Cheap Chic is not Chic
Today let's talk about the word cheap....
The object of design and decorating your own home should be to accomplish a high end CHIC look within your budget rather than a shabby chic look for cheap. Cheap should never be a mantra in decorating because cheap always looks cheap. I have had years of experience in this with my business and through trial and error in my own home. For example; 100% polyester never looks like satin or silk, not in drapes or on pillows, it cannot stand up to daily use, it can melt in your dryer, it spots and stains easily and not even dry cleaning can remove them, it is made from chemicals and smells like chemicals for the most part. But most of the big box stores sell drapes, bedding and accent pillows made from it because it is cheap and they think that is what we all want the look minus the quality because it is cheaper. In fact before buying fabric accessories I suggest smelling them, I know it sounds weird and you wouldn't want anybody catching you doing it, but I have been asked by many people when I am out buying what I am smelling for, I explain chemicals. I have also been told by 75% of them that they thought fabric was supposed to smell like that. Really good fabric smells really good!
TIP: Before buying clothing, furniture, bedding, accessories or toys for anyone especially children smell first, if it smells like chemicals, gasoline or weird in any way don't purchase it.
I know cheap is in every big box store out there and it is tempting. In the early days of a store that shall remain nameless ("W") I tried buying clothes from there for hubby and the children and for a while I thought it was great but at the end of the year I figured out I had actually had to buy 3 times as many clothes as I had in the past. The jeans along with most of the things they sold couldn't hold up to the hubby or the kids and they were name brand but made for the store, cheaper fabric, cheaper labor. I actually looked around my home while I was getting rid of the clutter and realized nothing survived any of the big box stores. Case in point, I purchased some sheets from Target about 5 years ago, from a line I am sure you are familiar with and within one year the elastic was gone on the fitted sheet and there were already thread bare spots and a few holes but a Laura Ashley set the same age looks just like the day it came out of the package, same amount of use and laundering but not purchased at a big box store.
The things I couldn't live without and still possess are the quality purchases I have made over the years and the family pieces that were handed down. A sofa that was expensive in it's day is still solid, it just gets recovered and new cushions every once in a while. We used three cheap versions before that, each lasting only a couple of years before they looked horrible and were uncomfortable to sit in.To think of the money I spent on things that just wound up in the trash or at a yard sale for a $1. Shame on me...
Lately I have noticed at the yard sales and estates sales I have gone to, that most of what is being sold are all of those pieces that were purchased at big box and discount outlets and that the people running the sales are trying to get more for them than they originally sold for because they are 20 years old. 20 year old "W" is just 20 year old "W". I know this because I have actually found price tags from the stores still on the objects with a higher price sticker or quote. Really?!
You actually do get what you pay for so for those of you that are just starting out or starting over, save where you can but don't sacrifice quality even if it takes a little longer to save for.
This will be the last time you will hear that word on this blog because cheap is really not chic at all and never has been!
Posted by Modern Home at 7/20/2010 10:16 AM 
Categories: Decorating, Interior Design
Tags: new products decorating interior design shabby chic
Categories: Decorating, Interior Design
Tags: new products decorating interior design shabby chic
Just an example, I bought a Laura Ashley comfoter/sheet set, probably around 1990. I still have it , it's always on my bed, and I still love the pattern. (plus it's been washed alot!) So i know exactly what you're talking about.
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