outdoor spaces part 2: shabby chic

You can't go wrong with a daybed. I love the base on this one. From Klikk via The House that A-M Built

Once upon a time, I fell deep in love with shabby chic. I wanted everything white with pale pinks and green accent furniture, vintage linens and floral plates. I bought Rachel Ashwell's best book: The Shabby Chic Home of her own home's before and afters and dreamed of replicating her look one day. Then suddenly the love affair eased off and I moved on to other styles.

Mismatched chairs, paper lanterns, floor cushions and candleabras make for a pretty girlie afternoon tea party. From Klikk

I've wanted a little summer house ever since friends in Wales had us over for dinner in theirs. It was so adorable and sparkly at night. From Flickr

The worn timber is the perfect backdrop for shabby chic's prettiness. From Flickr

Occasionally I flick back through my book (when I actually have it - my mother in law steals it often as she's completely in love with shabby chic now and wants to decorate her new place in that style.) and I still drool over some pictures. But they're all the outdoorsy ones - that's why I did this shabby chic post. Because I think this look works best outdoors. There's no carpet or feature-wall colour to clash with, it's not something you live with day in, day out, and where else is a flower more at home than in the garden? Let me apologise in advance for the crappiness of the photographed images from Rachel's books. I really need to get myself a scanner, but they're too pretty to not share.

Am not sure what I like most: the decorating or the fact this deck is so bloody close to the water! From another of Rachel Ashwell's books - Shabby Chic: Sumptuous Settings and Other Lovely Things (I think it's this one) that I bought for my mother-in-law

A huge daybed on a deck: so nice I'd sleep out here on those hot summer nights. From The Shabby Chic Home

The entrance to her home. From The Shabby Chic Home

Sunbeds and umbrellas for poolside glam. From The Shabby Chic Home

Tiny turquoise tiles make this pool so inviting. From The Shabby Chic Home

Perfect reading spot. From The Shabby Chic Home

PS: I just noticed the photographed pics can't be enlarged so they look worse than they actually are. Will try and redo later but babies just woke up so my blogging time is over for now!

PPS: Pics fixed and should actually enlarge now.