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[SilleeMee]

It's a form of French-country decorating with emphasis on old-looking/antique-looking furnishings that look like they came out of an old countryside cottage.

[151949]

To me shabby chic is farm decorating - like what you see at Fixer Upper. Repurposing old items without restoring them - leave the rust and the peeling paint and use the frayed and threadbare. I've seen her use old rusty metal lights and old rusty signs etc. Not my style at all.I love antique furniture but I don't want old peeling and rusty - I restore my antiques to as close as I can get to their original beauty.In my world shabby is definitely NOT chic.  I also would not want to live with all white furniture - holy cow - can you imagine that with kids!?!? And I also don't find white furniture to be cozy or warm. I understand what shabby chic is - i just don't like it nor would I want to live with it.

[ID2]

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@Snicks1 wrote:

Thi

This is just one example of a shabby chic living room; distressed items, mixed with lots of white orcream. I think it looks very pretty, but is impractical. Would be hard to live with, imo.

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This photo doesn't look at all what shabby chic is! I don't see any distressed items! Just looks like traditional dark furniture with white fabric couches. This isa  pretty ugly example. 

[SahmIam]

My bedroom is "shabby chic" though I wasn't out to do it on purpose. 

The ceiling is very high (12 to 20 feet at the highest point) with large picture windows. The walls are a soft peach with white trim. When I moved in, my first thought was to paint it but instead, I discovered I loved how it looked and felt with a dark wood poster bed and antiques. However, the dark wood meant something light for fabric (I thought) so I pulled out linen's and quilts I had collected over the years; the majority being shades of white and some with very soft, light colors in them that all went well with the peach walls.

In the end, I would up with white linen and lace curtain panels (pulled back to expose the heavy wooded view), white curtains on the canopy section of the bed (pulled back to expose the bed), layers of white shams (antique), dove grey duvet with white quilts/blankets, distressed white frames housing paintings, etc.

Nothing is matchy matchy but it's a room that when I walk in says to me "Welcome, it's time to relax and leave your cares behind".

Shabby chic, to ME, is cozy, soft, comforting with nothing heavy or sharp.... and if there is, they're softened via fabrics that are light in texture and color.

[violann]

I think of "shabby chic"  as being much more forgiving than more formal styles.

I have two sets of small sofas, both originally expensive, and one of the sets, that lived in my sons' fraternity house, that was reupholstered when it came back to my house.

I consider them SC- 

Using, and LOVING, carefully but casually mixed styles, colors, fabrics, not disposing but rehabbing, "soft", simpler, ........

Referring to OP's question, avoiding "specifically" and substituting "possibly" or "casually".

[libbyannE]

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@151949 wrote:

To me shabby chic is farm decorating - like what you see at Fixer Upper. Repurposing old items without restoring them - leave the rust and the peeling paint and use the frayed and threadbare. I've seen her use old rusty metal lights and old rusty signs etc. Not my style at all.I love antique furniture but I don't want old peeling and rusty - I restore my antiques to as close as I can get to their original beauty.In my world shabby is definitely NOT chic.  I also would not want to live with all white furniture - holy cow - can you imagine that with kids!?!? And I also don't find white furniture to be cozy or warm. I understand what shabby chic is - i just don't like it nor would I want to live with it.

@151949

i think someone posted that pic, but the look isn't necessarily about white furniture. It's been around for two or more decades now, so you probably know what I mean. And today the look isn't so much farm or country but often modern with a few worn touches.

[SilleeMee]

To me these images are shabby chic:

[151949]

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@SilleeMee wrote:

To me these images are shabby chic:

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First pic - way way way too girly for my DH - he would hate that 

Second pic - there would be no rest for my DH until we had dragged this corner cabinet out to the garage and refinished or painted it.

Third picture is ok - but I wouldn't like white furniture.

[151949]

I think an eclectic mix of different non matching furniture can be very attractive and is how my home is decorated. However, it's the "shabby" part I don't like. Peeling paint, rust, broken, worn out or stained doesn't appeal to me at all.  Our camper is only 3 years old so it still has that new look to it. I have added some definate farmhouse or country looks to it to make it feel homey to us. Someone here at the campground actually suggested I could take off the "new" look by distressing some of the wood - OMG - if we scratched any of this beautiful cherry wood my heart would break! Let alone if someone started whacking it with chains or hammers.But what looks new & pretty to me that person apparently found to be offensive and ugly.

[SilleeMee]

I'm not a fan of the shabby chic style either. Seems a lot of it includes furniture that has been painted and made to look worn and old. Personally, I would rather have nice woodgrain displayed in all of its glory. There is nothing more beautiful than Mother Nature's own artwork.