For many people, a cottage-style home creates a reassuring atmosphere. It calls to mind images of cozy living rooms and warm exteriors. They are classic, simple, and charming, fulfilling the vision of “home,” perhaps more than sleeker and more modern interior design schemes. So it’s no surprise that cottage-style homes and decor were one of the most popular home designs in the past year.
Amidst the stress of a global pandemic, living in a cottage is like being on vacation every day. Given last year’s housing shortage, buying a home in the countryside may not be the most feasible option, so the next best thing is to transform your abode into one that exudes cottage character.
Here are some clever ideas to make your home feel warmer and cozier like a cottage, just in time for the colder months.
Use “farmhouse” fabrics.
Add instant warmth to your home interiors through some fabric changes for pillowcases, couch pillows, upholstery, and more. Farmhouse-inspired fabrics like tea towels, cotton in denim-inspired colors, and even upcycled feed sacks can go a long way toward making your home look and feel more welcoming. These fabrics help tie the theme together in a wholesome environment. If you can find some, opt for vintage country French fabric for an added “old-school” touch.
Just remember: your goal is to create a theme. Don’t just gather all kinds of fabrics and embroidered material and throw them all together. You still have to create harmony between the colors and designs throughout the rooms.
Install wooden shelving and add bookcases.
Perhaps you have antiques or vintage pieces stored in the attic, inherited from grandparents. Or maybe you found a charming piece of wooden furniture at the flea market. Now is the time to dust them off and take them out of storage. If you have wooden bookcases, that’s even better. You can use them to create a small reading nook or as a place to display framed family photos, ceramic décor, or other country-style ornaments.
Another great addition to amp up the cottage style in any room is open wooden shelves. While associated with rustic themes, they can also be used to enhance a more modern country-style interior. Unpainted, varnished wooden shelves instantly warm up any room while giving you more storage space. An added plus—they’re easy to install.
Give your fireplace a rustic makeover.
Homes lucky enough to have a fireplace can transform this area to make it more in keeping with a cottage theme. Restoring a fireplace to its original appearance, exposing the original stone or brick, is an excellent way to make a living room look more rustic.
If your fireplace is modern, you can take the opposite approach. Make it more cottage-style according to your liking by covering it with cast stone. Some manufacturers can even customize the stone according to your preference, so keep that in mind if you’re trying to make a thematic living room. You might want to add other stone details beyond your fireplace!
Add a tile backsplash to the kitchen.
Your cottage-style interior design scheme can extend to the kitchen with some carefully chosen tiles as a backsplash for your kitchen counters. It may be one of the more complicated renovations in the house, especially if you need to be in the kitchen quite frequently, but your job gets a lot easier with some mosaic tile sheets.
These sheets are ceramic tile pre-adhered to a mesh backing. There’s no need to arrange the tiles and grout them individually—just attach the sheets in the sizes needed for your backsplash. They’ll look great behind your countertops, especially if you have those open wooden shelves!
Another easy installation tip is to use premixed grout for these tiles. You can use sanded grout for most backsplashes. Although if you’re trying to get a bit more creative, try some unsanded variants that won’t scratch more delicate tile varieties.
Bring the outdoors indoors.
Greenery is all part of the rustic theme. Suppose you, like many people, have taken up growing plants indoors, testing out your green thumb during the lockdowns. In that case, you can incorporate your plants into country-style interiors by displaying them on rustic farmhouse plant stands.
These stands can be made of repurposed aluminum pails (even old painted watering cans!) or strong wire wrapped in wicker rope. You can even make a plant box and stand in one by using repurposed wooden pallets. If you have larger plants, look for stands that can support the weight of the soil and the plants with water so they don’t fall over. Pick up some wooden ladder shelving to add a “layered” look to hold your potted greenery.
There are many easy DIY ways to turn your home into a rustic cottage dream where you can get cozy near a fireplace while reading a good book this coming season. Turn your sanctuary into a vacation spot in the country and take yourself worlds away from the busy life in the city.
