From Publishers Weekly
Over the last decade, since opening a home furnishing store in Santa Monica, Calif., Ashwell (Shabby Chic; The Shabby Chic Home; etc.) has built an empire around a decorating style that involves equal parts flea-market salvaging, craft work and mix-and-matching from different ethnic cultures. In this uneven fourth book, she instructs readers on how to create striking settings for entertaining and special events. While there are some useful ideas here for anyone who wants to create a unique party on a budgetâ€"for example, hanging flower-adorned thrift-store hats on the backs of chairs or mixing vintage pieces of glassware with more ordinary tumblers for a funky effectâ€"the usefulness of other do-it-yourself sections, such as a page devoted to instructions on how to make a traditional English maypole, may elude the average reader. Some might also be alienated by the celebrity sheen of other projects, which range from the makeover of a Pasadena, Calif., restaurant for Jennifer Lopez to a birthday party designed for Pamela Anderson's six-year-old son. Although this book is a bit more glitzy and produced than Ashwell's previous works, her old-fashioned yet fashionable style is appealing when she focuses on basic decorating tips. Newcomers to the shabby chic aesthetic might do better to seek out previous volumes in Ashwell's oeuvre, but confirmed fans will probably find something to enjoy in her ideas on how to transform a party space into something unusual and memorable.
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Review
..".Rachel Ashwell [is] the founder of the Shabby Chic home-decor empire and the queen of secondhand stylishness...."Mary Daniels, Chicago Tribune"When she merged English country style with L.A. ease, Rachel Ashwell didn't realize she was unleashing a phenomenon."Hamish Bowles, "Vogue Style"If Martha Stewart's operation in New York has cornered the market on proper home decorating and style advice, Rachel Ashwell of Malibu is setting herself up as a funky West Coast counterpoint.... It's for those people who want a nice house, but who want to put not just their coffee cup, but also their feet, on the coffee table.... Ashwell has a penchance for breaking traditional design rules. Shabby chic favors slipcovered sofas, peeling paint and rusting patio furniture, a laid-back decorating style that works well in houses full of fabric and furniture from boomers' childhoods."Barbara De Witt, "Los Angeles Daily News"Shabby Chic [is] a down-home yet genteel style of decorating that blends European refinement with American practicality.... Rachel Ashwell describes her style in her beautifully-photographed, idea-filled new book, "Shabby Chic."Karen Tina Harrison, "New York Post"Decorator Rachel Ashwell's book is an instruction manual for decorating like a star, without a celebrity's budget. Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Treasure Hunting & Decorating Guide is... filled with glossy pictures, how-to diagrams and tips for decorating and refinishing...."Rebecca Harris, "Westside Weekly"Judy Griffin, interior design chairwoman with the American College for the Applied Arts in Los Angeles, said the shabby chic look caught on quickly for two reasons: It appeals to people's yearning for the safety ofchildhood, and it provides an inexpensive way to redecorate.""Los Angeles Daily News"Little did Rachel Ashwell know in 1989 when she opened a small furniture shop named Shabby Chic on exclusive Montana Avenue that her "look..". would ignite one of the strongest furniture trends of the '90s."Helaine Olen, "Los Angeles Times"Let the foremeost authority on Shabby Chic aid in your attainment of that popular and practical style. "Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Treasure Hunting and Decorating Guide leads you on a tour of flea markets, antique malls, and yard sales, describes how to discern trash from treasure, and even gives hints on restoration.... The best-selling "Shabby Chic more or less defined the style that in recent years has become widely imitated.... A terrific resource.""Palm Springs Life"You can... get the same laid-back style that celebrities like Madonna and Laura San Giacomo adore by following the advice of... guru Rachel Ashwell. "Shabby Chic: Treasure Hunting and Decorating Guide... will help elevate your look to star status.""Seventeen""Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic" is a treasure-hunter's dream guide...."Africa Ragland, "Palm Beach Post"Exquisitely photographed and richly detailed, this is the essential, step-by-step guide to finding the treasures of a lifetime....""Bay News
