thrifty chic. Interior style on a shoestring is a book by Liz Bauwens and Alexandra Campbell. Unlike this spring’s fresh new book Undecorate, Thrifty Chic has been around for a while, both as a book (from 2009) and as a (partly overridden) concept. This beautiful book is packed with re-ideas. It shows you how to “reuse and restore, revive and revamp, and recycle and reclaim”, in order to create a stylish yet individual home without spending a small fortune.
As you can see already by the cover, the overall style is relaxed country – and vintage charm is all around. The concept of thrifty chic (and same meaning related concepts) is highly sustainable. Inspiration on how to paint up a tatty old chest, cut old curtains into cushions or give an old chair new life by means of some fabric – will never grow old and mossy. Reusing, restoring, reviving and revamping are things creative people have practiced for centuries and that – nicely enough – will contribute to less consumption and environmental destruction as it includes being cautious with both money and property. As if that weren’t enough, this book is pure beautifulness. It’s friendly written with lots of insider advices. This is one of my favourite photos from the book (photography by Simon Brown):
Gorgeous. All these furniture and stuff came from auctions, thrift stores and local sales.
The book has a feature on colour in hallways I found really interesting too (p.34-35), and some beyond lovely photos of thrifty bathrooms. See p. 118-127 for more pics and great advices on 2nd hand sanitaryware, etc.
It’s a must-have in the design book collection!
