Cottage chic accessories are a mix between elegant and time worn and shopping for them can be a fun and interesting experience. Before you set out on your shopping trip, however, you might want to have a good idea of the types of items you are looking for. Do you like old timeworn architectural pieces? How about vintage candelabras dripping with crystals? Maybe you prefer the look of old signs or even garden accessories? In there many items that are both chic and shabby which can help complete the cottage look in your home.

One of my favorite places to shop for cottage decor is in antique shops. While a lot of people avoid these places thinking most of the items are high-priced, a trip to your local antique mall can be a unique shopping experience and can also yield some interesting items that are good buys. If you shop at an antique co-op that has a mixture of different dealers, you might find everything from antique Meissen China that will cost you an arm and a leg to funky painted items that might be suitable for your cottage decor.

Another great place to shop for cottage chic accessories is salvage stores. These places have all the old architectural items from older homes that were being torn down. Here you can find some very cool items that you can display on their own or combine to make into very chic items. For example, you might combine an old wide baseboard with some glass doorknobs for an unusual and interesting coat rack. Old quarter pieces from screen doors and porches make great display pieces in your cottage home. You can even find the old fancy floor grates used as heat registers which make wonderful displays for hanging on the wall.

Another fun place to look for your accessories is at yard sales. Here you might find anything from newer pieces to stuff that has been sitting in someone's basement for 40 years. You may come across a real find for very little money. Just be sure you stick to only the items that you want to displaying in your home or you might end up with a car load of stuff that sits in your basement for the next 40 years!

Some great cottage chic accessories to be on the lookout for include painted chippy items such as candleholders and pediments that can be displayed on your mantle or side tables, interesting old dovetailed boxes, cherub candleholders with prisms, old plate or soup tureen covers that you can use to make interesting displays by hanging on the wall, vintage linens, tablecloths, bedspreads and curtains and anything else that strikes your fancy!