From Publishers Weekly
Over the last decade, since opening a home furnishing store in Santa Monica, Calif., Ashwell (Shabby Chic; The Shabby Chic Home; etc.) has built an empire around a decorating style that involves equal parts flea-market salvaging, craft work and mix-and-matching from different ethnic cultures. In this uneven fourth book, she instructs readers on how to create striking settings for entertaining and special events. While there are some useful ideas here for anyone who wants to create a unique party on a budgetâ"for example, hanging flower-adorned thrift-store hats on the backs of chairs or mixing vintage pieces of glassware with more ordinary tumblers for a funky effectâ"the usefulness of other do-it-yourself sections, such as a page devoted to instructions on how to make a traditional English maypole, may elude the average reader. Some might also be alienated by the celebrity sheen of other projects, which range from the makeover of a Pasadena, Calif., restaurant for Jennifer Lopez to a birthday party designed for Pamela Anderson's six-year-old son. Although this book is a bit more glitzy and produced than Ashwell's previous works, her old-fashioned yet fashionable style is appealing when she focuses on basic decorating tips. Newcomers to the shabby chic aesthetic might do better to seek out previous volumes in Ashwell's oeuvre, but confirmed fans will probably find something to enjoy in her ideas on how to transform a party space into something unusual and memorable.
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About the author
Rachel Ashwell was born in England and has spent the past eighteen years in Malibu, California. She created the Shabby Chic style in 1989 and is the founder of the Shabby Chic home furnishing stores and the designer of a line of slipeovered furniture, bedding, and fabric sold worldwide under the Shabby Chic by Rachel Ashwell label. She is the author of the bestselling
Shabby Chic and
Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Treasure Hunting & Decorating Guide, and is the host of
E! Style Network's
Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic on Style.Amy Neunsinger is a freelance photographer who lives in Los Angeles and New York City. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines and ad campaigns ranging from beauty to travel. She is currently working on a fine art book of flowers.
Deborah Greenfield, Rachel Ashwell's sister, was born in London. She studied art at the School of Visual Arts and Parsons School of Design in New York. She is a cho reographer and an award-winning flamenco dancer She lives in Los Angeles, where she divides her time among illustration, acting, and dance.