Rachel Ashwell Books

Shabby Chic

Rachel Ashwell

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Regan Books Amazon Marketplace: 134 new & used starting at $2.98

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Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Decorating
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 41 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Valuable flea market finds...
A peeling, antique vanity in muted sea green...
An elegant, cracked chandelier...
An enormous, slipcovered sofa with deep, cushions...

Comfort, the beauty of imperfections, the allure of time-worn objects, and the appeal of simple practical living: these are the cornerstones of what has come to be known as the Shabby Chic style. Like the cosy familiarity of a well-worn pair of faded jeans, the dilapidated elegance of an Italian villa, or the worn grandeur of faded velvets and mismatched floral china handed down from your grandmother's attic, the Shabby Chic style is a revived appreciation for what is used, well-loved, and worn. It is a respect for natural evolution and a regard for what is easy and sensible.

The hundreds of lavish photographs in this book invite you inside the unique world of Shabby Chic. Rachel Ashwell, founder of the Shabby Chic home decor stores, for the first time provides her invaluable and much-sought-after advice on how to re-create Shabby Chic style in your own home. With engaging text and easy-to- follow instructions, Rachel details the Shabby Chic basics in a way that will put even the most apprehensive or novice decorators at ease. From flowers to fabrics to lighting, Rachel illuminates all of the elements essential to this unpretentious yet truly exquisite style.

A behind-the-scenes look at a flea market lets readers in on Rachel's personal secrets of how to cull hidden treasures from flea market trash--an old trunk, its paint peeling around the edges, can be given new life as a coffee table, while a chipped white iron salvage piece becomes the perfect frame for a vintage mirror. This book tells you not only how to restore these pieces but how to find the perfect place for them in your home. Gorgeous colour photographs and accompanying text reveal how this relaxed look works with a variety of different styles, from Victorian to Mediterranean to contemporary.

The Shabby Chic Home

Rachel Ashwell

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Regan Books Amazon Marketplace: 80 new & used starting at $3.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Shabby But Super Expensive Chic 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Rachel Ashwell has grown from a newly divorced mother trying to make ends meet to a powerhouse with books, stores and a TV show doing the same things my late mother and I used to do on weekends. I'll admit it: I really, really want to playahate. But I love her style and I've liked it for nearly 10 years since the first book. The good news with this book is that it's finally her home that she's describing, so there's no more of the star-struck name dropping of the earlier books (i.e., photographing actor Bruce Dern's house). I loved watching her transform what appeared to be a dark Tudor disco house into a true home. And despite Shabby Chic's priciness, it's never pretentious. Her books are always incredibly beautiful and well-narrated.

I *still* can't afford to buy her stuff. I called to price one of those luxurious sofas she shows and it tops $4000 *before* shipping from NYC, the closest outlet to me in the South. But she has the wonderful new line at Target that is still relatively affordable. Oh, the pain of being Middle Class! That being said, her aesthetic still influences me and I know I can reproduce that style using Craigslist, Freecycle, Goodwill, Salvation Army, flea markets and estate/tag/moving sales. All it takes is a can of cream paint and a willingness to cart stuff into your new pad.

Editorial Review:

2 book set by Rachel Ashwell. nice clean copy with light shelfwear to the cover edges and corners.

Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Treasure Hunting and Decorating Guide

Rachel Ashwell

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Regan Books Amazon Marketplace: 105 new & used starting at $2.89

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Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 40 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

By now most readers even marginally interested in home decorating are familiar with the democratic principles of decorating elaborated in Rachel Ashwell's first book, Shabby Chic: namely, that well-made vintage furniture and home accessories can add a cozy grandeur to your home, even if the paint's a little thin or the fabric a bit faded. In her second book, Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Treasure Hunting & Decorating Guide, Ashwell shares her processes, from a stall-by-stall description of a flea market trip to pictures of her design boards scattered with photos, fabric swatches, and paint chips. Ashwell doesn't skimp on details: she tells how to decide on a fair bargaining price at flea markets, how to clean old items without harming them, and (step by step) how one ugly glass-fronted cabinet topped with old linoleum and mismatched shelf paper became an attractive, roomy storage piece that houses her daughter's books, dolls, and bedding. This is a friendly, intimate book in which Ashwell shares pictures of her own home and those of her friends--some of whom live in roomy beach houses and some of whom live in 450-square-foot cottages, and all of whom use the main Shabby Chic concepts of comfort, function, and beauty in deciding which objects to share their space with. Fans of the original Shabby Chic will find this follow-up every bit as useful, attractive, and accessible.

