Oh my, isn’t this the most gorgeous Shabby Chic mirror from Ancestral Collections ?

Ancestral Collections Gorgeous Shabby Chic Mirror

I think it is totally delightful, in a European opulent shabby sort of way.  The colour is quite hard to define, a slatey, pewtery greeny blue with that lovely pockmarked gold. The glass has been aged as well.(Sighs contentedly!)

Now you are asking the price, aren’t you? Well, it’s not cheap at £399 but it’s not outrageous either as it is huge. The mirror is nearly 68″ high and 36″ wide. (That’s over five feet high and about a yard wide!)

It would take hours and hours to create something like this yourself. Of course you might prefer to do that and if that’s the case just enjoy this for inspiration.

You might think you’d need a big room for a mirror this size but big mirrors work remarkably well in small rooms. All that reflected space and light can really help a small room feel less cramped.

Find out more at Ancestral Collections

Isn’t this the perfect accessory for your shabby chic furniture? I was wandering around flickr, as I do too often(!) when I came across the work of Pamela Angus. She’s a very gifted designer and maker but I’ll let her speak for herself:

I break glass and then attempt to put some pieces back together. It’s not about perfection. I’m currently living in the French alps, where I will be opening an atelier/gallery someday! You can buy some of my work on Etsy.com or by contacting me directly and/or arranging a visit to my studio.

(from her blog)
As she says her work is available via her Etsy Shop and you can also see much of it in her flickr stream. I think it is just stunning so dash over there and feast your eyes on some perfect mirrors and other goodies to go with your shabby chic furniture

Current favourites – shabby chic furniture, originally uploaded by LindaH.

1. kitchen island, 2. P5210074, 3. Tea for Two…, 4. Untitled, 5. P6280029, 6. Biarritz furniture, 7. White Sunporch, 8. Black winged decoration and forms, 9. Painted wooden mirror, 10. Untitled, 11. Greens Added, 12. Paris her way…, 13. Untitled
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These are some of my favourite Shabby Chic furniture images from our Flickr group. Some of them I’ve blogged about here already, others I will get to soon, I promise
The main thing I’m on the look out for is a ‘new’ chair. I liked that rather Edwardian elegant one but it was in Biarritz, France, sigh. No way to get that back to London easily. The one in the picture with the angel
is sweet but not quite chunky enough for what I want. I love the 50s leather dining chair, it reminds me of my parents house But it’s not right for this spot either.
I’m a sucker for basket work chairs, specially white ones. They make me think of Gwen John’s painting The Empty CHair. I really love it but still, basket weave is not quite right for what I want…. sigh.

I’ll just have to keep looking.

Black winged decoration and forms, originally uploaded by Andyrob.

Isn’t she extraordinary? I love the idea of having what is more or less a theatrical prop in one corner of the room. The shop in Islington had lots of them in different outfits. They are delightful confections but with a bit of a post modern edge. Many of the forms are just bare painted polystyrene with the costume glued on.
I’m sure these forms are aimed at young women, possibly of the sort who might just want to snaffle those wings sometimes to go clubbing in When I was the age to fall for such things I’d much rather have made her myself and I think I’d have used her to model one of my more Gothic outfits, or at least something that could be worn. Either that or make the whole thing an exquisite fantasy confection. Covering the bare form with silk or even muslin would help.

The Shabby Chic Furniture

The quiet but delightful items in this photo are the sweet little couch, so French, so delicate and the understated chair. The shop was quiet reasonable for mostly faux pieces. Similar stuff can easily be found online and one or two pieces of Shabby Chic furniture like this can really add to the atmosphere of a room.

Shiny, shiny, Shabby Chic, Islington, originally uploaded by LindaH.

All this gorgeous, glamourous Shabby Chic furniture was outside a shop in Islington yesterday. It just goes to remind us that not all shabby chic is painted.
There’s just a whiff of decadence about this sort of furniture. It makes me think of glamourous starlets in those silky 30s or 40s dressing gowns you only ever see in black and white films. You can almost smell the perfume and I can just imagine the sort of bright red lipstick that ought to sit on that dresser!
The big mirrors are totally over the top with their ornate decorations, a bit less Deco than the furniture but still great fun.
You would think this stuff would be very expensive but I was amazed at how reasonable some of it was. You can find this sort of
glamourous shabby chic furniture quite easily or if you are brave you could try to re-create the look yourself. I’ll post more about the DIY techniques for this sort of shabby chic furniture sometime over the next few weeks.