Timeless, Rustic Farmhouse Decorating Ideas
Rustic farmhouse style never goes out of style. In fact, just like fine wine, it gets better with age! We appreciate our space and how it can influence our mood, so we want to make sure each room has a character and a voice that matches our own.
At the same time, our spaces have turned multifunctional. The dining room turns into a WFH area, the patio into a makeshift or make-believe escape into a French country cottage, and the bathroom into a sanctuary for relaxation and spa treatments.
Farmhouse decor is flexible; it incorporates natural, nostalgic, and well-loved elements into your living space, it doesn't have to mean floor to ceiling shiplap. Modern farmhouse style can take the best elements of traditional "country style" and marry them to modern color palettes, materials, and items that feel current yet grounded.
You don't need to have a quaint and secluded cottage to embrace the farmhouse style. In this blog, we'll share staples of rustic farmhouse design along with specific decorating ideas for different rooms of your house.
Click below to jump to specific rustic farmhouse decorating tips:
Natural Elements
Natural elements like wood, metal, and stone, provide a timeless rustic backdrop that roots your home in tradition and lets the rest of your decor change with the seasons and your personal style. Reclaimed wood dining tables, desks, floating shelves, chairs, bar stools, wood walls and wood tones, exposed beams, and cabinets all hint at the bones of your house without overwhelming the space.
One of the great things about wood is that different shades and wood types often complement each other. It doesn't have to be 100% matchy-matchy.
Here, you can see our customer's farmhouse kitchen, the floorboards, kitchen countertops, and wooden beams are all different types of wood. They work together because they are grounded and distanced from one another by a solid set of neutral white cabinets and walls. They all complement each other and tell their own story rather instead of competing for attention.
Stone fireplaces are the perfect centerpiece to a farmhouse-style living room all year long, even if the fire isn't blazing. Even marble countertops can give your farmhouse decor contemporary touches. Rustic metals like steel, iron, copper, and brass can bring your decor into "the now" while still showcasing its charm and history. Metal hardware handles, sconces, farmhouse-style light fixtures, bathtubs, and table bases are great ways to add another natural luxe element to your room without breaking the bank.
Farmhouse Style Color
The color palette of a room or home can be transformative! Luckily, when it comes to home improvement and decorating, swapping paint colors is one of the easiest things to DIY and make your own. Farmhouse decor often has its own rich color palette consisting of warm and cool earth tones.
One of the best ways to highlight rustic furniture and make it the focal point of the room is to start out with a neutral slate and build from there. White walls and neutral colors complement the variety of rich natural tones in wooden features instead of competing with them. A contrasting color, like black and white against a wooden element, also helps the furniture to become the focal point instead of blending in with its canvas. Keeping the walls simple and clean allows you more freedom to fill your space with pops of color that feel like you!
You don't have to be a Master of Interior Design to develop your own custom color palette. Online programs like Sherwin Williams' ColorSnap tool make it easy to pull colors from "inspo" pictures. If you came across a photo of a staged interior or a piece of furniture that you'd like to find complementing colors for, all you have to do is upload the picture and it does the work for you. We've uploaded a picture of our reclaimed wood dining table that a customer made their own. The tool identified the colors of the wood, wall paint, and decor and recommended bright complementary colors that will bring out the best of the dining table while still letting it remain the centerpiece of the room. If you're in a color rut, this is a great place to start.
Small spaces like entryways, bathrooms, reading nooks, bars, and laundry rooms also appreciate thoughtful pops of color. Try adding a nature-inspired color to an accent wall and keep the decor simple for a nice farmhouse look with a rustic twist. You can check out Pantone's Color of the Year for some inspiration!
Rustic Farmhouse Fabrics
Fabric choice is another way to add personal flair to your space and accent your staple rustic furniture pieces. If you're an old soul who loves vintage country chic interiors, try reupholstering some throw pillows with a vintage textile. If you want to stay cozy, think chunky knits, wool, and checkered patterns. Leather looks sleek and stylish against other natural materials like wood and metal.
A rustic swivel bar stool or accent chair would look great with a leather cushion. Want your space to feel ultra-modern and upscale? Fur (or faux fur) is your friend! Drape a faux fur pelt over an accent chair or use a fur rug to accent wooden floorboards and metal table legs. The great thing about fabric is that you don't have to remodel the entire room to give it a breath of fresh air. Simply swapping out blankets, throw pillows, or cushions can give you a total room farmhouse-style makeover on a budget.
Creating and narrowing down a vision for your space is the first step. Do you prefer a classic rustic style, or do you simply love farmhouse decor? Staple pieces like rustic farmhouse dining tables, entertainment centers, dressers, and wood shelving can serve as your guide to finding room decor to accent your furniture and add some cozy and classic country style to your space.
Farmhouse Decor Ideas for the Living Room or Family Room
Add a wooden mantel to your fireplace: You don't have to get a stonemason involved to give your fireplace some new love! The experts at Rustic Red Door can custom build a live edge or squared wooden mantel to top your fireplace. From there, you're free to add greenery, picture frames, art, candles, or whatever accent pieces you'd like to make an inviting living room.
