If you’re currently furnishing and decorating your house, you may have heard the term ‘shabby chic’ being used. However, you may not really know what it means. So what constitutes shabby chic furniture?

Pastel shades
While people may mean slightly different things by the term, in general it refers to aged, traditional looking French style furniture. Most commonly such furniture will be white or at the very least, pale, pastel shades. It is very rare that you will see dark wood or indeed any natural wood tones at all.

Distressed finish
Another feature of shabby chic furniture is the finish. Furniture will look aged, so distressing is common. This doesn’t mean peeling paint. It is more likely that edges will be sanded down to give an irregular finish.

Where to get it
The good news is that you don’t need wait for your current furniture to age and you don’t need to go hunting round antique shops either. Shabby chic items are now being produced to meet the growing demand. A range of designs are available and each item will be artificially aged using different techniques to give it the right look. Take a look online and you are sure to be able to find something that catches your eye.