Shabby Chic Kitchen Ideas
Shabby chic kitchen ideas are usually fairly inexpensive. However, at times they can seem a little bit dated or too frilly and fussy, especially when this is going to be one of the more functional rooms in your home. Here is how to streamline this design style.
Shabby Chic Paint Ideas
Shabby chic painting is going to be difficult to pick the perfect color palette for your kitchen design. You probably will want to go with a slightly more feminine tone. There can be a little bit of a tendency to go towards pinks and purples in this design style. However, since this is a room that the whole family uses instead, you may just want to focus on a vintage feeling. We are seeing a big trend in gray kitchen cabinets even in farmhouse kitchens or shabby chic kitchens as well. Go for a white or gray that isn’t too masculine.
Shabby Chic Home Decor for Kitchen Use
One way that you can makeover your traditional shabby chic cabinets is just to find totally new ways to use them that are still going to be durable enough for kitchen use. For instance, lace is a staple in this design style. It can be a little bit too fussy for kitchen window treatments. Instead, look for a lace etched window film. Of course, you could use this on your windows. However, you could also stick with plantation shutters or white blinds that will be a lot easier to open and close. You could use this on the insets of glass cabinet doors.
You can also really consider using the idea of floral prints. Handpainted furniture options for this can be a subtle touch to a kitchen island. However, instead of white create it with a brown, or black background to it. This is going to balance it out. Stay away from lots of pinks. Instead go for more of a Tuscan inspired feeling like you would see on a lot of designer pieces.
The other area where you can bring in floral prints is going to be slightly more modern. Any kind of floral is usually going to be in keeping with this design style. You can really modernize this by going with a peony. You could stencil this all over your walls. Just stay with the outline and it may bring in neutral colors such as taupe. This will keep it sophisticated.
You want to stay away from clichés like a typical porcelain handpainted drawer pull. Usually it has a simple rose painted on it. You can counteract this by going with the same porcelain version then it might actually be sculpted in the shape of a rose. You can also go with more of that vintage effect with glass or even mercury glass. Oftentimes this antique or reproduction glass will have a slight green tint to it so it does still bring in a few of those pastel colors without being too noticeable.
Shabby Chic Kitchen Accessories You Can Make Yourself
One of the hallmarks of this design style is going to be homemade accessories. If you are a crafter then this is probably one of the best design styles for you. This is one of the few design aesthetics that still uses a lot of chairpads and seat covers, although you can also make these for your kitchen island barstools. This adds comfort as well as a feminine softness to your room.
You can also go with vintage styles of artwork using decoupaging medium. Lately at stores like Pottery Barn we are seeing a lot of utensil artwork. You want to make sure that the print that you choose has a lot of intricate scrollwork on them.
How to Shabby Chic Furniture and Islands
Sometimes going with a faux a distressed finish on all of your cabinetry can be a little bit too bold in your room even though distressed kitchen cabinets are so trendy. Instead, you might just want to stick with this on your kitchen dining set or just your kitchen island. In this kind of design style really the more distressed pieces the better, although you still need to make sure that it is food safe. If you’re lucky enough to find a true vintage piece it often has this glazing distressed effect to but you need to check it for lead paint. Otherwise, you can really just sand down almost any color of paint finish so the natural wood shows through. Again, you will probably need to check with your local paint store to see what sealer you may need to keep it safe for use around food.
Learn More