Get The Look: Shabby Chic Miniatures for the Dolls House

The concept behind shabby chic is to transform unwanted, unloved, vintage items and to distress modern pieces turning them all from dull to fabulous! This really is an all-encompassing design style, because nothing is too far-gone or too ugly to have a little shabby chic magic worked upon it.

This is the ideal look to use up all those odd items of dolls house furniture that you had no idea what to do with, or felt weren't quite right. Furniture and accessories from any period can be incorporated into a modern shabby chic room box or dolls house with a little painting and distressing. Those vintage or antique pieces found in the loft or at a car boot sale that are a little bit too bashed could easily become the star of a shabby chic room setting, with no work required!

The decor most associated with this style is floral, chintzy and pastel for wall and floor coverings, as well as soft furnishing. So whether you opt for a plush, pastel-coloured carpet or distressed wooden floor, engulf it with rag rugs and needlepoint mats. Cover the walls with distressed floral samplers, tiny framed pressed flowers, vintage shop signs, and framed left-over wallpaper to make art.

Furniture is welcoming and informal, so think padded floral sofas and chairs, wicker, and stencilled chests and shelves. A dining table with six odd chairs is totally shabby chic, as is using mismatched pairings of bedside lamps, or making up a dresser from a chest of drawers and a wall cupboard.

Silk Cushion Kits from www.kayburton.co.uk - Wicker Chairs from www.cdhm.org/user/miniwickermaker

How to customise furniture and interiors

• Distress furniture by sanding the edges and corners with fine grain sandpaper.
• Rub wood stain or cold tea/coffee into any detailing to enhance the look of light coloured furniture.
• On dark furniture work a small amount of watered down white/cream emulsion into the detailing.
• Apply coats of crackle glaze.

Gold & White Screen + Painted Side Table from www.dollshousehp.com

• Wallpaper the inside of shelf units and cupboards.
• Remove the acrylic pane from glazed doors and replace with fabric or small scale wire mesh.
• Use a pretty paper punch to make stencils to paint furniture.