They took the thre@d @way. I guess we'll h@ve to spe@k in code. ;D Good grief!

Did not post a picture of the leather sofa, but it's on the SC website.

I'll check it out. I must have missed something - if that thread was pulled!

tina

I can't figure out why it got pulled unless I gushed too much about the store and the dvds. I didn't post any links. Oh well. At least Tina got a chance to see the picture...of my DH's feet that is. ;-)

If you can find the name of the magazine where they had pictures of Rachel's bedroom I'd like to know so I can go look. I've got Romantic Homes and I don't see it in there, unless I flipped through the pages too fast. In the March issue they showed someone elses house, a painted pink mansion with a whole lotta pink and white inside that house. That would make anyone gag. I don't know how this woman's husband and son can stand it. They must adore her to let her paint the walls pink!

Flyingflower - my mistake - it is Romantic Country - not romantic homes. I think that is a special issue magazine. I'm attaching a link for amazon which shows that issue. Do you by chance read Daisy Cottage blog? Kim, of Daisy Cottage has been in several of the cottage mags, both her home and articles she has written on other homes. I bought that issue because she is in it. If I still have it I'd be glad to send it to you. I'd have to dig through my magazine stash LOL.

tina

Here is a link that might be useful: magazine cover

Thanks, I never would have known she appeared in a magazine otherwise. If I had seen that issue on the shelves I most certainly would have bought it on the spot. Romantic Country's cover alone looks like it's right up my alley. Curious to see how it compares to Romantic Homes. Maybe I'll subscribe to it as well. Even if my decor is not that feminine I still like to look at it.

My DH is OK with flowers, he doesn't mind a floral fabric here and there, his big issue is with the peeling paint furniture. The mere mention that I like the distressed look he was off, 'You're NOT buying one of those peeling paint things that looks like it got picked off the curb!" Uhhh nooooo. Of course I was but now I knew that was out of the question. So I ended up with a table that had been lightly distressed with a few stab marks in the wood by the carpenter.

I'm ordering the Rachel Ashwell issue right now from Amz. I can't wait to see what Rachel has been doing lately with her decorating.

I haven't heard of Daisy Cottage so let me go look at it right now....
Wow, she likes bright yellow! For some reason I never quite got Rachel's dislike of yellow, she was all about pinks and greens. I happen to love yellow. Maggie the dog is adorable! See that pic of the desk with hardly any white paint left on it with the blue chair behind it (also missing a lot of paint) and yellow flower pot? That's the kind of furniture my DH would never let me bring into the house. When it came time to buy a new chair and I said I wanted on from Shabby Chic he had the same initial reaction you did. I think he was picturing some thread bare thing that had been worn to death. Not till I brought him to the store and sat his butt down on the chair did he start to see it differently. I quickly showed him the fabric swatch because I could see he was looking around the store and getting worried again thinking I was about to talk him into a pastely floral print.

That's why I said to you that SC doesn't have to be feminine. If you think it is then that's not your fault, it's the fault of the marketing dept for not making that known to the public. When Rachel comes out of this awful chapter 11 business I hope she does so with a really good advertising and marketing team who can help spread the word that there is more to her style than cabbage roses. It's too small of a demographic to only appeal to young females, they have to change how their product is seen if they're ever going to appeal to a larger audience.

FF, DH and I have been saying for over a year she needs to advertise/get her name out. There are SO many who don't know who she is, when 15-20 years ago, everyone knew who she was. She does not advertise, at all. That needs to change. Heck, one appearance on Oprah could make a HUGE difference!

Rachel moved to her new(er) home last year. Here is her last home - still for sale and the price has been lowered:

Here is a link that might be useful: Ashwell house for sale

Did you like the daisy cottage blog FF? If so, I have a few more you might like. Yes, Kim loves yellow. She's written in several magazines and her cottage has also been featured. Now her love of painted furniture is definitely too much for me. I love the patina of old wood. Right now I only have a few pieces that are painted. I am itching to do something with a beautiful old chest that belongs to my grandmother. I have the bed and chair that they used with them - although the are not a set. It was the furniture my grandparents first used when they were married. The bed had been painted a hideous avocado green somewhere down the road (loaned to a friend) and then *antiqued* in gold. We had it stripped and refinished - it is mahogany. The chest is painted in the same method and I am thinking of stripping it and perhaps painting it - a pastel or white. Not sure about distressing. I have a creamy painted hoosier cabinet that has been distressed in the kitchen. It was a great deal and we know that it is oak and had plans to refinish it. However, it looks great against the yellow walls in the kitchen. We later got another hoosier cabinet from my parents - oak - no paint. LOL So we got our cake and ate it too. So, I probably would lean a bit towards your hubby's side on the painted furniture. A few pieces are nice. I think almost every piece in Kim's cottage is painted.

