You know what I love about Rachel Ashwell? There is nothing fake about her. What you see is what you get and what you get ain’t necessarily the epitome of perfection: which does of course mean that there is hope for all of us.
Take the pictures of her little beach-house above. Wires showing! Shock!! Tv’s not disguised as French Armoirs! Horror! (I mean really, how annoyed do you get when you see homes featured without T.Vs? It makes me mental.) Dogs on the furniture!! Yikes!! And Ye Gads! What is that I spy? Rubbish in a bin??? Well let me tell you that if Oprah and her entourage were coming to tea I’d no more leave wastepaper in my wastepaper basket than I would serve French Fancys with my knickers on my head.
But the problem with me is that it would do me a great deal of good to GET A LIFE.
Shabby Chic, you see is more than a label we have all stolen to describe all manner of household arrangements from chippy minimalism to lacy frou frou Victoriana. It is more than that. For Rachel Ashwell it is a way of life and she get’s it oh so right because she concentrates on the bigger picture. She’s busy living. She doesn’t get bogged down by incy details that might tie you and I in knots, but lets the fact that she is so true to her very authentic aesthetic speak for itself. And what she ends up with is a house that neither stands on ceremony, nor scares us witless.
A house I want to scrunch up in with a pretty platter of cheese and biscuits and a whole evenings worth of good tv…
My head gets in a terrible fuddle in January. My inner perfectionist whispers "Yes but shouldn’t January be a month of fresh starts and clean slates and brand new knickers?" My Mum says "Alison it’s January baby, thats all. It’ll all be over soon". And the rest of me pouts like a badly done to…
A house full of broken glass. An Anthropologie tumbler destroyed by little hands. A glass lamp shattered across the living room. A lantern flung across the garden by the wind and smashed in to tiny pieces. But then they do say bad luck comes in threes don’t they? A weekend abundant in boyish masculine…
I used to be a Winter person. I used to laugh at my Mum longing for sunny days and try to convince her that the best days of our lives didn’t arrive until the nights drew in and we could close our curtains on the rest of the world and hibernate through the coldest months…
Though those that know me might snigger at the next sentence. I am intrinsically sensible. And as I head into what my dad is referring to as my “middle age”, I seem to be getting more sensible by the day. All of a sudden longevity matters. I don’t want to tire of things and I…
Oh in the midst of all the imaginary snow and jingle bells, I suspect you are going to hate me today… I know I am supposed to be providing you with all kinds of inspiration for a scrumptious Christmas week, but here’s the thing: you can’t enjoy the fun stuff if you haven’t made sure…
4 Comments
I agree! I am the proud owner of all of ms ashwells lovely books and i never tire of looking at them,every page is a delight and an inspiration,I especially like "the gift of giving" which inspires us to put a bit more thought into gift giving by using lovely vintage trimmings and so on to make gifts extra special,they are all available on amazon,I would advise anybody to treat themselves to a Rachel Ashwell book,it will be a great investment!
LOVE Rachel Ashwell and LOVE her books too…they're wonderful just to stare at. My dream home is much more shabby chic than my reality, but I sneak in bits and pieces where I can. I totally agree Alison; she's so cool and living and she's the real deal!!
I also agree Alison. Think it is the first article that I have actually seen wires and a tv! Have all her books and just adore them. Read them over and over. I must admit though I have a pug, but she is black and she is not allowed on the lounge suite!
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I agree! I am the proud owner of all of ms ashwells lovely books and i never tire of looking at them,every page is a delight and an inspiration,I especially like "the gift of giving" which inspires us to put a bit more thought into gift giving by using lovely vintage trimmings and so on to make gifts extra special,they are all available on amazon,I would advise anybody to treat themselves to a Rachel Ashwell book,it will be a great investment!
LOVE Rachel Ashwell and LOVE her books too…they're wonderful just to stare at. My dream home is much more shabby chic than my reality, but I sneak in bits and pieces where I can. I totally agree Alison; she's so cool and living and she's the real deal!!
well written, alison…with words so true!
I also agree Alison. Think it is the first article that I have actually seen wires and a tv! Have all her books and just adore them. Read them over and over. I must admit though I have a pug, but she is black and she is not allowed on the lounge suite!