20 Shabby Chic Living Room Designs

“Shabby chic” as a design term was coined back in 1981 by Min Hogg, editor-in-chief of the English design magazine Interiors (now World of Interiors). As she is said to have put it, the style is all about “characterful, colorful, used but not abused” pieces; she championed comfortable, informal pieces with great back stories, and her influential eye was an antidote to over-the-top trends that dominated other parts of the design world in the excessive ‘80s. Rachel Ashwell — whose Shabby Chic Couture decor and accessories are featured in this living room by Lulu Tapp — opened her first store in 1989 and quickly became synonymous with the term as well.