RAGS TO RICHES : BABY BOOMER'S WORK ON PERIOD FILM SETS INSPIRES A STORE - AND NOW A BOOK - ON THE MIX-AND-MATCH DECORATING PATH TO THE WARM, LIVED-IN LOOK OF SHABBY CHIC.

Byline: Barbara De Witt Daily News Staff Writer

If Martha Stewart's operation in New York has cornered the market on proper home decorating and style advice, Rachel Ashwell of Malibu is setting herself up as a funky West Coast counterpoint.

Ashwell, who calls Stewart's decorating style ``preppy, perfect and uptight,'' isn't a household name - but she has named the biggest emerging style of the '90s: Shabby Chic.

You know it when you see it. It's for those people who want a nice house, but who want to put not just their coffee cup, but their feet, on the coffee table.

Ashwell, who has written a new book named after her retail line of stores by the same name, has a penchant for breaking traditional design rules. Shabby Chic favors slipcovered sofas, peeling paint and rusty patio furniture, a laid-back decorating style that works well in L.A.'s stucco tract houses full of fabric and furniture from boomers' childhoods.

A born-in-the-'50s boomer herself, Ashwell never studied interior design, but rather got her ideas from working as a set designer and stylist for period films and from being a working mom. She started out in 1989 with the Shabby Chic shop on Santa Monica's trendy Montana Avenue, selling one-of-a-kind squishy goose-down sofas with slipcovers made of vintage fabrics for $3,000. These led to an avalanche of knock-offs at all price points.

Ashwell soon expanded her design kingdom to include her own line of prewashed fabrics designed for slipcovers easily tossed in the washer and dryer. Then she added to her inventory naturally weathered, painted furniture and old chandeliers she picked up at flea markets.

Now Ashwell has written a book on how to get that comfy, nothing-matches look shown in stores in L.A., Chicago, San Francisco and New York City. ``Shabby Chic'' (Regan Books/Harper Collins; $30), is as unpretentious as its author, including thoughts about what works and what doesn't, tips on how to shop at a flea market, inspirational photographic illustrations and plenty of encouragement.

``You see, I think people instinctively have good taste, and I hope my book validates it,'' Ashwell said. ``What I mean is that if a person loves pink, they shouldn't be talked into blue by a professional designer.''

But, understand the difference between junk and weathered furniture, she advises. ``The whole look shouldn't be old and musty, so don't go overboard. Just use an accent of a weathered piece to create a mood, like a dresser painted white with crystal drawer pulls ... or a vintage chandelier hung in an unexpected place ... or a huge mirror framed with seashells instead of gold leaf.

``The entire room doesn't have to be white, but white and cream make things look fresh and clean and let the sunshine in,'' she said.

Judy Griffin, interior design chairwoman with the American College for the Applied Arts in Los Angeles, said the Shabby Chic look caught on quickly for two reasons: It appeals to people's yearning for the safety of childhood, and it provides an inexpensive way to redecorate.

``It used to be that once you purchased a sofa you were committed to a particular style, but with the slipcover trend you can easily create new moods for very little money,'' Griffin said.

She teaches all types of design, but she's found that traditional looks have more staying power.

``Those bright red leather sofas and modern art pieces are attractive, but a dramatic room like that is more like a stage setting, and after you've been on stage all day at the office, you want to come home and plop into a comfy sofa and watch `Friends.' ''

While the East Coast still gravitates toward darker colors, Ashwell predicts white and pale tones, including sage green and dusty rose, will continue to be popular in California through the '90s, particularly in solid colors. Much like the Victorians, she believes white is a forever basic.

``I think decorating will become more simple, with fewer prints, less froufrou such as tassels and doilies, and fewer collectibles like those angels and cupids. But it doesn't mean we'll go back to all that shiny chrome and plastic furniture, either.''

Transforming your home If you like the lived-in look of shabby chic, read on. Here are the key elements for this decorating trend of the '90s:

An oversize slip-covered goose-down sofa with lots of pillows.

A huge mirror with a nontraditional frame (shells, weathered frame, hammered tin).

A vintage Italian or French chandelier.

A weathered coffee table, or an ottoman used as a table.

Lots of white and cream.

Mismatched crockery.

Wrought-iron patio tables topped with glass or dull marble.

Dining chairs that don't match the table, or each other.

Fewer prints, more solid colors, including dusty rose or sage green.

Minimal froufrou; no angels, no cow collections, tassels or crocheted doilies.

Eclectic mix of wicker, fine wood and painted furniture.

Luxurious bed linens.

Floaty window dressings to let the sunshine in.

Family photographs in vintage frames.

Candles and fresh flowers.

Weathered dressers dressed up with old crystal drawer pulls.

Unlikely items used as bowls and vases.

Soft, weathered fabrics, from denim to velvet.

CAPTION(S):

9 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) Malibu Martha

West Coast's answer to Martha Stewart shops flea markets and mines imagination for the `Shabby Chic' look (Rachel Ashwell)

(2--Color) To create a theatrical living room for fashion magazine stylist Chantall Cloutier, Ashwell designed an oversized sof slipcovered in white denim and accented with fringed floral pillows and a throw. The coffee table is made from a vintage door and topped with glass.

(3--Color) Mismatched china has a way of making guests feel more at home, says Ashwell, who thinks perfect settings are too stiff and uniform.

(4--Color) Old furniture with peeling paint packs panache without the high price of antiques. Ashwell advises novice decorators to be careful not to overdo it, or the house will look like a used furniture store.

(5--Color) Weathered wrought iron and brass beds are staples of the shabby chic style, used as they're found or freshened up with white paint.

(6--Color) Rachel Ashwell likes to create the unexpected, as she did with this bathroom in the Topanga Canyon home of Chantall Cloutier. She used an angel statue for a towel rack, vintage tablecloths for the chair slipcover and Turkish rugs instead of traditional bath mats to create a casually elegant mood.

(7) First it was the sofa, then the store. Now ``Shabby Chic'' is also the name of a handbook on how to achieve a comfy mood without spending a bundle.

(8) Ashwell isn't big on clutter, but she loves collections of family photos grouped in vintage frames.

(9) When you have furnishings that don't match, paint them white, Rachel Ashwell recommends. Shown here are a chandelier, wicker table and lamp purchased at flea markets, with Ashwell's slipcovered chair and ottoman.

Box: Transforming your home (See Text)