The White Dresser

Key holes or otherwise known as escutcheons can be the perfect way of dressing up a white dresser.  Escutheons were popular and served a function at one time when locks accompanied most chests and dressers.  Today they are hardly seen except on antiques.  Today you can find brass stampings off of the internet at most hardware internet sites for a dollar or less. You may also try the older vintage hardware stores, as they may carry stock of the vintage ornate hardware.  I have found the fancier antique brass escutcheons can be found from salvage sellers off of ebay.  They often sell lots (or sets of groups) of keyholes that you can hammer on to each drawer, which would otherwise be impossible to find.  If you keep your eyes on ebay you can find some of the nicer french Louis escutcheons, or Victorian sets that once belonged to stately chests.  Ormolu and decorative key holes is the number one way of revamping that ordinary chest to something with outstanding distinction.  (Read More.....)

French furniture accompanies shabby chic style as the two go hand in hand.  True french furniture often is hand painted and well made.  Different antiques either feature the wood bare and polished, while others have outstanding hand painted patina finishes.  If you are anything like me, you get bored with modern clean lines that don't have much to capture your attention. Louis XV furniture is the most curvy of all the french period antiques.  Demi Lune cabinets and bombe Chests are some of the best french furniture in the chests styles.  These particular chests can be very expensive and hard to located.  With ebay, you can find a reasonable price if you have the patience, the only challenge is usually figuring out shipping arrangements.  You would be surprised what sells on ebay.  I once saw an entire bombe bedroom set for $300.  You certainly cannot beat that!  (Read More.....)

Upholstered furniture is a staple in any shabby chic room.  A variety of fabrics that work together is one of the easiest way of pulling a room together for a professional look.  Shabby decor often features white or very subtly colored fabrics.  With slipcovers now available, you don't have to be an expert seamstress to update your furniture.  Slipcovers can be the perfect solution as they are inexpensive to purchase, and it gives you the freedom to change your look with0ut investing in new furniture.  Fabric slipcovers also can be easily removed for cleaning as white can get dirty with playful children.  Shabby chic fabrics are usually cotton or linen and are usually featured in white or pastel colors.  When patterns are used, they are floral patterns or lush romantic toile prints seen in English country or cottage style design.  (Read More.....)

White furniture can be the perfect bare bones your room needs to allow you to introduce color into your decor.  If you are drawn to color, consider your furniture as your anchor which allows the possibility of color without going overboard.  Many people who enjoy color often go wrong when they decorate, adding too many layers of color, such as colorful furniture, and then adding on top of that colorful walls, and colorful accessories.   Once you do layer in your colorful accessories, the white walls, and furniture give your eyes a break from all the colorful eye -candies in your room.  We give you some hot tips in pulling off this look.  (Read More.....)

Spacious bathrooms and fine cabinetry has been one of the ongoing trends in many home decor magazines. Who often has thousands of dollars to install floor to ceiling cabinetry in a common sized bathroom? One simple update that anyone can do to make their bathroom just as nice as the rest of the house is to install a new vanity. The luxury of customized furniture in the bathroom can make the bathroom feel like an additional room instead of a space often neglected. Modern vanities are taking on the concepts of bedroom chests and dressers and today's customer has the variety of modern and antique styles. (Read More.....)

Distressing is one way of achieving an antique look without searching around for the perfectly aged piece of white furniture.  White distressed dressers can be easily achieved by a few simple steps.  First sanding your piece lightly, which allows the paint to bond better to your piece of furniture.  Next, prime your piece with a white primer.  I always recommend Gripper Primer, because it is very easy to work with than other name brands.  Next, apply your top coat of paint, and use a hand sander to sand away the areas you wish to antique. (Read More.....)

Ashwell’s accessories can be found in the homes of stars such as Jennifer Lopez, Madonna and Oprah Winfrey, but she didn't start out so big.  As a child she was used to being dragged out of bed early in the morning to go flea market shopping with her parents on weekends. Her mother restored and sold antique dolls, and her father was an antique book dealer, so those years of antique shopping developed within her a keen sense of what quality was and the details to look for that made objects valuable.  Ashwell went on to writing several books on treasure hunting and how to buy and resell and repair flea-market finds.  For more than 14 years she has followed her love of  shabby chic elements such as romantic florals, white linen, white furniture, and outstanding antiques which she has developed into a brand that annually brings in more than $10m.  She has also  created a line for Target, in which she supplies her accessories to hundreds of stores around the world.  She now has five more stores,and over 125 employees.  Her stores are currently in Chicago, San Francisco, Malibu, Newport Beach and New York.  (Read More.....)

Denise Richards is a well known Hollywood star, and has gained a reputation of being the girl next door.  Cameras capture her very down to earth persona, and really reveal how much of a nice woman she really is.  She appeared on Dancing with the Starts and had her own reality show called  Denise Richards, It's Complicated.  Her reality show gave America a peek into her everyday life, and her home which is decorated in exceptional shabby chic taste.    Her wallpaper really stuck out in some of the rooms that were featured, along with some of the exceptional furniture.  Here are some of the photos of her home.    (Read More.....)