Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic Interiors: My rooms, treasures and trinkets

Romantic florals reclining against pure white linen, ruffles of muslin skirting a bed base against bleached floorboards, the deep comfort of a simple nest of fluffy towels… This is Rachel Ashwell’s signature style that for the past 20 years has been a major influence in our modern lives. Shabby Chic Interiors – My Rooms, Treasures and Trinkets, an eclectic book of quirky inspiration, falls into chapters according to location, and begins with Rachel’s breathtaking Los Angeles residence. Next, we wander into a photographer’s minimalist mountain-top home in the Hollywood hills before heading to the coast and a beautiful Malibu beach cottage. A truly bohemian hideout in southern California is next on the journey, followed by a peek at celebrity homes, including the house that once belonged to Marilyn Monroe. With rooms combining flea-market finds and objects of pure functionality – an elegant French mirror reflecting a painting, a bejewelled metallic candle holder sitting by a cluster of willow-patterned china, a single faded velvet pillow lounging under the twinkle of a vintage chandelier – this book celebrates all that is wonderfully Shabby Chic.