I agree about the advertising of SC. What you see, i.e. the Target line, magazine articles, etc. is the pastel, floral stuff. Which I think is beautiful, just hard to make work for both male/female. My hubby doesn't mind floral either, but it's his home too and I like to make it work for the both of us. I have indulged my love of floral and pink and green in our sunroom LOL. We have a guestroom and bath that is a bit more feminine looking than the parts of the house that we use.

tina

Wow. Did you know that last week Shabby Chic filed Chapter 11? I didn't; reading this thread inspired me to poke around and I found Rachel Ashwell's blog. She seems v. sad. I would be as well ... and I am for her.

When I was pregnant with my eldest (he's now four) we purchased my dream sofa from Shabby Chic in San Francisco -- I know Allison and I've "chatted" about Bay Area Shabby Chic, and other fun Sacramento Street shopping (Sue Fisher King). That sofa has stood us in good stead (granted, it's only been five years we've had it!), and just last week it was thrown up on four times in one day by my eldest. I do love a machine-washable slipcover. Love it.

Allison -- Thank you for the link to RA's (former) house. I loved "poking around"; I grew up, or rather my parents had a house literally down Sunset from this house (N. Carmelina). I've neither lived in nor even visited Los Angeles in a l-o-n-g time (I think the last time I was in LA was ... '96, maybe?), but based on what I know (and using zillow to look at my parents' former house), I think her house is still vastly overpriced. Given her current state I hope she gets what she needs. But I do love all those touches of pink! Would not happen chez nous, but I do love seeing it in others homes.

It's funny, but I feel a bit blue after having read that entry in her blog (and I am not a blog-reading kind o' gal); I was a young teenager when she started her interior decorating and then store in Santa Monica; neighbors of my aunt used her, and I loved that beachy-fresh aesthetic -- even though I was not a sunworshipper, being in that space gave me the feeling of a sunburnt nose and sand in between my toes ....

Brooke, I felt very sad too when I read about the Chapter 11. You were a teen and I was 40 when SC first opened on Montana. I lived in that area all of my life! (BH, Westwood, Brentwood...all the same little boring world) (IMO). I couldn't wait to leave and finally did 8 years ago. I only go back for family stuff. But it is a small world! I did not know you were once a "neighbor".

I also thought the house seemed way overpriced.

Allison your link isn't working for me, I can't see the house. This is the first I've heard that Rachel is selling her home. Anyone know why she decided to move to a different house?
Oh gosh yes, Oprah could have given her such a boost if she appeared on her show. Is Rachel shy? Age concious? Uncomfortable in front of a live audience? She did great when she had her own show so I can't figure out why she's not out there on TV. There aren't that many Shabby Chic stores across the country, with no advertising how are people supposed to know she's even still around!

rmkitchen...you missed the original thread about SC closing stores and filing chapter 11. We were talking about that when out of the blue GW pulled the thread. Yes, it is a shock. The timing to expand was not in their favor, it's rough for all of retail. All those beautiful new stores they just opened now have to close. We're hoping she can hang onto her older stores so those don't go under as well.

Tina, I liked her blog, if you know of others by all means pass them along. I found ways to work around my DH's peeling paint phobia. I went the antiquing route instead, faux painting age and character! I took the easy route and bought a kit at the hardware store (craft stores have it too). Nothing fancy, just cream paint with a brown glaze rubbed over it to catch in the crevices.

In my house I have "hid" most of my french~shabby~chic stuff from the public eye in our master bedroom. Also some outside because that's my garden retreat so I can get away with a lot more out there. In the dining room I have a 200 year old french armoire that has all the worm holes and scratches you get with real age. DH tolerates it because it's wood and not painted to look frilly. He still doesn't understand it's appeal for me. When he asks why I had to have this old thing I answer, "because Jane Austen was ALIVE when it was made!". Sure wish I had inherited it from my grandparents though, I'm afraid I had to buy someone elses heirloom!

Here is a link that might be useful: American Accents - Distressed Ivory

http://341westgate.com/

Try copy/pasting this, FF. It's a slideshow, so maybe your computer is blocking it. Both of her children are in college and she wanted a smaller home. I think she just enjoys taking one and fixing it up to her liking, then moving on.

You're welcome. We had a thread going about her filing for Chapter 11, but it was deleted for whatever reason.

Flyingflower - that method you show (the paint), that is similar to how the hoosier cabinet in my kitchen is painted.

I will send you some of my favorite blogs. Oh goodness, don't even get me started on GARDENING! And flowers . . . sigh . . . we have hyacinth and daffodils starting to bloom and I have spring fever SO BAD.

We have bought plenty of our antique pieces also, but I do have the bed, chair and chest from my grandparents. Also an upholstered rocker that belonged to me great-grandmother. Those are the only *handed down* pieces of furniture I have from our family. The hoosier cabinet I got from my mom, she bought - it wasn't a family piece.

I can see the slide show, and that's definitely not the bedroom in the magazine article - or if it is - it's very, very pared down.

