that would otherwise end up on the tip, or languish for years in a charity shop... and then end up on the tip.

I don't think what you have written follows. There will always be a market for nice quality pieces, painting just spoils the finish for those who appreciate the pieces for what they are. You mention that cheaper pieces are given a new lease of life by painting which is fair enough, although I wouldn't paint 60s teak either, but its not what I was objecting to.

The fickle nature of fashion seems to cause a massive amount of destruction and consumption.

 

[mivec]

There will always be a market for nice quality pieces...
The fickle nature of fashion seems to cause a massive amount of destruction and consumption.

I bought an oak refectory table from what turned out to be a house clearance company recently and had an interesting conversation about their business.

I was surprised to hear they hardly sell on any of the furniture they clear nowadays as it's become uneconomic to do so. Wages, transportation and storage costs together with the bottom falling out of the early to mid 20c 'brown' furniture market means they can only really make a living by charging more for the clearance then taking it straight to the tip which in itself isn't cheap.

Very occasionally they find what they call 'antique shop' quality items they sell on but even these are marginal given the costs mentioned above. They have started to learn what items are attractive to the craft or up-cycled (shabby chic) market, these are put to one side and sold as job lots to the trade.

Even they said it such a shame what they end up throwing away, perfectly usable, good quality solid wooden items but they are at a loss of what else to do with them.