Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic Interiors: My Rooms, Treasures and Trinkets - Tapa dura

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.

Rachel Ashwell is a self-made businesswoman who founded the iconic brand known as Shabby Chic in 1989 when, as a single mother of two young children, she looked to open a small shop where she could sell `pretty things' without spending much time or distance away from her children. Rachel opened her first store on trendy Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, California and now has a brand that is known worldwide.