Ripped wallpaper: "shabby chic" or Emperor's New Clothes

[TriggersBroom]

DSIL and I recently went for a nice lunch at Jamie's Italian restaurant here

Oh shabby chic for sure. Of course I would say that as I happen to have rather a lot of such stylish paper, the result of owning a psychotic cat.

Not sure about tin plates though. That's a bit council-digging-holes chic.

Well I presume it's deliberate (not as if he can't afford a few rolls of wallpaper! ).

My pretentiousness-detector is bleeping.

The wall looks good, but to deliberately make it look like that is a bit try hard - if it was a result of stripping back and dicovering old paper it would be different IYSWIM. There's a fine line between creating a mood and turning it into an O'Neills style 'themed' look.

I went to a (very) posh restaurant years ago, where a vintage plate (and cutlery) were chosen by the chef to create a different ambience around every dish.

My first thought was that the whole idea was a bit naff, and that he'd been to a jumble sale and bought a whole load of cheap crockery to save money.

But - when I saw, and tasted, the food, was my mind changed!

Sounds like Jamie might be trying to create a similar sort of atmosphere around his grub.
I'm not entirely certain that's possible in a chain restaurant, myself.

However, if the food is delicious, that's the only thing which matters in the end. Shabby chic is a hard thing to pull off, and the decor looks ok in the picture.

Ripped wallpaper is shit and messy looking.

Is your SIL something to do with it? Or maybe Jamie in disguise?

If it's vintage it's fine. If it's modern imitation mass produced pretending to be vintage it's a bit silly.

Kitty
The decor looks much nicer in the picture where it has nice sunlight and is merged into the background.

Sitting in that corner on a wet winter afternoon next to a load of bare plasterwork, it just looked messy.

Not sure if it was vintage - it was an old building so possibly.

shabby chic indeed! I quite like it though I'd send back a chipped plate. Never encountered a 'fake' chip LOL!

I think the 15 restaurants are very overpriced, compared to other less 'worthy' but equally good quality and profit making Italian alternatives I've been to. You pay for the 'name' - which doesn't taste like much at all.

wow, so the big patch on our bedroom wall where the damp came in and the paper came off is actually fashionable, not skanky?
emoticon

Tallulah - no neither SIL or I are anything to do with Jamie.

Okly dokly, got confused by the waving

Ripped wallpaper is still horrible and pretentious. Unless you live in a house that is a million years old and can't afford to do it up.

they are all at it. hugh's canteen in axminister is all plasterboard chic and glasses made out of old beer bottles. food is great though

My house was built in the early 1980s and the wallpaper in the dining room is ripped/falling off/picked at by DS/eaten by the dog. It is also heavily tar stained (thanks, previous owners).

Will I be featured in some wanky interior design mag soon?

1780s maybe

Yes YankNCock, wait for the phonecalls...

Yes YanknCock - maybe you should invite people in and start charging them 20 quid for 4 scallops.

Good for low carbing though.

Have also been to that jamie's can't tell if the paper was already there or not but suspect it wasn't as they have teamed it with a red chandelier which tells me they were trying for that 'shabby chic combination of old and new' look. Unfortunately the red chandelier is a dead giveaway, plus the rest of it is quite deliberately "designed" so I doubt it was just luck. Food's quite good tho if you can bear to queue up!

I was all ready to say YANBU but I think in the picture it does look kinda good.

Its not to say it does in real life, and its never going to be to everyone's taste.

But I dont think you are BU either.

They probably paid a shedload to have it look that shabby and in need of decoration!!!