Farmhouse interior design is the style-of-choice for those who want a homely and timeless look. The farmhouse style infuses warmth, simplicity, and a rustic charm to your home. After spending weeks working on farmhouse-inspired client projects, I've gathered all my best insights, practical tips, and designer secrets to help you create that coveted farmhouse feel. From modern farmhouse living room to traditional farmhouse kitchen, let us introduce you to hallmark characteristics and finer details of this much-loved interior design style.
Farmhouse interior design is a style that draws inspiration from traditional farmhouses and pastoral homes, often incorporating elements like weathered wood furniture, linen upholstery, and vintage accents that evoke feelings of nostalgia and cozy comfort.
Enhanced architectural features like wood ceiling beams, undertreated surfaces, reclaimed materials, and ample use of antique-inspired pieces are the salient features of farmhouse interior design.
Farmhouse furniture tends to be rustic in nature, made from reclaimed wood, stone, distressed metal, and fabrics that give off a lived-in feel. Rooted in spacious country aesthetics, large pedestal and trestle base tables are very common. Windsor dining chairs, slipcover linen sofas, and whitewashed wicker chairs are examples of popular farmhouse seating options. When picking colors for your farmhouse furniture, stick to light neutrals like light gray, off-white, and beige.
As noted by the designer Nina Hendrick, "farmhouse & cottage style is a classic, timeless style that is rooted in old world charm. This style is characterized by its cozy, homey atmosphere that is created with rustic elements such as distressed wood, chippy paint, worn fabrics, and natural materials."
While farmhouse interior design is itself a well-defined style, there are still a few notable variations informed by other interior design styles. The others types of farmhouse style design are modern farmhouse, French farmhouse, and industrial farmhouse. Here's some info on each of them:
The most popular among all farmhouse styles is the modern farmhouse style. Modern farmhouse living rooms depict a beautiful blend of rustic appeal with contemporary glamor. The juxtaposition of bold, modern architectural and furniture elements mixed with the raw textures of rustic pieces provide a balanced look that is simultaneously cozy and clean.
For example, contemporary velvet couches in beige paired with rustic wooden accent tables form the perfect base for modern farmhouse living room furniture. Architectural features like black warehouse-style window frames, whitewashed furniture, wood benches, jute flatwoven area rugs, and sleek lighting add a contemporary yet backwoods aura. Hang a large sliding barn door to room entrances to complete your modern farmhouse look.
The mere term French creates the image of elegance and tastefulness. The French farmhouse style is a blend of traditional rustic elements with refined, couture designs inspired by French provincial aesthetics. The favored color palette of a French farmhouse style is soft whites enhanced by natural wood and beige tones. Compared to modern farmhouse style, french farmhouse is a bit lighter in colors.
French farmhouse dining furniture typically feature a grand wooden pedestal dining tables complemented with tufted upholstered dining chairs with curved legs. Tufted beds and a light-toned Oriental rug are common trademarks of a restful French farmhouse decor. To add some color, add some lavender and green plants in glass vases for an authentic French country aesthetic.
Industrial farmhouse style is where rustic charm meets the urban edge. Exposed red bricks, chesterfield couches, and a prominent display of metal beams and frames are the primary features of the industrial farmhouse style. It is the most rugged, bold, and colorful of the farmhouse interior design styles.
For farmhouse bedroom furniture in this style, consider a steel frame canopy bed complemented by boxy metal base nightstand with a wooden top. Industrial farmhouse style color palette relishes black and warm browns. A lavish play of leather, such as leather ottoman tables, woven dining chairs, and leather bar stools highlighted by prominent wrought-iron lighting, are the much-loved features of industrial farmhouse interior design.
Although they share a similar foundation, traditional and modern farmhouse styles have distinct differences.
Traditional farmhouse interior design often features more rustic and live-edge furniture pieces, while modern farmhouse style uses more angled geometric shapes and polished finishes. In terms of color, modern farmhouse uses more blacks and grays, as well as deeper browns than traditional farmhouse.
