Shabby Chic or Country Core looks, that you can achieve at home.

The Shabby Chic or Country Core as we like to call it,  is actually fairly easy to create yourself.  With so many different types of chalky paints on the market, you could upcycle a simple item of furniture with ease.Old pine furniture is a great place to start.

You could always visit the National Painting & Decorating Show, held annually at the NEC, Birmingham.  The next show is on the between the 23rd-25th June. If you're interested in doing this professionally or as a small business. 

I discovered Frenchic paint at the Leominster Antique Centre and it's perfect for this type of project. 

The first step and the most important one is in the preparation.  If you have an electric sander, this will make your life so much easier, start with a courser grain of sandpaper.  The lower the number, the rougher it is: ie P80, then once you have gone over the surfaces, you could change over to a higher number sandpaper which will give you a smoother finish.  Then wipe it over with a dry cloth to remove the dust. 

Depending on the look you want to achieve, you could apply a base coat first then use a candle to rub over the edges or areas where it's handled the most.  Then apply a top coat in a different colour.Next step is to rub over with a finer grain of sandpaper.  That way you'll only remove the top layer.  Giving a depth of design. 

There is no right or wrong way of creating a Shabby Chic piece of furniture, that's the beauty of this look. If you're feeling adventurous then you could remove the door inset panel on a wardrobe or cupboard and replace with Chicken wire.  It makes for a beautiful display Cabinet.  

If you want to learn more then you could check out a YouTube tutorial.  Frenchic paint has there own channel. 

https://youtube.com/@frenchictv?si=EelW9oSsh9RYnuCd

Good luck and I'm sure you'll create an item of furniture that you will be proud of. 

#Countrylife #Interiordesign #interiordesigner