New Shabby Chic furniture almost seems like a contradiction in terms. Still, not everyone has the patience or the time to scour the junk shops and lovingly restore their own pieces. Summer can be a good time of year for grabbing a few new pieces at a reasonable price.

My favourite Shabby Chic range at the moment is from Laura Ashley. Their Bramley range is rather gorgeous. The range includes a charming dresser, 2 door armoire, chests of drawers, dining table, choice of chairs and other items. All of them come in either a distressed creamy white or a lovely faded green. I first spotted them as I wandered past their shop window in Richmond the other week and thought “Yum!” It’s more faux than fake unlike some of the ‘new’ cottage style furniture I’ve been seeing recently. They’ve recreated the style and finish of old shabby chic furniture without trying too hard. They would look gorgeous in a Shabby Chic kitchen.

The best news though is that they’ve got a summer offer on. There’s 25% off the Bramley range! Can you think of a better reason to indulge yourself?

Winter warmth, originally uploaded by *Susie*.

This is such an idyllic room! I find myself wanting to while away a winter’s afternoon snuggled down on one of those sofas, drinking tea (maybe the odd ginger biscuit !) and chatting by the light, and the smell, of the wood burning stove. Sometimes you see a room and you just know you’d get on with the person responsible for it.
What are the elements that have created such a cosy feel?

Living room, originally uploaded by Wren’s Nest Cottage.

I love the shade of green used for this room, it really sets off the painted furniture and gorgeous sofa. The real star has to be that wooden floor. The rich brown of the polished floor is such a treat!
This cottage has been so sympathetically styled, I just wondered what the wooden door at the side was all about. The owner explained:

They are shutters. We were on a trip to New Orleans a few years back (pre-katrina) and an old house in the Garden District was being remodelled. The owner was selling everything he had torn off the house and we saw these and fell in love with them. Luckily, we had driven instead of flying, so we loaded them up in the car and brought them home, with no idea what we’d do with them. They’ve roamed all over the house since then, til we finally decided they looked best here!

A friend who grew up in Washington State once told me that her family home had been a perfect example of this style until her father decided to ‘modernise’ in the late 80s. She’d returned home for a visit to discover he’d thrown everything, including original shutters on a bonfire. The house had become a featureless shell. Her parents loved it. Turned out they’d never liked ‘all that clutter’ and had just been waiting till they could afford to re-model. Needless to say her house in the UK is a repository of every kind of American folk art she’s been able to collect!

spring cleaning, originally uploaded by philigry.

Here’s one Mum’s explanation of what it takes to keep this shabby chic furniture, with its freshly washed and bleached slipcovers, spotless:

philigry says:
I wash the bottom cushions about once every two weeks, and the whole slipcover about every six weeks. the denim really comes clean….I have three kids too, and a golden retriever…

The covers are white denim so really hard wearing. She even made them herself so they didn’t cost much either. Of course you have to have the sewing skills ……. and a good washing machine!