Shabby Chic is the well-known brand of Rachel Ashwell who opened her first shop in Santa Monica in 1989. Now, two decades on, there are stores in Los Angeles, New York, Texas, and London.

This well-known label describes a “look” that incorporates vintage and battered furnishings with lots of white paint and pastel colours. There are floral fabrics, frills and a touch of glitz in crystal and silver. Romantic rooms are styled like stage sets where it looks like the wistfully lovely heroine has left a trail of petals or a book of poetry.

Ashwell’s latest book in the franchise, called Shabby Chic Inspirations and Beautiful Spaces, shows her homes in Texas, Malibu and Knotting Hill, as well as the homes of friends and business associates.

The most bizarre (but fascinating) arrangement is the “shabby shack” created from a hunter’s cabin in the Catskill Mountains. Entirely white, it is draped with volumes of lace and accessorized with white china, books and elaborate chandeliers.

This girlish confection is the retreat of a young woman who lives with a burly husband in a trailer on the other side of the stream. The trailer is not bohemian edgy. We’re talking 70’s-style avocado and gold, plaid sofa, dark wood paneling with an American flag draped between the propane tanks.

Don’t believe me? Check it out.

Romantic cottage style is a perennial favourite that is most often featured in the shelter magazines in the spring and summer. If you like it, have a look at several other new titles in the collection.

Romantic prairie style: homes inspired by traditional Country Life by Fifi O’Neill prospects the same vein. No sod huts on this prairie; but it’s all quite charming.

New Cottage Style: a Sunset design guide is another one that features rehabbed vintage furnishings set in pale and pretty rooms.

Stampede is winding down. Time to pack up the cowhides and lanterns - or not. For many seasons, cowhide rugs have been popular accents for both contemporary country and modern interiors.

There are so many other lovely ways to bring summer into your home. If you enjoy making seasonal changes, here are a couple of new titles for inspiration.

Summer House, by Terry John Woods, features cottage-style, summer decorating, the way you might do it for your summer house in Maine which is exactly what Woods has. Seashells and polished beach rocks line the shelves; surfaces are weathered; accessories are nautical. Vintage collectibles, such as old alarm clocks and jadite tableware, punctuate decor. There is no edgy twist to vintage here; just full-blown nostalgia.

The book is laced with sepia-toned photos evocative of summers past: cricket games on the lawn, family gatherings, floating on inner tubes. You get the drift.

Cottage style is budget-friendly, embracing finds from flea market and Mom and Dad's basement. Old pieces are rehabbed with a lick of paint or just dusted off. Best of all, it offers relaxed comfort year round.

Get crafty and take advantage of all the good things in your garden with Everyday Eden: 100+ Fun, Green Garden Project for the Whole Family to Enjoy by Christina Symons & John Gillespie.

Herbs flavour salts and butter. Bread is baked in flower pot and bucket. Succulents are shaped into dramatic sculptures, wall art and wreaths. From old glass containers, they fashion garden cloches to protect seedlings. Mismatched glasses create “candle opera” with tea lights.

As you might expect, Symons and Gillespie, who live in Roberts Creek, B.C., have a wonderful garden. See it on their blog and get an ongoing crafty fix.

NEXT WEEK: I'm playing in the water. The topic is home-made water fountains.