Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic

I was so sad to hear the news today (yes, I'm always late with news) about Rachel Ashwell, Shabby Chic filing for Chapter 11. Rachel Ashwell & her story & her company have been an inspiration for me from Day 1 when I first started thinking about opening Pure Style LLC.

They're in the process of restructuring now & I just hope they make it through okay. Rachel's creativity is amazing & I have a feeling something even bigger & better will come out of all of this. So, I just wanted to share with you a few of my favorite photos from the Shabby Chic website.

I think when we typically think of "shabby chic," we imagine ruffles & skirts & flowers & feminine furniture, but as you can see from the pics on this post, that's not all the company & the aesthetic is about.

A lot of her pieces have a cool modern edge like the coffee table below:

And hmazing is this little pendant (below)?!

Check out this gorgeous tufted leather sofa: And how beautiful would this little pendant be in the corner of a room?:

I love how these simple, farmhouse lines take on a modern edge when paired with this clean-lined white sofa: (This is really perfection to me because of the lines, colors & natural feel of the raw table.)

This shelf (below)looks like an authentic rustic shelf that someone's grandfather could have built out of scraps of wood. Adding a piece like this to a room provides instant character & age.

This giant pendant light (below) has such a beautiful finish. I would love it over a desk floating in the middle of a room.

She offers such a variety of styles (compare the refined pic below with the simple one below it) and even just one of her items in a room add timelessness.

This one makes me think "beach" & reminds me of a piece I found at a thrift store, repainted & used as my outdoor potting station. And that's what's so great about Shabby Chic- you get inspired by the pieces they carry & they get your creative juices flowing. Rachel's whole company was founded on her love of flea market finds & it's easy to get excited about your own future projects by seeing what she has to offer.

I LOVE the lines on this bed (below). I used to have am English Caribbean mahogany 4 poster & loved it at the time, but over the years, my tastes have gotten simpler. It's in storage right now & if I could have an bed I wanted right now, I would probably have something very similar to this bed in a raw wood or mahogany... or an uphostered linen headboard... it depends on the room ;)

And, below, I just wanted to show this photo again. I really love this room. The paneled ceiling, the chandelier, the white upholstery, the amount of white in general, the raw wood table and the little modern ottoman/stool = beautiful. I love all the french doors & how airy & open the space is.

Anyway, if you get a chance you can head over to the Shabby Chic blog where Rachel is giving updates & I know that she appreciates everyone's support. She's an amazing person & I'm hoping her creativity & ingenuity will pull her through this & I have a feeling something even bigger is in store for her. She's been such an inspiration & I just want her to know that she's touched a lot of people.

xoxo,

lauren

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On a Whim

"On a Whim" is a beautiful little store in a converted barn in Lucketts, Virginia right before you get to the Old Lucketts Store & Lucketts Design House. You can't miss the polkadotted siloh!! The owner, Donna, and her daughter are as sweet as can be when you go in there & they have handpicked their dealers with a beautiful an eye for display.

I think they will soon be selling online so check back!! I'm off to run out to go clothes shopping (you know you buy too many things for the home when you have to say, "clothes shopping." haha It's been so long since I've bought clothes & some of you bloggers out there have gotten me in the mood for some goodies!! ;) but I think these pics speak for themselves. Enjoy the "shopping trip!" ;) (ok, one thing-- i LOVE this chandelier!!! )

Hope you enjoyed checking out this awesome store!!! The prices are amazing & it's always changing!!

xoxo,

lauren

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Lucketts Design House

So I wanted to take you on a little virtual tour of one of my favorite places to shop, the Lucketts Design House:

It's this old house with some outbuildings full of an ever-changing array of awesome furnishings & home accents. They change it seasonally & it's only open on weekends so it's always a treat. It's run as a specialty shop of Lucketts Antiques (the salvage yard/ antiques store I always rave about) which I'll be posting about soon. Here's the bridgeway into the Design House:

They have crazy things like this bird house just set up everywhere:

And this griffin guarding the entry:

This is the back entry into the house:

The colors are always changing. I took these pics right after Chrismas so it's all holiday stuff:

I love their kitchen (below). Howmuch fun are the stools?!

Cute b&w checkerboard floor:

This back entrance porch is one of my favorite rooms. I love the floors & pale blue paneling:

Here's a huge hutch in the kitchen that stands in the exact spot where I got my hutch! (I always have to check out what's there instead! :)

Here's the front entryway (below):

View in from another room:

Here are some of the rooms on the first floor:

Fun lamp:

Check out what they've done with this salvaged mantle"

Big, fun lantern:

Ok, this table is on my dream table list. It's reclaimed elm & is so rough & natural. LOVE IT. (Actually I'm very into the drum shade too)

I always love this room & want to buy the down-filled sofas.

Loving this bench & hide rug: (should I feel guilty??)

Quirky lion print= fun

The pretty Christmas mantle & flocked tree:

Such gorgeous old doors:

A console version (below) of my dining room table ;) ;)

I guess I'm into the cow hide right now because this is great to me: (More cowbell anyone??)

And you know I love decorative balls of all shapes & sizes! (These were some type of wood composite I think? Really light & hollow)

Cute snowmen:

Woven coffee table:

Here's an upstairs room. They've got it set up as this crazy dining room right now:

There are so many rooms!!

Here's another upstairs dining room:

How fun is the armoire in the background below? (Would be a great project to try!)

Here's one of the bedrooms. This one is usually full of darker colors:

These shell pieces below are AMAZING. (They always carry a few of these) The carvings are just so beautiful. I think if you had a room with simpler lines this could be a really beautiful contrast:

This bedroom is so light & airy:

They really do a great job squeezing in a ton of merchandise without it feeling too terribly cluttered:
Some great inspiration for older pieces:

Pretty bed. I'm really into the wall colors. Just so fresh & happy:

And you know how I feel about raw wood. I need one of these mirrors:

Or this mirror (below)... & the chair is great upholstered in a rough burlap-like linen:

More mirros & that lamp is really tall! It's just a great place to find pieces with some real character for a bargain:

Haha, yes, I definitely loved the feeling in this bedroom so here's one last picture:

Here's the bathroom where they have lots of great little gifts:

Here's the upstairs hallway with the ever-changing art wall:

More fun balls:

These tables (below) are great! (Haha when I was designing a line of furniture a couple of years ago I SO thought I made up this concept until I walked into a store & saw it! :) But I really do love it when designers takes a furniture piece that is traditionally wood & switches it to metal or vice versa.

Below, a little too curvey for me peronsally, but they still do such a beautiful job of displaying & there's really something for everyone:

Such unique pieces:

Here's this really cool bar. If my basement didn't need to be my living room, I'd totally go for this baby: (One day! ;)

And now back downstairs to one last room:

There's not much more I can say, but that if you are ever in the area, you have to stop by!!!! (And they also always have treats in the kitchen!! Good stuff too- like hot spinach & artichoke dip!!)

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