What Is Farmhouse Decor and How To Decorate Your Home With It
Farmhouse decor style is known for its down-to-earth coziness and warmth. A farmhouse-style home is perfect for hosting holiday gatherings and meals, along with snuggling by the fire with your family on a cozy fall evening for a movie night. It’s all about simplicity and visual interest combining to make the feel of any space perfectly cozy.
When most people say farmhouse decor, one of the first things you think of is Chip and Joanna Gaines and their hit TV show, Fixer Upper. They transform unglamorous homes into modern farmhouse masterpieces filled with shiplap, exposed beams, with cozy personal touches. It’s inspired by actual farmhouses, but there’s a modern feel that makes it perfect for today’s world.
Whether you are ready to decorate your home with the classic farmhouse style or love the trendy modern farmhouse feel, we are here to help you on your home design journey.
Read on to learn all about farmhouse decor and how to decorate your stunning home with it.
What Is Farmhouse Decor?
A home with a farmhouse interior design plan is known for being clean, welcoming, functional, and comfortable, mixed with a sophisticated, country-inspired design.
Farmhouse decor is soothing to look at and has a rustic, stylish charm that will fill your soul with warmth.
You can elevate your home’s decor by adding modern, elegant elements to produce a modern farmhouse look. You can also keep it simple by using more traditional farmhouse decor for a timeless and classic creation.
Our gorgeous, rustic Eternity Gypsophila in Berry Blush will instantly add natural charm and warmth to your farmhouse-style home. This whimsical blend of elegant dusty rose, milky white, and rich, cranberry-hued mini-blossoms symbolizes hope and new beginnings.
These dreamy blossoms from The Ethereal Collection come in a hand-crafted vase made from beautiful unfinished porcelain and will bring understated elegance to your farmhouse decor.
So whether your family actually lives on a farm or lives in the middle of a big city, farmhouse decor is one of the most popular interior design styles. It’s a great choice if you love having guests over and want to create an inviting, beautiful atmosphere.
The History of Farmhouse Decor
Farmhouse decor dates back to the 1700s when large, wooden homes began popping up in New England. These original farmhouses typically featured expansive front porches, large wooden beams, and wide-plank floors.
However, these farmhouses were largely functional, with most of the space in them dedicated to storing work equipment and providing protection from the outdoors.
Most farmhouses were on agricultural land and typically housed families who worked on a farm. As far as the structure of a farmhouse, the front of the home was usually considered the formal area, with the more informal areas, such as a large kitchen and the family’s bedrooms, in the back part of the home.
These farmhouses had simple interiors and featured mostly wooden elements, as well as locally found materials. You could find traditional, rustic farmhouses in rural areas and small towns.
Fast forward to the 1990s, when farmhouse-style decor became increasingly popular, with interior designers gaining inspiration from those early, American farmhouse-style homes.
Today, the classic farmhouse-style has received a modern revamp and is incredibly popular amongst homeowners of all ages. Now, let’s dive into the specific characteristics and elements of farmhouse decor to discover how to create your own farmhouse-inspired home.
Farmhouse Decor: Characteristics and Elements
Farmhouse decor is all about creating a rustic, chic vibe with lots of natural and vintage elements. Let’s break down the characteristics of farmhouse decor and learn about the elements that typically make up a beautiful farmhouse-inspired home.
Natural Wood Pieces
Wooden elements and furniture pieces are essential to a traditional farmhouse home. Using unfinished wood, stripped wood, and shiplap will add a cottage charm to your home. Shiplap is mainly used as horizontal planking in farmhouse-styled homes and will add the perfect, homey touch to your design.
Farmhouse decorators love featuring the natural architectural elements in a home, such as exposed beams, hardwood floors, and pillars. Painted wood is also quite common and can make a vintage piece seem new again.
A Neutral Color Palette
Another key characteristic of farmhouse decor is a natural color scheme. Most modern farmhouse interior designs include shades of white, cream, beige, grey, and taupe. Muted light colors like sage green, yellow, and blue are also used as the occasional pops of color.
Farmhouse-style spaces are designed to feel very relaxed, which is why soft colors are often used.
Functional Storage
Functionality is essential for farmhouse decor, so having functional storage is key in a farmhouse home.
Consider using a lazy susan for all of your kitchen spices and cooking needs, or store all of your flour, sugar, and baking goods in mason jars for a homey kitchen look.
To organize your living room and pantry, opt for wicker, wire, or wooden slat baskets for all of your organizational needs. These cohesive styles will be sure to match your farmhouse decor.
Open shelving will also go hand-in-hand with your farmhouse home. Open shelving in the kitchen will allow your vintage dinnerware to shine as part of your home decor, and it provides an opening, inviting feel for your guests. You could even repurpose a wooden ladder to act as storage and decor at the same time.
Farmhouse Furniture
What type of furniture should I place in my farmhouse home?
