Cheap Chic by Emily Chalmers

Interior stylist and author Emily Chalmers is a gal after our own hearts. Her new book, Cheap Chic, due on store shelves on February 28 but available for pre-order here, sings a song we never get tired of hearing: “You don’t need to be wealthy to have a wealth of style.”

With the help of writer Ali Hanan and photographer Debi Treloar, Chalmers proves that swoon-worthy home style isn’t expensive. It’s a notion that is quite a relief to us—and we suspect that you might find it reassuring as well.

As we work to build our nests and surround ourselves with pretties that we can’t live without, many of us have had our “I just don’t have the money to make this fabulous” moments. After all, we’ve logged in many hours gazing at celebrity home spreads in our must-read glossy magazines. They have designers and decorators and such a grand budget, we say.

And the rest of us? Well, we scour thrift store shelves, gladly accept most hand-me-down furniture, pick up things here and there from chain stores and only splurge when we must. But we still want to create the homes of our dreams, and Chalmers gets that. Drawing on expert vision, Cheap Chic explains how to mix chain store basics with individual finds. (Think flea market and garage sale goodies, secondhand lovelies, curbside recoveries and all of the things you already love dearly.)

Why We Love It
When we got our happy hands on our copy of Cheap Chic from the publisher, Ryland Peters & Small, we kindly welcomed a flutter of butterflies into our stomachs. The smattering of 200 gorgeous, light-filled photos—so perfect in their simplicity!—were enough to make to us chipper. But the advice dispensed by Chalmers and company really made us giddy.

The tips found within Cheap Chic strike the perfect balance between practicality and expert inspiration—all dispensed without a hint of inaccessibility. This is real style for real homes and real people (read: those of us who don’t have a personal decorator on speed dial but do have boyfriends, husbands and children who leave beds rumpled and stacks unsorted).

After tucking in to Cheap Chic, we feel a bit more empowered to create a stylish home on our own terms—and with our modest decor budgets. Chalmers guides us where to invest—a proper, supportive bed, a decent couch and other big pieces that are essential to our everyday comfort. And she divulges where and how to spend less for big impact. (Like salvaging rolls of vintage-print wallpaper from bins at second-hand shops. Or buying bright pink saris on the cheap at ethnic shops or street markets and using the fabric as a table runner or whipping it into a gauzy curtain.)

Why We Think You’ll Crush, Too
Whether you live in a spacious country house or a just-big-enough-for-me-and-my-clothes studio on a frenzied metropolitan street, we think you’ll adore Cheap Chic just the same. By our estimation, Chalmers left no decorative stone unturned.

The first section of the book, The Elements, examines color, patterns and fabrics and provides “Why didn’t we think of that?” tips on flooring, lighting, storage, accessories and other essential home materials. While the second section, The Spaces, offers room-by-room insight on how to create a beautiful, comfortable backdrop for daily life.

Of course, no one explains Cheap Chic better than Chalmers and company. With an introduction like this, the book really had us from hello: “…this book is a bible for the budget-conscious who also strive for style. Money, after all, can’t buy good taste. Style is instinctive—and it can come at a snip as long as you have an eye for beauty as well as a bargain. As the interiors doyenne Andrée Putman once put it, ‘[To have] style is to see beauty in modest things.’”

An extra treat for those of you who simply can’t wait until February 28 to get better acquainted with Chalmers: Pick up her Flea Market Style and Table Inspirations books, also published by Ryland Peters & Small.

(Image: Elizabeth Ulrich for Extrabux)