I prefer "Vintage Chic"

Rachel Ashwell coined the phrase, "Shabby Chic", thus giving a name to a style of decorating that I have come to believe describes a "homegrown" lifestyle decorating theme.  I prefer the phrase, "Vintage Chic"...taking those memories of our past, memories of grandma's house, a favorite aunt or family friend, and tangibly replicating them in our homes.

gr. aunt ada and me ca '62

Maybe it's a time-worn quilt, now made into an overstuffed pillow, the cup and saucer grandma sipped from, an old pastoral photo of sheep grazing~a memory of Aunt Ada. Maybe it's a cookie jar, a lamp you read by, a postcard you received...faded fabric, overstuffed chairs, wicker on the wrap porch, birdhouses and birdsong, picket fences, yard games, pretty dishes, a garden rhapsody.  Whatever it is, it conjures up those comfortable, cozy feelings we're reminded of.  Now, we want them in our present and our future...

"Vintage Chic"~old or new items (successfully made to look old) is a relaxed, comfortable and familiar style of living~unpretentious and inviting...but always very CHIC.  Beth Cort-Voltmer 2003