Every room needs storage furniture and containers. If you choose well designed pieces, they can be left out in the open and add to the decor and style of the room. Here are some shabby chic storage ideas that will help transform your space.
Upcycling Furniture
Shabby chic furniture is distressed, and the best way to do this is to upcycle furniture finds. Repaint them, and add decorative elements. The free standing shabby chic closet in picture (1) has been distressed painted in blue. You’ll want to keep to the shabby chic color palette if you decide to paint any piece. So colors like mint, baby blue, yellow, pink, cream, and white – keep to the pastel shades. For a DIY guide on how to distress paint furniture, my post here has a link to a step by step guide.
Another way to upcycle your furniture and storage closets is to add fabric. That is what the shabby chic style is all about – a soft feeling space, covered in fabric. Use lace and crochet, or floral patterned fabric. The cabinet in picture (2) has had lace fitted on the inside of the glass panels. If you have open shelves, why not create a backdrop by fitting shabby chic style fabric to the back walls (Creative DIY Ideas for Living Room Shelves).
A easy way of adding storage to a room is to drape fabric over a table. Say you have a side table with legs in your living room, you can just drape some shabby chic style fabric over it. Now you can store items undercover.
Shelving Ideas
Here are a few creative ideas for shabby chic shelves:
- Create framed shadow boxes just like in picture (3). For more ideas on using shabby chic frames around the house have a look at my mood board here: Photo Display: Ideas for Shabby Chic Picture Frames and Stands.
- Use cast iron shelving brackets (4), or even decorative cast iron floating wall shelves.
- Decorative crown molding is another way to create unique wall shelving. In picture (5) it is being used to hang up shoes.
- You can buy bird cage style wall racks. These can be used to store and organise jewellery (6), photos, or keys.
- Reclaimed wooden ladders, with their distressed look, can be used to hang up clothes (7), blankets in the living room, or towels in the bathroom.
- Reclaimed wooden windows fitted with clothes hooks can be hung up and used to hang up clothes . For pictures have a look at my mood board here: Home Decor Ideas: Using Reclaimed Old Windows.
Shabby Containers
Wire and wicker baskets or storage boxes are great for storing things all over the house (8) (9). You can even have white or lace fabric lining them. For wicker baskets you can go with the rustic wooden look, or white painted ones will look good in a shabby chic room.
Burlap is another material that fits in well with the shabby chic look. In picture (10) burlap has been used to decorate storage jars.
The plant pots in picture (11) are cheap IKEA flower pots with paper napkin decoupage. Here they are being used to store art supplies. They can also be used to group clutter in the living room or by the front door. They can also be used to store kitchen utensils or TV remotes.
Buckets, either galvanised or painted with a high gloss pastel color, can be handy storage containers. They can be used to house plants (12) or used as a trash can. They can store magazines, extra pillows, blankets, or fire wood.
Vintage style bottles (13) can be used to as plant stem stands. In the kitchen or bathroom they can replace your plastic branded bottles (washing liquid, hand soap, etc.). Have a look at this mood board for more ideas on using vintage bottles around the house: Home Decor Ideas: Using Vintage Glass Bottles.
Other storage container ideas:
- Enamel containers look great for kitchen storage (Vintage Kitchen Storage Ideas: From Milk Baskets to Wicker Baskets)
- Avoid using plastic containers, and instead go with glass
For more shabby chic inspiration, have a look at my mood boards here:
