Shabby Chic Patio! (Tutorial)

Bonjour my fellow crafters!

I guess I've been a bit addicted to French style lately and hence what could have been a better idea than creating a shabby chic patio using the gorgeous DressMyCraft Miniatures!

It is summer in Australia, the time for enjoying fresh air outside and we are all striving for some sunlight, breeze and other joys of this season. This is the best time to decorate your terrace, porch, patio or any other outdoor space you own but if not or if you want to change the décor a little, we are here to offer you the sweetest and the most laid-back style for décor – shabby chic! Oh well in miniature scale though ;)!

As they say, decorating a shabby chic terrace or patio in real life isn’t that tricky and won’t cost a pretty penny, so choosing this style you’ll save some money and renovate a lot of old things you were going to throw away.

Shabby chic style is about wood and metal mostly, all of them should be aged, distressed, weathered or given a worn look in some other way. Make a weathered wooden deck, paint the walls with whitewash paint and add delicate forged furniture. Colors are the softest and most relaxed ones: white, cream. Buttermilk, light grey, dusty blue and pink, all other kinds of pastels and neutrals, I’m sure that you’ll get inspired with the following diorama of my shabby chic patio!

I used the following Products from DMC:

MINI TIPS & TECHNIQUES :

Creating weathered wooden door panel:

- Whitewash the wooden panel with gesso and drybrush it using some acrylics in blue to create a distressed effect

- Add Prima Artisan powder in brown along with some coffee stains to give it an additional aged look

Creating distressed shelves:

- I used black gesso to prime the base of the shelves.

- Use a sponge to add some white chipped wood effect on the shelf rims 

Some random wood panels:

- Cut some ice-cream sticks to create some wooden fencing for a detailed vintage look, distressed with some distress crayon/ distress ink or oxides in shades of brown.

Here is the project (it's a picture heavy post, so sit back with a cuppa and enjoy!)

Accessories make up shabby chic style, so don’t be afraid to rock them all – you just can’t use too many! The accessories may add some touches of other styles, for example, of rustic style – go for baskets, jugs instead of vases, antlers, and buckets as planters. If you want something more refined, try French chic style and choose a crystal chandelier, lace and floral covers, canopy over the bench and maybe find an antique fountain, it may not work but will be sufficient for décor. Remember about flowers – you can grow them in pots around, and flowers are an indispensable part of shabby décor.

Products used from DMC:

watering-cans

shelves

door panel

bathroom shelf

flour bags

rusted scooter

Thanks for scrolling all the way till the end ;), 

hope you are inspired to create your miniature world now!

Hugs,

Bipasha