Add shiplap or reclaimed wood panels to your walls: This isn't your mama's 1970s wood-paneled wall! White or light brown horizontal wood panels add a beautiful and understated accent against your wall or entertainment center that will bring you back to summers spent at the lake house. If you want to be bold, try a shiplap-covered ceiling!
Add a farmhouse coffee table: If you already have a couch that you're in love with and need something to tie it all together, a rustic wooden coffee table could do the trick. Our Foxfield farmhouse coffee table (below) is a great choice!
Make your own gallery wall: Centralized wall decor is a great way to draw attention to one area of your living room without feeling overcrowded or too busy. It's also a great way to showcase more historical elements of your home and history. When crafting your gallery wall, try to select wall art and rustic picture frames that fit into your overall color palette. You can also display items on wooden floating shelves to tie together wooden elements from other areas of the house.
Add some texture: Fabric choices and wood grains can add another unexpected and interesting element to the room. Macrame wall hangers, rugs, live edge wood, fur, and items like wicker baskets can add history and beautiful eclecticism to your space that shows not everything came "straight out of the box".
Farmhouse Dining Room Decor
Make the table the center of attention: The purpose of the dining room is in the name (even if it has become your new home office). A dining area is a place for connection, sharing family memories.
Reclaimed wood dining tables are made to be enjoyed with the entire family. They're a grand piece that doesn't require any added frills to make a statement. Help your table stand out by placing it in the center of the room, adding a bench and accent chairs, keeping centerpieces understated, or using a contrasting wall color to highlight its natural colors.
Try hanging a rustic chandelier: Rustic chandeliers also center in on the grandness of the table without going overboard. Metal chandeliers add modernity to rustic wooden tables.
Use a Buffet as an Accent: Storage is the name of the game for big families. A Rustic Buffet can also be a charming design element. Made-to-match stain for tables and buffets can tie in elements of the dining room without giving the illusion of being crowded or overwhelming the space.
Keep art to a minimum: A great piece of simplistic modern art can add personal flair and a fresh look to your dining room. Multiple framed pictures, wall art, and sconces might look nice in a clean dining room but when you imagine it filled with people, plates, and foods, it can feel like a lot. Keep art simple, understated, and secondary to all the laughs and foods that will be shared around the dining room table.
Farmhouse Bedroom Decor
Bed first: The master bedroom is one of the few places in the house that should have one main purpose - sacred sleep. Because the bed will be the largest piece of furniture in the room, be selective about the frame and fabric you use to make sure you have breathing room with your other furniture pieces. You can incorporate farmhouse style with a bed frame accented by airy and lightly colored sheets.
Add a bedside bench or storage/blanket chest: If you have an understated bed frame, try adding a live edge bench or storage/blanket chest at the foot of your bed. It's a great way to include more farmhouse-style decor in the room and it creates a comfortable space-conscious area to slip on your shoes at the start and end of the day.
Hang wooden framed pictures: Wooden frames add touches of classic farmhouse style without overwhelming the room. This is a great alternative for small spaces. We love reclaimed wood frames to contrast with other white decor pieces. You can fill them with personalized quotes, your initials, family photos, or even a mirror. Rustic Red Door can be your friend when it comes to customizing verses and quotes. A great way to add a personalized touch to your or your child's bedroom is to commission a customizable framed piece from our selection of framed art for your wall.
Separate the master bath or closet with distressed barn doors: The bedroom is a sanctuary for sleep, and the bathroom is a sanctuary for a spa! Separate the two rooms or storage space with a sliding barn door. Rustic barn doors can become an accent piece of their own, especially when contrasted against the wall color. Plus, they save on space!
Decorating Ideas for Your Farmhouse Kitchen
Add more space with an island: Adding a butcher block kitchen island is a lifesaver! There's no such thing as too much counter space, especially with a big family. A kitchen island with storage and other rustic elements from throughout the house can bring a rustic feeling to your modern farmhouse kitchen.
Turn your stainless-steel appliances black: Stainless steel is the gold standard for new appliances, but it just doesn't have the same charm as an old icebox. Luckily, you can keep all the modern technology and add some rustic yet luxe flair by painting your appliances black with bronze or copper hardware. It looks stunning against cabinets and alongside other metal hardware in your kitchen like the sink, handles, and table legs.
Save space with bar stools: You'd be surprised how often you use breakfast bars once you have them! They're a great place to have a cup of coffee, answer emails, treat guests to a drink, and feed the kids before school. Our bar stools come in a variety of shapes, styles, and heights from the reclaimed barnwood swivel "Bayfield" stools pictured here to padded barrel-style stools with a back.
Add a wooden door casing: Wooden door casings make a big difference. It's an easy trick to transform your kitchen without having to rework the layout of kitchen cabinets or appliances.
Shop Farmhouse Style Furniture & Decor
We hope this article gave you lots of inspiration for how to incorporate farmhouse-style decor into your home. With beautiful handcrafted real wood furniture, natural textures, and unique decor, it's easy to add a farmhouse feel to any space in your house.
Shop our selection of barnwood buffets, farmhouse bed frames, and more on our site.