One of the hottest new trends in interior design is called rustic chic, a fusion of traditional farmhouse-inspired designs elegantly integrated into modern homes. The good news is, you don't have to live in an actual log cabin in order to give your new home exactly the right rustic touch.
By simply following a few design guidelines, you can recreate the feeling of visiting a lakeside cabin or an alpine lodge by blending textures, colours, and surfaces to create a lived-in, homey atmosphere.
The reason why rustic homes evoke such strong emotions is they always feel so organic, cozy, and warm. Certainly, there's no need to clutter up your home with too many knickknacks, but it's essential to make interior spaces feel intimate.
Avoid raised ceilings and make good use of shelves, counters, and other exposed surfaces to add decorative items, preferably nature themed or inspired by nature, to add just the right touch of homeyness to any room. Another great idea is to mix and match odd items found in garage sales or in your grandparent's attic, items from yesteryear that evoke that old-time feeling without crossing over the line into kitsch.
Rustic implies spaces that intersect home comfort and the great outdoors, whereas modern styles rely on stark, sterile surfaces and clean, white lines. To achieve a lovely rustic look, be sure to include plenty of organics, including plants, nature prints, driftwood sculptures or furniture pieces, exposed ceiling beams, and stone.
And definitely don't forget to add flowers, bouquets of live ones where appropriate but also dried arrangements and floral motifs on wallpaper, cushions, or floor rugs. These simple and affordable décor ideas can be all you need for that added country charm.
Rustic, by definition, refers to a time when everything was made from organic materials. You can simulate this in modern homes by carefully assembling a pleasing palette of earth tones with just the right pop of vibrant colours like green, white, and yellow. Go for a darker overall hue for more intimate rooms like an office or study and lighter tones for bigger spaces like living rooms, kitchens, and dining rooms.
Authentic log cabins were decorated with an ad hoc mixture of anything that could be found, often resulting in badly mismatched furniture, clashing colours, and even chipped drinking glasses.
To achieve a more streamlined rustic look, consider broadening your colour choices such as a red stove paired with wooden cabinets in the kitchen, open shelving with spices and food items stored in different styles and sizes of jars, and a hand-woven throw rug on the floor. Other great ideas include using copper farm-style sinks or mismatched knobs and drawer pulls.
The obvious place to start when creating a rustic look is wooden floors. But to go beyond that, consider mixing different styles and colours for your wood, including distressed or reclaimed wood. If your unpainted wooden cabinetry has a lighter varnish, choose furniture for the rest of the room made from wood finished with a darker colour. And match all these with lighting that casts a gentle, organic warmth instead of sterile fluorescents or chrome lighting fixtures.
A home entirely decorated in different shades of wood will end up looking like a hunting lodge. In order to upgrade to a true rustic chic, use undertones intelligently. For every leather sofa, add soft cushions upholstered in neutral or light colours. Consider decorative touches like an over-sized analog clock on the wall, wicker baskets, and modern window treatments in order to add just the right touch of modernity.
If you can get your hands on an authentic piece of furniture, it can pull a whole room together. An old-fashioned claw-foot tub instantly adds rustic charm to a modern bathroom while copper hoods over the stove, antique sideboards and dressers, or rocking chairs can add just the right touch of homespun charm to a room.
Whether it's antlers or old farming implements mounted on the wall, a hanging lantern, or a bookcase made from distressed wood, combine the organic elements of the room into a cohesive order to create a back-story for the space.
The goal of creating a rustic design is to make it clear someone has added their heart and soul to each room in the house; a tale of family, memories, and stories handed down for generations. Give each room its own history by adding old sports pennants, handmade quilts, a cowhide area rug, or galvanized buckets used as planters.
Cabinetry was often rough-hewn and simple during the pioneer days. One of the easiest way to recreate this look is to use exposed shelving, not just for bookcases but also in pantries, bathroom vanities, and nightstands.
Country residents never shy away from using their walls to personalize their homes. If mounting stuffed animal heads is too extreme for your tastes, consider more subtle choices like mirrors with weathered frames, wrought iron pieces, copper pans, or funky artwork to add a truly organic touch.
Also consider using wall-mounted hooks for hanging plants, coats, or an old pair of snowshoes to give your home an authentic lived-in feel. Even your kitchen essentials like cast iron skillets and wooden utensils can be wall-mounted for function, with the added bonus of having that rustic flair.
Fortunately, it's rather easy to transform an impersonal modern space into something lovely, homey, and warm. Avoid bright lights, sharp lines, and cold surfaces, and instead work towards an organic, lived-in look that elegantly balances elements of the great outdoors with modern conveniences and technology. Using mismatched pieces, antique items, earth tones, and living plants, anyone can add a lovely rustic chic to their home's décor.