Shabby Chic vs Belgravia furniture

A bit of a follow up post from the last one I wrote... except, instead of writing about creating your own Shabby Chic furniture I'm gonna tell you where to buy brand new furniture with an old fashioned style. As a Swede, it's quite obvious that I have a love for IKEA, but... (yes, there is a but) even though basic furniture can be great and easy to match with, it can get a bit plain and boring looking in the end. 

I recently discovered the online furniture store Hunters at Home who specialises in Shabby Chic furniture as well as Belgravia furniture. Belgravia furniture is quite similar to the Shabby Chic style, but they're a bit cleaner and more posh. Belgravia furniture also have more swirly patterns in them. I read somewhere that Belgravia furniture originally came from the posh parts of old London, which I'm sure is right. I can just imagine an old wealthy Victorian family living in a London apartment full of fancy Belgravia white furniture.

Just look at these gorgeous pieces of Belgravia furniture in the collage I created below. I really love this classic vintage feel, and the great thing about this style is that even though it's quite a simple style, just like the Shabby Chic style, it looks super elegant with the swirly patterns carved out of the wood. I actually have a couple of pieces very similar to some of these in my guest bedroom - an antique bureau and a painted white bookcase. If I could, I would fill the whole room with Belgravia bedroom furniture from Hunters at Home, but unfortunately it's quite a small room, so for now the two pieces I have are going to have to be enough.

 The bookcase I have is actually quite similar to the one here below, except it hasn't got any swirls. I would really love to swap the one I've got for this one instead - it's such a beautiful piece of furniture. For you who are on the lookout for some new furniture for your home I'd really recommend you to go and have a look at Hunters at Home. Their prices are actually really reasonable - something I was quite surprised about since they offer a range of speciality furniture.

Bring new life to old furniture

In many homes you’ll find a heritage of antique furniture – I for myself have a couple of old pieces that I was given when my grandparents passed away.

Although you might like the thought of antique furniture, they might not suit your style. Most antique furniture come in dark wooden materials, and with such dark colours a room can sometimes look a bit too dark and gloomy.

It might be a gorgeous piece of furniture you’ve got, but it just doesn’t fit the rest of your interiors. For sentimental reasons you might not want to get rid of it – so what can you do?

The Shabby Chic style has grown extremely popular during the last few years, and this is a great modern style that is easy to achieve with just some paint and some sandpaper. The most common colour to use when creating a Shabby Chic style is white, but why follow the stream when you can create something fantastically creative. Get that old bookcase, kitchen table or cabinet out and go crazy with colours! Dare to be differnet – believe me – you’ll thank yourself when you see the result. Read the old post of mine called How to paint Shabby Chic furniture for more info and tricks on how to best achieve the Shabby Chic look.

Office furniture for the company and for your home

How come a stylish office is essential at the workplace, but it's a room that gets forgotten when it comes to decorating when it's in your own home? Having a stylish office when owning a company helps the working mode amongst your employers, and shows a great improvement in business if you're running a sales focused company. 

You might think that redecorating a boring looking office is a humongous project that will cost you thousands, but if you're creative it can be easier and cheaper than you think.

 A plain board room can easily get a playful and creative look by adding some wall paint and decorations along with a few colourful and quirky chairs.

 The key to making a brilliant first impression is to style up your reception with some stylish and impressive reception furniture.

In a private office you might want to give people the impression of authority, and a great way to do so is to choose office furniture of dark colours, and simple but robust design. You should also invest in some smart storage solutions to keep the office decluttered and professional looking.

 For a contemporary look, go for a style of all black and white office furniture of simple and straight lines. This is a look that will work for years, as it matches everything and you can adapt it to different styles should you eventually like a change.

If you work from home it's essential that your home office is a place of comfort and creativity. It needs to be homey and cosy, but not so much that all you want to do is relax in that room. After all, it is a room for working. Make it your personal style, but make sure that it's a room that still screams work mode.

 Keep your home office tidy and decluttered by putting up some great storage solutions in the form of drawers and bookcases.

 A stylish and minimalistic office is the perfect work place for a modern working person who wants to be as efficient as possible - this is great for someone who works solely on their computer. No print-outs and clutter also contributes to less distractions.

The most important element of a home office is that you feel comfortable in it, and that you can be in a work mode even if you're in your own house. This last picture is my own personal favourite, and I would love to work from home if I had a pretty office such as this one. How I would get inspired to work in such a lovely work place.

Contemporary designer furniture

Are you daring in your house decorating, or do you stick to the same old styles?

Would you go for an all contemporary style with minimalistic furniture of metal and plastic in bright colours?

Perhaps not, but maybe you’ll change your mind when you see these pieces of modern designer furniture from Interior Addict.

Remember, just because you’re thinking of investing in a piece of designer furniture such as a funky chair or a ceiling lamp, it doesn’t mean you have to go all contemporary and stylish with the rest of your interior. A mix between old fashioned and modern could be a great combination. That shiny red chair could simply be the focal point of the room, while the rest of the furniture is quite neutral. This creates a dramatic feel to the room, and it sure would be a conversation starter! One of those red designer sofas would also look great in a modern office space.

Of course all pieces of designer furniture are not red! However, you won’t see many of the modern designers working in other materials than plastic and metal. Therefore, most of their pieces have some sort of unusual colour. There are of course black and white pieces, but in my opinion you might as well go for something extreme if you’re going to do it. What’s the point otherwise? ;)

I think these pieces of different colours are quite quirky, especially those wall clocks! One of those sure would brighten up, and add a playful feeling to a dull room such as a kitchen. The same applies to any of the lamps from the range of contemporary pendant lighting – these would look their best in a room such as a kitchen or a modern dining room.

Get style inspiration from Greece

A country I think it’s worth taking inspiration from when it comes to home design is the lovely Mediterranean Greece. I’m a huge lover of the Greek isles, and I’ve visited this country three times. I would go back any time!

Every time I’ve been to this country I’ve been so impressed by all the houses in the little villages – they all look so picturesque! The robust shapes and colours, the white stone houses, the blue details, the rough doors, the explosion of colours in the flowers… I love it all!

When seeing all the pretty white houses on the hills by the coast with the extremely blue water you understand why the Greeks chose blue and white for their country’s flag.

Here are two different bathrooms inspired by Greece. One of them has the typical Greek patterns created in the shape of the sink and the bathroom mirror, and the other one is inspired by the typical Greek colours.

These two shabby chic painted pieces of furniture in different hues of blue are just so gorgeous. That desk especially!

The mirror, just like the bathroom mirror above, has the typical Greek patterns in the frame.

 

Adding a Greek feel to your bedroom is probably the easiest way of achieve a Greek feel in your home – simply throw on some white and blue sheets and cushions, and you’ve created a Mediterranean look in minutes!

 

These interior designs are truly fantastic. Just look at that robust blue door, and the fireplace! I’m more than certain I would feel very much at home in these cosy Greek inspired houses.