Shabby chic takes on furniture and furnishings with a little age, purposefully highlighting the wear and tear and signs of distress to give a room an antique, soft, and trendy appearance. The style has been popular, combining cottage-core, country bohemian, and rustic modern aspects. There is no shortage of ideas to assemble a shabby chic living room on a budget.
Here are ten shabby chic living room ideas on a budget:
Idea #1: Clean, Air Neutral Color Backdrop
Shabby chic décor can have many popping colours, but it’s very structured. Why it works because the backdrop is often simplistic and neutral. Shades of white, beige, or gray provide the background on which shabby chic décor looks best. Browse a furniture store to pick items with different colours that match with the overall decor.
Idea #2: Set Up Vintage Art and Photographs
Use vintage art and photographs to hang on your wall in a minimalist or maximalist way. With many shabby chic living rooms, you will see a wall of family photos in picture frames showcasing parts of one’s history and adding a personal touch to your home. This is a fairly common go-to but does wonders for the aesthetic.
Idea #3: Distressed Wood for Side Tables
Some distressed wood, painted or natural, will look gorgeous on your side tables. You can repurpose old side tables, assemble your own if you’re a woodworker from basic pallet wood, or distress existing side tables using sandpaper and similar tools.
Idea #4: Talking Points and Centerpieces
As you’re creating a shabby chic living room layout, consider what distressed furniture and décor you may be able to use for a centrepiece or, at least, a talking point. This can be a chandelier, mismatched accent chairs, flowers in a vase, lanterns, spray-painted bottles, or anything similar with signs of wear and age on it.
Idea #5: Old Light Fixtures Look Beautiful
Some older-style wall-mounted light fixtures can up the charm of a shabby chic living room. Using a vintage lamp or set of candles also provides this atmosphere. These materials might be hard to source, but there are loads of lamps and lighting fixtures in basements and attics found at estate and garage sales that can be redone. The only difficulty is finding something you like.
Idea #6: Ask the Family for Their Vintage Items
If you’re on a strict budget, ask family and friends if they have any unused furniture or materials you can have. You may get a free coffee table, old throw pillows, a worn-down rug, or something similar that costs nothing.
Idea #7: Mix Up Patterns and Textures
You can get a little messy with shabby chic. It doesn’t need to be a clean look, though. Blend in different textures and patterns. For example, you can add layers on a couch with a throw or pillow. You can have a rug or curtains as well. They don’t all must have the same cohesive aesthetic.
Idea #8: Floral And Lace for Femininity
Shabby chic can be made prettier by adding some floral or lace. A fresh set of flowers also works. There may be opportunities with the couch material, throws, rugs, artwork, and sculptures to incorporate floral imagery or lace. This can open the door to a whole new dynamic with shabby chic.
Idea #9: Consider Wicker, Jute, and More
Natural materials are more than welcome in shabby chic home décor. Jute, wicker, distressed glass, rattan, old bricks, worn leather, stone, and even distressed metals can add warmth and texture. If anything, avoid the opposite. No sleek, minimalist, clean-looking décor. Make what’s old and new again.
Idea #10: Bring in Rustic Farmhouse Vibes
If you know where to get some old farmhouse wood, making some rustic shelving or building wooden crates can provide lots of storage while building the shabby chic look from top to bottom. You can even pull in an old wooden ladder or other rustic farmhouse materials, repaint them, creating looks of wear-and-tear, and position them throughout the room.
Idea #11: Vintage Trunk For Storage
You can either build your own, fix up someone’s broken one, or find a vintage trunk fairly affordably to use as a storage space. Put extra blankets or pillows inside, or use a vintage trunk for general living room storage. For extra creativity points, some also choose to paint a vintage trunk or distress it in various ways using carvers and sandpaper, totally customizing its aesthetic.
Idea #12: Bonus Shabby Chic Idea: Try Thrift Stores
Thrift stores are the ultimate source of shabby chic living room décor. Thrift stores replenish inventory regularly, too, so you can visit on a Monday and then again on a Friday and see all sorts of new items. If you’re truly looking for shabby chic décor on a budget, thrift stores are where you’ll find the most for the least.