Shabby Chic Garden

I love the Shabby Chic style. I wanted to use the style at home but didn't want to make over any of the rooms in the house. So, I decided to Shabby Chic the garden. Without realising, I already had lots of things that I could use, such as a fire bucket that I bought a couple of summers ago and some signs on the fence.

My friend had given me 2 heart shaped tea-light holders as a birthday present which I hung in the trees. I added another one for balance. I'd brought several tea-light holders in a sale in a supermarket a couple of summers ago. They'd been stuck in the garage whilst I came up with the best way to hang them above the decking. I'd had all sorts of elaborate ideas, but in the end made hooks from old coat hangers and hung them in the trees. This simple approach looked so much better than I had imagined.

So, now I needed somewhere to store the tea-light holders when not in use, spare tea-lights, a lighter and a few other bits and bobs for outdoor living. I spent a while hunting around in the charity shops until I found a cupboard that was just the right size. The Ugly Cupboard was purchased and made over.


I've always liked bunting. I'd put some in the house and garden for the Royal Wedding and decided to keep it in the garden for the summer. I made 2 strands of my own. The plan was to use up scraps of fabric, but couldn't resist buying small amounts of other designs.


The plastic chairs had to go and were replaced by rocking chairs which I picked up in a charity shop and on e-bay. I had intended to paint the rocking chairs, but they looked fine as they were. I also found a small table which I made over.

It's a work in progress. I still keep coming up with more ideas, 

but they will have to wait until next summer.

The result is not traditional Shabby Chic, more Jeannie-Shabby-Chic, 

but just what I wanted.