A Flea Market Story: How Housewife Rachel Asheville Chased Her Dream and Created Her Own Interior Style

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Lace, angels, antique furniture, crystal chandeliers and roughly plastered white walls - the extravagant "shabby chic" style has won the hearts of many connoisseurs of antiquity and drew a flurry of criticism from fans of minimalism. And his triumphant march around the world began thirty years ago, in the town of Santa Monica, when a young mother began a rebellion against the domestic routine.

Rachel Asheville was born in 1959 in Cambridge and from childhood was surrounded by antiques and expensive things, from a young age plunged into the strange and exciting atmosphere of flea markets, flea markets and antique shops. Her mother restored antique toys, and her father ran a second-hand bookstore. The parents taught Rachel and her sister how to choose a good item and how to restore it afterwards. As a teenager, Rachel began restoring furniture and selling the results of her labors in British antique stores.

At twenty-four, Rachel left the UK and settled in warm California. She was already successful as a stylist and set designer, but after becoming a mother, she devoted herself to her family - her husband preferred to see her as a housewife, and for Rachel, home comfort was always in the first place … But her creative nature required experimentation. Rachel was annoyed with the need to constantly clean upholstered furniture after the "barbaric raids" of children and pets - and she came up with removable covers, beautiful, practical, easy to clean. All her friends were delighted and vied with each other - where to get the same, because they had never seen anything like it in stores! Upon learning that this was Rachel's handiwork, they inundated her with orders. And Rachel decided enough was enough. Friendly support made her remember that as a thirteen-year-old girl, she admired seasoned antique dealers with her taste and trained eye. After "finding myself" was followed by a divorce from her husband … and the first own store.

She started a business in Santa Monica, California. Her first shop sold finds from the flea market that she had refurbished. Over time, Rachel began to develop items of her own design.

Rachel quickly formed her own style, very recognizable, very decorative and very memorable. She began furnishing her own home. The new furniture was too expensive for her, and Asheville returned to her business of restoration.

She retained a touch of antiquity, paying tribute to the past and the inexorable passage of time, but complemented the objects as she saw fit - delicate ornament, rough strokes of paint, gilding …

She incorporated cheap crystal chandeliers into an interior with simple white walls and functional removable slipcovers, matched rocaille mirrors with Victorian chairs painted in soft blue - and she loved it. She called her style "shabby chic".

The shabby chic interior feels like a dilapidated fairy princess room. Rachel respects natural aging and accepts it as an integral part of her life.

Shabby chic is light colors (white walls are especially important in it), the most delicate shades of pink and beige.

Ruffles and frills, birds and figurines of angels, forged cells, hearts and lace, delicate floral ornaments create a slightly surreal feeling.

Ashwell believes that, in addition to comfort, the influence of a thing on the subconscious is very important, what emotions the object of the interior and the interior itself evoke.

Shabby chic is an opportunity to create an atmosphere of a fairy tale without being a millionaire, to surround yourself with things that radiate love.

For twenty-five years of creative activity, Rachel has changed her views on aesthetics. The shabby chic is still full of ruffles and pink, but the things she creates are becoming more concise and functional.

She is inspired by everything around her - her friends and children, fashion, cinema, art and travel - a significant part of Rachel's life is the pursuit of antique furniture across countries and continents.

Ashwell designed the interiors for her hotel, The Prairie, in Texas. This is a real "place of power" for fans of shabby chic, because the hotel is located next to the largest antique fair in the United States. On the territory of the hotel complex there are five cottages and a barn where weddings and parties are held.

Rachel feels truly free here - and experiments with styles, staying true to herself. A person versed in the history of art will find references to ethnic and historical styles - Rococo, Classicism, Victorian … Each cottage has its own special character.

Linen is dried outside, in simple vases and glass jars - always fresh flowers (Rachel even wrote a book about flowers in the interior), homemade breakfasts are served, forged and wooden furniture is pleasing to the eye and body, but in this almost rustic simplicity, gilded mirror frames catch the eye and intricate embroidery on bedspreads …

Even longtime fans of Ashwell are overwhelmed by the luxury and sophistication of these interiors.

Rachel experiences a real ecstasy, going there and looking for unique items created by artists, and not descended from an industrial assembly line.

Rachel now admits that she is working on a new version of shabby chic - more minimalist and functional. She in no way intends to stop there. Now she wants to create interiors free from visual and informational noise, but still imbued with magic.

Shabby chic has a huge following, both fans and critics, who call it secondary, vulgar and overwhelmed. However, Rachel believes that the main thing in interior design is to make the environment truly residential.

She strives to create aesthetic interiors where children can climb with their feet on the sofa, guests can put cups on the coffee table, cats can roll on blankets and bedspreads. Beautiful things should be comfortable, cozy, lively. These ideas are promoted by Rachel in her books - she has written several superbly illustrated books about shabby chic.

Today, she has stores in both New York and London. Furniture, textiles, accessories, decor and even clothes from Rachel Asheville are available to fans of her work from all over the world, and she herself does not get tired of wondering, enjoying life and being inspired by the world around her.

It seems that human fantasy knows no boundaries. Japanese builds houses of paper and cardboard for refugees and oligarchs - it turns out very cool.