To like vintage and shabby chic

[Summerbreezing]

I know it's not 'cool' anymore and everyone's so over it, but I still love my mis-matched crockery and jugs of flowers and colourful cushions and painted chest of drawers etc etc etc etc.

AIBU to think that Vintage rocks and to not want to re-do my house in chrome and blonde and cream and all that calm and neutral stuff that in no way reflects my chaotic state of mind?

I love a bit of vintage - we live in an old house full of second hand and old furniture.

I am not keen on Cath Kidston or the pink/hearts stuff but would much rather live with this than in a NEXT house with the 3 piece suite, twigs and lime green or teal accent colours.

I am a fan of Annie Sloan - why buy new when you can easily upcycle and save money in the process.

Love that shed :)

Mine is all mixed.

In my living room I have a wooden blind, leather sofa, wood floors with a pink old fashioned rug, Nina Campbell Swan Lake feature wall, an antique desk and a distressed teal rocking chair.

None of it matches but I like it.

Oh I forgot my light tree which is exactly the same as the one in the shed picture.

You do need to update abit or end up like my in laws who got "stuck" in the mid seventies when they were young adults. Their house is all swirly ceilings, serving hatches, patterned carpets, mug trees and fake pine. Mil was furious when the estate agent factored in the need to update into the price. The house never sold...

Shabby chic can easily lapse into twee though. Those words on the wall make me laugh always want to swap " love" and " home" for "crap" and "sod off". Also there is no excuse for the keep calm thing none.

Oh, I thought they were totally different too.

I thought that shed would be shabby chic/country whereas to me "vintage" (atm anyway) is 60s stuff, and Eames Chairs etc.

I love it when people are original and put their own twist on things - lime green sofa, lots of quirky art work. We recently stayed in a post industrial warehouse type house, old house but entirely knocked through, glass back of house, mezzanine, polished concrete floors. Not my style but amazing.

Must say, I think the shabby chic vintage stuff only really works well in period houses. It somehow just doesn't sit right in new builds

agree

end up like my in laws who got "stuck" in the mid seventies when they were young adults

There was a generation who are like this, my GP's my husbands and so many others, green shag pile carpets, orange shiny curtains...really odd.

I think shabby chic done well is beautiful - badly it looks tatty.

"Their house is all swirly ceilings, serving hatches, patterned carpets, mug trees and fake pine."

You say that like it's a bad thing. I love a serving hatch!

I don't think it matters if people want to be stuck in any decade. I love houses which honestly reflect the tastes and interests of the people living in them, rather than identikit Homes and Gardens display rooms.

You should have and live with what makes you happy regardless of what's in or not.

I've often wondered about threads that say something decorative is now 'dated' or last year. So what? How could anyone possibly afford to keep ripping things out to keep up with whatever the latest thing is anyway? Surely it's more interesting to have a mixture of things that reflect you.

My house has dado rails. It was built with them as a feature of the rooms and I'm not going to ruin the walls and have to replaster everywhere just to tear them out. They look nice anyway

I also like painting furniture and giving it a new look too. Change things if you want to - that's always nice and fun to do - but not because you feel you must.

My eventual vision for my house would be with tones of shabby chic . Alas with the amount of children , dogs , horses and mud in constant procession , I never seem to progress past plain shabby . Sigh .

"Can you have Vintage Shabby Chic "

LaQueen if anyone can carry off Vintage Shabby Chic, you can .

OP YANBU If shabby chic and vintage is what you like then stick with it. Much better than redecorating every 6/12 months to keep up with the latest look whether you like it or not.

Love MrsDeVere's room :)

LaQueen it sounds to me as if you borrow the bits you like from different styles and combine them to make your own style.

OP you can have it if you want it. All you have to do is invent it

I agree that the only way to carry off a vintage look, is to mix it with modern bits and pieces. Otherwise a room can end up looking like a stage set for an Agatha Christie play, or a shrine to Cath Kidston.

It's the same with any look really. A room done up totally in a fifties or sixties style with no modern touches just looks really contrived and stagey. The nicest rooms are the ones that evolve naturally and are a mix of comfortable, practical and attractive looking.

Not really into shabby chic, although vintage I love. & it really depends on the type of house/flat you're living in, shabby chic would look ridiculous in a new build starter home for example, you really have to stay in tune with the age & style of the house for certain styles to 'work'.

Shabby chic to me always evokes paint that is deliberately chipped. Why? I mean, really, why would you pay over the odds for something that is not old but has been battered to make it look old. I don't get that look at all.

I am however a passionate believer in decorating your house to please only you and in allowing it to grow and develop over time.

What do people class as a new build though? How old does a house have to be to not be considered as a new build?