In an authentic farmhouse, you’d find some used and worn pieces, so visiting a local antique store is a great place to start when shopping for the perfect farmhouse-style furniture. Look for unique pieces of furniture that will add a charming vintage look to your home. Wood furniture is the perfect choice for a farmhouse-style home.
Here are some other key farmhouse furniture ideas for your home:
- A wooden rolling island for your kitchen
- A trestle dining room table with bench seating
- A stunning chandelier
- Barn doors for your pantry
- A vintage sofa
- A clawfoot tub
- A farmhouse apron front sink
- Reclaimed, open shelving
- A white iron bed frame
Remember, farmhouse furniture should be shabby and chic while also functional. Be sure to select pieces that speak to you, and you will be sure to create a stunning farmhouse spectacle.
Farmhouse Decorating Ideas
When it comes to farmhouse-style home decor ideas, the sky’s the limit! Let’s explore some effortless ways that you can add farmhouse decor to your home.
To begin your farmhouse transformation, you’ll want to start by painting the walls a bright, neutral color like creamy white or a soft beige. This will set the tone for the farmhouse look.
Next, start incorporating dimension into your design by adding rustic shiplap to your home as an accent feature. Maybe do a planked wall in your living room, or try creating a charming wooden headboard for your bed. You could even add DIY shiplap to your ceiling for a truly rustic feel.
Then, you’ll want to begin the decorating process by adding vintage elements, along with some modern finds, to create a fresh look full of character and beauty. Make sure that you avoid bright colors when decorating, and focus on using muted shades and warm tones accompanied by crisp white paint.
Remember to incorporate functional pieces into your own home, such as wire baskets for storage.
Adding wood is key to the modern farmhouse style, so be creative and use salvaged wood in your design style. For your kitchen, add a handmade bakery sign decorated with chalk paint, an antique washboard, or a sliding barn door for a chic country look, accompanied by subtle, neutral tile.
Potential Pieces of Furniture To Include
For some more farmhouse décor ideas, try including some of these items into your home interior design:
- A whitewashed bench
- A wall of mirrors
- Galvanized planters
- Black, modern lanterns
- A vintage task lamp
- Light-colored curtains and soft linens
- An old school alarm clock
- Antique wooden chairs
After you have decorated your home with stunning furniture and farmhouse decor, find ways to incorporate natural light into your space.
Add simple farmhouse-style light fixtures into several rooms to emphasize the farmhouse style and tie all your rooms together, from the living room to the bathroom.
If you already have a lot of furniture from your past home or prior design style, find ways to be creative and incorporate these items. For example, old furniture can look new again just by adding a simple coat of paint. Just remember that neutral paint colors are key, so opting for a simple, natural color is always advised, perhaps with the occasional accents.
Adding distressed furniture is also quite common in farmhouse decor. Using old doors and windows will help solidify your design style and is a great way to blend old and new items together. Try finding pieces with a story behind them to add character to your home.
How To Decorate Your Farmhouse Home for the Holidays
Lastly, you might want to discover how to decorate your farmhouse home for the holidays, and we are here to help.
Decorating your farmhouse home for the holidays will feel like a dream come true. Whether you're planning a Golden Thanksgiving or a Winter Wonderland, your farmhouse home will be glittering with gorgeous seasonal decor.
Fall Decor Ideas
Fill your home with old-fashioned charm this fall by adding some fall throw pillows and chunky knit blankets to your sitting area. Place a wicker basket full of pumpkins on your coffee table next to a vase of fall flowers for an eye-catching autumn display.
Here at Venus ET Fleur®, we offer beautiful and luxurious Mixed Floral arrangements that are sure to bring out feelings of fall and harvest this Thanksgiving. Choose from bold, warm colors, such as orange, yellow, red, or burgundy to highlight the spirit of Thanksgiving this fall.
Christmas Decor Ideas
If you want to make your farmhouse home feel warm and welcoming this Christmas, start by creating a farmhouse-inspired Christmas tree. Instead of using glass ornaments, opt for natural elements and greenery such as eucalyptus garlands, pomegranates, and sprigs of lamb’s ear. Finish off this look with soft twinkle lights, and you have a festive tree fit for a farmhouse.
You can also create a Christmas-inspired farmhouse display in your living room by using a vintage window, a chalkboard, glittery pinecones, and a shadow box, along with a holiday wreath to bring elements of the outdoors into your wintery display.
An arrangement of our luxurious red roses is the perfect addition to your festive farmhouse holiday decor this year. EternityⓇ Roses are real, live roses that can last up to a year or longer when properly maintained.
Final Remarks
Decorating your home with farmhouse decor will make your home feel comforting, inviting, and relaxing for all. Remember to follow our design tips and tricks for creating your farmhouse dream home. Be sure to incorporate wooden elements, vintage items, and neutral colors into your design style.
Your friends and family will fall in love with your country chic farmhouse, and you will feel like you are living the dream. Happy decorating!
Sources:
Why Mason Jars Are The Only Food Storage Container For Me | All Recipes
7 Things No One Tells You About Installing Shiplap | Real Simple