Shabby Chic

February 16, 2004
Over the last decade, since opening a home furnishing store in Santa Monica, Calif., Ashwell (Shabby Chic
; The Shabby Chic Home
; etc.) has built an empire around a decorating style that involves equal parts flea-market salvaging, craft work and mix-and-matching from different ethnic cultures. In this uneven fourth book, she instructs readers on how to create striking settings for entertaining and special events. While there are some useful ideas here for anyone who wants to create a unique party on a budget—for example, hanging flower-adorned thrift-store hats on the backs of chairs or mixing vintage pieces of glassware with more ordinary tumblers for a funky effect—the usefulness of other do-it-yourself sections, such as a page devoted to instructions on how to make a traditional English maypole, may elude the average reader. Some might also be alienated by the celebrity sheen of other projects, which range from the makeover of a Pasadena, Calif., restaurant for Jennifer Lopez to a birthday party designed for Pamela Anderson's six-year-old son. Although this book is a bit more glitzy and produced than Ashwell's previous works, her old-fashioned yet fashionable style is appealing when she focuses on basic decorating tips. Newcomers to the shabby chic aesthetic might do better to seek out previous volumes in Ashwell's oeuvre, but confirmed fans will probably find something to enjoy in her ideas on how to transform a party space into something unusual and memorable.

September 15, 1996
Ashwell, founder and owner of Shabby Chic, a home furnishings chain, shares her secrets on how to obtain the decorating look that suggests "the aura of old money, cushy comfort, and crafted indifference." She covers such topics as how to negotiate a flea market and incorporate the purchases for the home, the types of fabric best suited for this look, and how to use flowers to accessorize a room. Lots of color photographs depict the "shabby chic" look in casual, formal, and contemporary settings. This type of eclectic decorating continues to be popular, making this a wise purchase for most libraries.