Shabby chic furniture and accessories continue to be popular in antique markets today.
What does shabby chic look like? In many cases, you will see several layers of paint on worn areas of shabby chic furniture, with a white paint on the top. The second most popular shabby chic finish is green.
Buying shabby chic furniture is a way of recycling. You can take worn pieces as is and incorporate them into the interior design of your home rather than sending the piece of furniture to a landfill.
The problem with shabby chic furniture, as far as an antique dealer is concerned, is that shabby chic furniture is not necessarily old, and, even more problematic, some antique furniture is altered so that is has a shabby chic look.
To save yourself some money, because shabby chic "antiques" carry a premium, you can faux-finish furniture yourself. You will be helping to recycle as well.
In order to faux finish shabby chic furniture, you will need furniture stripper, rags, a brush, stain, sandpaper, white paint in a warm color and protective coverings for your floor.
How to Make Shabby Chic Furniture
First, strip the paint or finish off of your piece of furniture. After the piece is stripped and dry, sand it. You will be mixing a combination of stain and paint, generally three parts stain to one part paint, and then applying that combination to your piece of furniture with rags or a brush. You may have to apply several coats to achieve the effect that you want. As a final touch, you might want to use sandpaper on your furniture to make it look more used.
As a buyer, beware and be aware. Shabby chic is an attractive look, but are you are really buying an antique?
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