Shabby Chic: Sumptuous Settings and Other Lovely Things

Rachel Ashwell

Amazon Price: $23.07 List Price: $34.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Collins Design Amazon Marketplace: 44 new & used starting at $10.99

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Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Decorative Arts
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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> How-to & Home Improvements -> Household Hints

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Rachel Ashwell uses her signature style to make any event a special occasion.

This beautiful, accessible book proves that entertaining need not be expensive. Making every day into an elegant extravaganza is a matter of inspiration and imagination, and shopping is a great way to get inspired. Travel with her to unique locations like a Chinese grocery store, local antique mall, a flower market, or a flea market to search for the perfect accents that will give your event unexpected charm without breaking the bank. Use the treasures you find to jazz up average items – sometimes it's as easy as adding a little paint, ribbons, or flowers. Decorate the chairs, create a themed meal, or custom design menus and place cards. When it comes to setting a scene, Rachel is an expert and with her easy how–to advice, you can be too. She has practical ideas for any occasion – baby showers to weddings, birthday parties to bar mitzvahs, even old–fashioned family dinners.

The Shabby Chic Gift of Giving

Rachel Ashwell

Amazon Price: $21.80 List Price: $27.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Regan Books Amazon Marketplace: 50 new & used starting at $3.50

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Expert Advice -> Rachel Ashwell

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Rachel Ashwell on Rachel Ashwell 1 out of 5 stars.
7 of 10 people found this review helpful.

After already reading 2 of Rachel Ashwell's books I decided the third was one too many. These ideas already appeared in her show or other books. I think we all know how creative Rachel is, what a great mom she is, what her pallette consists of, that she can afford to shop all over the world, etc. Enough already! Don't waste your time. Martha Stewart has more creative ideas.

Great pictures, but lacking ideas 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

First off, I do not regret buying this book. The photography is simply phenomonal, and it is inspiring just to look at the pictures. But unfortunetly, there are not really many gift giving "ideas". So if you bought this book looking for a new twist on gifts, you will be disapointed.

Ideas include putting flowers from the garden into bottles, or using big "floppy roses", or colored packing peanuts. Not to origional, but still beautiful. She does convey the importance of giving thoughtful gifts, not just store bought items. Some reviewers had said that this is just a repeat of what is shown on her television show. I personally don't watch the show, so it's not a repeat for me.

Without the photography, I would have rated this book a two. But the pictures are what inspires you to give creative and thoughtful gifts.

Editorial Review:

Rachel Ashwell's newest book, The Shabby Chic Gift of Giving, shows how to apply the elegant, practical 'Shabby Chic' style to the art of gift giving.With beautiful, full-colour photographs in an innovative format, Ashwell shows readers how to pick the perfect gift, wrap and decorate it with style, and create the perfect setting in which to give it. Full of year-round gift ideas with sentiment and beauty.

Shabby Chic the Gift of Giving

Rachel Ashwell

By: Regan Books Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $0.25

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great Inspiration for Themed Gift Giving! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I really like this book and it has inspired me to create some beautifully themed and wrapped gifts. The ideas I got were not copied directly from her book, but the ideas in her book were sort of a jumping point to get me thinking about themed gifts, specially thought out wrapping, and "gift giving" even on the small occasions when a friend is sick, or just because. I always get great comments on my gifts and how they are presented and I have this book to thank :) Maybe if you are ultra creative on your own, you won't need this book, I personally enjoy the eye candy and it really gets me thinking creatively and outside the box.

Shabby Chic

Rachel Ashwell

Amazon Marketplace: 7 new & used starting at $12.98

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Magic and Absolutely Must-Have Book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This Book, I would say this dream world, is a must-have for any person who loves true design, home or garden decor, flea-markets finds and/or who has children (or even just one kid). The ideas are great and simple, the style is typically Shabby Chic, as its creator wrote this book, but in a little bolder and more flashy colors than in her other books, as many projects are outside and need to be seen under a very harsh sunlight.
It is Rachel Ashwell's fifth book, so, we could imagine it is the same as her four preceding others, but no, she manages to surprise us in it : by remaining true to her palette, we can guess an evolution in her tastes and choices, which are always so chic, so elegant, so British, quite elegant enough for any French Castle, and I know what I am speaking of, as I am French and have been raised in a very chic Parisian family.
As you understood, I am a big fan of Rachel Ashwell's design, I only regret she's not more well-known in Paris.
So, if you like or are curious of Shabby Chic, this book is more that a must, the kind of book you will keep your whole life.
By the way, the pictures are gorgeous, a usually, and the explanations honest and easy to understand, as usually too.
I recommend strongly.
Yael from Los Angeles