Customer Reviews

Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Treasure Hunting and Decorating Guide

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Ashwell's previous book, Shabby Chic; and mistakenly assumed that the followup would be just as packed with interesting ideas and beautiful pictures--WRONG! The Shabby Chic Treasure Hunting & Decorating Guide is absolutely uninspired. The author spends far too much time describing her childhood and trips to flea markets with her mum and carries on longer than necessary about her present day trips to markets. I am not particularly interested in hearing what she had for a snack during her breaks from haggling with the vendors. Also, much space is given to nice but meaningless drawings bordered by text that is so fancy as to be almost illegible. I also found many of her helpful tips and pointers to be mainly common sense for anyone that has ever visited a flea market, auction, antique mall, or yard sale. Furthermore, I felt insulted by the author's almost hauty tone in describing how honed and refined her tastes are. The only redeeming trait this book posesses are the marvelous photos of Ashwell's enchanting flea market finds. Many of the pieces of furniture, fabric swatches, lighting fixtures, and baubles are extremely charming and the photographer did an excellent job of bringing their magic to the reader. If you just look at the pictures and discount the nonsense in between, you will likely enjoy the book.

While some of the people who have read this book dislike Rachel Ashwell's chatty tone, I find it personal and very informative. I think that she has exquisite taste and is a genius at vintage decorating. This book will help you to ferret out the quality finds at a flea market or antique mall and put them into use by providing tips on what to look for and how to restore them to charming beauty. There are sections on collections, decorations, and vintage clothing, among others, and the book finishes with a look at some finished homes done in impeccable Shabby Chic style. The pictures are beautiful, the text is as if a friend were talking to you, and the whole package is entertaining and inspirational.

I thouroughly enjoyed this book. I deal in thousands of books and this book is one of the few that is staying on my shelf as a reference. Rachel thouroughly captures the art of design, and sees beauty in the simple but unique items that we run across in our everyday lives. I feel she helps people to see that decorating can be fun, whether were rich or poor. It is not a book of rules but creativity! Thanks Rachel! Keep up the good work and I am looking forward to your future books!

I fell in love with "Shabby Chic" a couple of years ago when I visited her store in New York. While I found a lot of her things to be quite expensive, they did inspire me to be far more creative and open-minded. This book is a wonderful source of information from flea marketing to how to fix and clean your finds. Like Rachel, I grew up flea marketing with my parents, and now as an adult I am applying her philosophy to my marketing and decorating. I highly recommend this book, along with her others and if you are a real die hard, check out her show on the Style network. Thank you Rachel!

I like the shabby chic look, and I love looking at the photos in the book, and I would even buy the other books in the series. But like Martha Stewart, Rachel is trying to make this all about HER. ...where does one find flea markets of this caliber? Most flea markets around here (Kansas City) sell beanie babies, fake Tommy Hilfiger, and overpriced figurines. Flea markets are becoming increasinly expensive, as vendors who have no idea what they're selling put marked-up prices on their trash. Sorry, but I can't afford a trip to Paris to scavenge for furniture.

Buy the book for the photos and ideas, but don't expect to cheaply duplicate her look, and don't say I didn't warn you that you'd get sick of Rachel-this and Rachel-that.

When I first heard of Rachel Ashwell, it was through VICTORIA magazine, when I read an article about this book. I fell in love with that "shabby chic" style and have been collecting ever since. What I love about this and her other books is that they are so beautiful, calm and serene. Rachel teaches us that old items, either in their found state or painted fresh white, are to be cherished as little pieces of history, and I can tell you that the old linens, silverware , china and furniture that I collect (and use!) are much better made than most of the new items available today. What I most love about her books is that she shows you how to create a calm and serene refuge at the end of each day. Buy this book, you won't regret spending the money. It's my very favorite book and I own a lot of them!!

This lovely book takes the reader on a delicious trip into flea markets and other sources of Shabby Chic style. Hoping to find more direction on how to achieve Ashwell's style in my own home, I was instead inspired to achieve my own look by using some of her decorating principles. But don't expect these principles to be outlined for you. The chatty and personal style of writing is more like reading her personal shopping journal. Overall I found this book more enjoyable than instructional, but there is quite a bit of useful information in it, especially for first-time flea market shoppers.

I enjoyed Ashwell's first decorating book, but this "guide" is among my favorite decorating books. I enjoy the wide range of homes she shows. The only drawback is that a few of the little homes seemed so nice and perfectly organized--and then the photographs were limited. If the pictures for these homes were more extensive, I believe I would have given this book 5 stars. I love the white, off white, and antique white walls. The rooms have a very pure look to them because of the wall color and a limited wall decoration, and yet there are delightful splashes of color in the prints. Ashwell's restrained, yet lovely approach to decorating is welcoming and relaxed. I like it a lot. I'm even starting to enjoy pink!

Who are those poor stuffy souls dissing our dear Rachel - I feel like we're on a first-name basis - and comparing her to, heaven forbid, Martha Stewart? But indeed, fans of the Queen of Coolness will want to steer far, far away from all things Ashwell. Only those with a penchant for gracious living, quiet style, and unfussed decorating will enjoy this and the other Shabby Chic books, which I turn to again and again, particularly before a trip to the local flea market.

I really loved the photos and text in this book. I've just bought a new home and I think I can now tell everyone I decorate in "shabby chic" instead of just "old, handmedown, junk." The only problem is now at flea markets, garage sales, etc. everyone thinks junk is now "shabby chic" and the prices have zoomed up.