Achieve the perfect shabby chic aesthetic with these shopping tips and handpicked items.
Blending vintage and French country aesthetics, shabby chic is one of the most popular interior design trends of today among trendy styles like Japandi and Coastal Grandmother. Elegant, classical furniture is given a rustic twist with distressed paints and worn fabrics.
Cottage-style items like metal jugs meet glittering chandeliers for a look that’s equal parts warm and cozy but also romantic and glamorous. Neutral, muted colors are the main colorways, with pops of color added in — usually soft pastels like pink and blue.
If you want to curate this stylish and trendy aesthetic in your apartment, here’s how you can find the right type of decor and furnishings.
How to find shabby chic furniture and decor for your apartment
Due to its heavy use of vintage (or vintage-styled) furniture, thrifting and going to antique stores are some good ways to source the right style of items for your shabby chic apartment. But that can take time to curate the right pieces.
If you want to realize your vision faster, finding shabby chic decor and furniture online at major retailers like Amazon is easy. You can also follow home and lifestyle influencers and blogs like French Country Cabin and Amy Berry for shabby chic design inspiration and ideas.
17 shabby chic decor ideas for your apartment
Not sure where to start decorating your apartment as shabby chic? These 17 decor items will look right at home in any shabby chic setting, giving you a good springboard for other decor ideas.
1. Shabby chic key holder shelf
Image Source: Amazon.com
Whether it’s for keys or coffee cups or towels, having a wall shelf with key hooks frees up cabinet storage and fills up wall space. The top shelf is ideal for holding letters, sunglasses or whatever else you need.
With its brass-finished hooks and distressed white-and-brown paint job, this key holder shelf both fits the shabby chic style and gives you a handy place for your keys, purse and other regularly used items.
2. Ruffled, farmhouse-style shower curtain
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Everyone needs a shower curtain (unless you want to get water all over the bathroom and have no privacy while showering). Give yours a shabby chic twist with this farmhouse-style shower curtain with a ruffled base and cute wooden buttons.
3. Metal jug vase
Image Source: Amazon.com
Cottage and farmhouse elements are a key part of the shabby chic look, which you can incorporate with a vintage-looking metal jug vase. Its petite size, pitcher style and “Flowers & Garden” branding make it perfect as a flower vase.
Put it in the kitchen and fill it with mixing utensils, set it up on your apartment balcony or stoop with gardening tools…the possibilities are endless. Plus, the turquoise color will add a pop of color to the space.
4. Pink and ivory oriental wool rug
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With their colorful patterns, most Oriental-style rugs won’t fit the traditional shabby chic color scheme. Instead, try out this ivory and soft pink wool rug, with a floral-style pattern to match the garden aesthetic part of shabby chic. This rug will look nice contrasted against gray and tan furniture, and the wool fabric will feel great underfoot.
5. Lace macrame vintage tablecloth
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Delicate accessories go a long way to completing the shabby chic look. Use a lace macrame tablecloth on any kind of table, from side tables to dining tables, to add an air of glamour and elegance.
This particular one is also machine-washable, which makes it easy to clean in case of spills or messes. Just because you love an old-fashioned style doesn’t mean you want to clean and scrub laundry like they did in the olden days!
6. Decorative lantern
Image Source: Amazon.com
Old-fashioned, vintage lanterns are another in-style touch for the shabby chic aesthetic. Distressed white paint on metal adds a rustic vibe, while elegant, curled metalwork brings in fairy-tale elements. With four glass panes, you can add real or fake battery-powered candles to give your shabby chic space a warm, candlelit glow.
7. Tiffany floor lamp
Image Source: Amazon.com
With their lovely and often floral-themed glasswork, Tiffany lamps fit right in with the shabby chic school of design. But you want for one without too many colors, as strong colors stand out too much for the muted, cozy feel of a shabby chic space. This standing floor lamp fits the bill, with its arched gooseneck and burnished brass finish further fitting the shabby chic look.
8. French country-style hanging chandelier
Image Source: Amazon.com
One of the easiest ways to add that touch of glamour to your shabby chic abode is by hanging a small chandelier. Tiny chandeliers are a big part of the aesthetic, elevating the cottage-core theme of the room with its grand appearance. This French country-style example with dangling pendants and fake candles will look right at home in any shabby chic apartment. Just be sure that the chandelier you choose isn’t too big, as petite and delicate is the name of the game for this style.
9. Rustic cottage end table
Image Source: Amazon.com
It’s always good to add an end table to the sides of your couch. They’re handy for holding lamps or just as spots for decorative items. This cottage-style one features distressed paint for a rustic, farmhouse look that will look great paired with an elegant lamp.
10. Vintage floral wallpaper
Image Source: Amazon.com
With its style references grounded in the French countryside and cottage-core, florals are a motif that shows up frequently in shabby chic interior design. If you don’t want plain walls, put up a refined floral wallpaper like this one with delicate pink roses and white curlicues against a linen-patterned soft blue background.
Best of all, this adhesive paper can also work for cabinets, shelves, dressers and other flat surfaces. So if you don’t want to fill a whole wall with it, you can still incorporate it into the overall look. It’s easily removable as well, which makes it very renter-friendly.
11. Metal frame bed
Image Source: Amazon.com
A simple but attractive metal bed frame that looks like something out of a fairy tale perfectly fits the shabby chic look. This one from Amazon is sturdy, so you’ll still get a good night’s sleep while achieving the look and vibe you want.
12. Floral, vintage-style bedsheets
Image Source: Amazon.com
Going back to the floral motif, outfit your bed with floral-patterned bedsheets like this delicate rose set. The cozy and soft cotton with the rose pattern will look and feel good.
13. Vintage bird cage decor and letter holder
Image Source: Amazon.com
Use a vintage-style bird cage for practical purposes like holding letters or simply set it up as a purely decorative element. Either way, it’ll look right at home in your shabby chic apartment.
14. Vintage table clock
Image Source: Amazon.com
Constantly getting out your modern smartphone or using a contemporary wall clock to check the time isn’t very shabby chic. With distressed white paint, an antique watch face and elegant metal work, this vintage-style clock helps you tell the time without taking away from the shabby chic vibe.
15. Entryway table
Image Source: Amazon.com
It’s always handy to have a table in your entryway. It gives you a place for keys, mail, your purse or other items you regularly need when you leave the house. The curving legs, distressed white paint and rustic wooden shelf of this entryway table screams shabby chic, helping you keep your aesthetic while being practical at the same time.
16. Antique-style loveseat
Image Source: Amazon.com
With soft gray fabric, distressed wood and its tufted fabric pattern, this loveseat is petite enough to fit in any shabby chic apartment living room. Not only is the look spot-on for French country, but everyone needs a place to sit.
17. Distressed drawers
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This robin-egg blue dresser with distressed paintwork will be the perfect complement to the pink and white tones of the rest of your bedroom, giving you a place to store your clothes without ruining the shabby chic aesthetic.
Turn your dream apartment into a shabby chic decor haven
With its soft, flowy feel and mix of elegant and rustic Old-World styles, shabby chic is a very fun and accessible style for any apartment. Ready to transform your apartment into a cottage in the French countryside with a shabby chic aesthetic? Find the right apartment for your vision by checking Rent.com listings in your desired area.