I thought I had seen their ads in cottage magazines, etc.

tina

I did miss the other thread. Two littles with pneumonia = no time online last week. Sorry for the unintentional redundancy. I'm glad you all started another thread so it would prompt me to learn of it.

This is a link to something RA did with Oprah. I didn't poke around enough to see if she was on the show or in the magazine.

Thought I would post a few LR pictures of how DD1's taste has evolved over the past 5+ years. She's going from "Can't have too much pink" to a more sophisticated Shabby Chic home.

First Apartment - sofa was not from Shabby Chic:

{{!gwi}}

Second Apartment. Bought a smaller sofa from Shabby Chic. (Yes coffee table was too big for this apartment, but she loved it - could spread out school work/projects)

{{!gwi}}

In this apartment (yes, she has moved a lot!), she wanted the bed in the bigger room since it had the TV outlet. Sofa is in next/smaller room off kitchen:

{{!gwi}}

Close up of sofa. She's went a bit Bohemian - pillows from Shabby Chic. Last apartment before graduating:

{{!gwi}}

Graduated, new job, new cottage. She is 25 years old now. She sold the sofa and coffee table to a friend and went for a more traditional version using the Modern Sectional from Shabby Chic in Pearl Gray Thick Linen (also washable).

She's also changed up her bedding, no more flowers. It's still a Shabby Chic home, but a man could be comfortable living here - don't you think? Especially if you changed out the rugs for vintage pieces with more pattern and color.

rmkitchen, hope they are feeling better now!

That is her house she moved into after her divorce. It was before the Brentwood house now on market. Pamela Anderson used to rent the home you posted from Oprah. RA still owns it, and leases it out. No, I am not a RA Stalker, just have a DD1 who lives and breathes Shabby Chic. ;D She sends me all the links! lol

She shows bits and pieces of her new home on her blog. Her new home is the one featured in Romantic Homes magazine.

The Real Estate Stalker has the Malibu rental on his website. It is the house featured on Oprah's website and the one Anderson rented.

Here is a link that might be useful: RA Malibu Rental

It's Romantic Country - special issue.

I've never read her blog.

I like the wall color in your daughter's new home. Yes, a man could live there, of course. It would be too white and light for my hubby - he would worry about keeping things clean. He likes color. I did his office in red and black with oak pieces and some light tan (linen is the color) added in.

I love those pics over the second sofa also.

Could you post her blog addy? Thanks!

tina

Romantic Country - sorry. Knew it was Romantic something. lol

Part of the beauty of SC is everything is washable....and washing it often does not effect the appearance. It's quality material that holds up to repeated washings. I would have never thought the pink/white cotton slipcovers would still look new after 5 years and repeated washings. She lived in downtown SF for years - dirt, dirt and more dirt.

Thanks. The pictures are painted wood frames, framing pieces of fabric from the stores. You were able to select which pieces you wanted to frame. They don't sell them any more but should. Everyone who comes to her house loves them and says so.

To access her blog, you go to Shabby Chic's website. On the right is a picture of Rachel with "Rachel's blog."

Here is a link that might be useful: RA Blog

Love the pictures of your daughter's cottage. I especially like white slipcovers with floral pillows. She's made it modern and sophisticated.

The exterior shot of the 341 Westgate house is gorgeous. Talk about curb appeal, wow that's nice landscaping. I don't recognize the inside of this house at all. White Carrera marble (I hope I'm getting that name right) looks so good with the shabby chic style. The only thing I'm not loving is the orange and brown rug in the living room, seems out of place to me. I love the house but 4 mill? yikes.

On Oprah's website they say Rachel recently moved from a 4000 sq ft house to a 1700 sq ft beach house. I take it the Brentwood house up for sale is the 4000 sq ft house? This beach house is pretty too. I see Rachel has retained her petite figure!

I think I'm getting all her houses mixed up. What happened to the Malibu house that was in her books and dvds? Real Estalker shows a different Malibu house than the one I'm familiar with. Did she sell the original Malibu house years ago, the one with the pool and rustic dark wood walls she painted white?

Allison, are you saying that Rachel has moved into the $20,000 a month rental now? Is that "the beach house" they're referring to?

Looks like Rachel is leaving a trail of white houses behind her, lol.

The Oprah article is older. I believe the larger house referred to in that article was the one she was living in when her divorce was final or it could be the brown house. She either moved to the Malibu house (linked above as Rental) after her divorce or to the brown house in the book..and then to the Malibu house (Rental). The Malibu (Rental) is the house shown on Oprah's website.

No, she did not move into a rental recently - bought a new house, smaller. I think it is not that far from the 4M Brentwood house.

She seems to buy them and fix them up to her liking, live in them a few years than it's on to another project!

Thanks, if you like the 'white with the floral pillows' in the last picture, the sectional is actually pearl gray linen.