A lot of this has to do with material selection. Modern farmhouse interior design tends to use more straight, metal bars and frames in both its furniture and structural accents -- these tend to be matte black. Moreover, unlike traditional farmhouse décor which almost always use slipcover white couches or beige fabric sofas, modern farmhouse can use leather sofas which tend to be a darker, more saturated brown tone.
Compared to farmhouse style, cottagecore interiors are more colorful, whimsical, and romantic.
Inspired by a countryside fairytale lifestyle, the cottage core style plays with soft pastel tones like light blues, pinks, and greens with vintage handmade decor. Unlike farmhouse style, cottage core embraces a maximalist design approach with a cluttered array of antique items. Décor-wise, cottagecore is much more into floral patterns, with wallpapers, vases, and curtains often including them.
The farmhouse interior design stresses more practical and functional spaces with open-plan layouts and durable materials. A neutral color palette with whites, grays, blacks, and warm earthy tones with exuberant natural wood hues is the key color theme of the farmhouse style. In short, farmhouse decor tends towards a minimalist approach with uncluttered aesthetics.
Whether you fantasize about a traditional farmhouse look or a modern farmhouse style, there are various ways to turn your dream into a reality. Let us introduce you to many effective yet simple design techniques to turn your home into a farmhouse-style sanctuary.
For both traditional and modern farmhouse styles, a neutral color palette dominates with white, beige, soft grays, black, and warm, earthy browns. Add character with exposed bricks, stone walls, and exposed wood ceiling beams.
Pro Tip: When selecting farmhouse furniture, choose chairs and couches in soft, neutral shades like beige and light gray, and infuse deeper earthy tones using rustic wood coffee tables and dining tables. Splash tiny bits of more vibrant colors with rugs.
Traditional farmhouses featured practical, open layouts where families could gather and socialize. This openness remains central to farmhouse design today.
Since farmhouse style is inspired by rural and pastoral life where space is aplenty, it makes sense that open floor plans are an important characteristic. If you're renovating, consider removing non-structural walls to create more flow between kitchen, dining, and living areas.
Pro Tip: Kitchen islands are an essential part of open-plan kitchen space. Arrange a bunch of bar stools and an array of metal pendant lights to complete the look of your farmhouse-style kitchen.
Use the built-in architectural and structural features of your home, such as weight-bearing beams on the ceiling, to your advantage to boost the rustic farmhouse charm in your home. Original farmhouses featured exposed beams out of necessity, but today we incorporate them mostly for visual interest.
If your house has covered the ceiling beams, you can still install reclaimed timber beams from architectural salvage yards or use hollow beam wraps that give the appearance of solid wood (these are surprisingly easy to install).
Pro Tip: Wood ceiling beams instantly inject a ton of wood and brown into your interior design. This allows you to balance it out with other materials and colors around the house. For example, you can consider a rattan nightstand or concrete coffee table.
One of the signature trademarks of the farmhouse style is the shiplap walls. Shiplap is the style of wall siding, distinguished by long wooden planks, that can be mounted horizontally or vertically with a slight gap in between. In traditional farmhouse style, the wooden planks are painted white, but you can paint them in any color for a modern farmhouse twist. From walls, shiplap can be extended to the ceiling to escalate the cozy country vibes.
As quoted by the home stylist Emma Courtney, "If you're searching for a way to spruce up your home with charm and personality, vertical shiplap walls might be an ideal solution!" She also suggests that "horizontal shiplap tends to lean more toward farmhouse style."
Pro Tip: The wooden planks of shiplap walls have a tendency to make your interior design feel too rigid. To soften the feel of your space, opt for overstuffed couches with stacks of extra fluffy throw pillows like this one.
Another notable feature of farmhouse interior design is a fireplace. Almost every variation of farmhouse style, from traditional to modern and industrial to French, can be upgraded with a fireplace as the centerpiece. Whether you have an original brick hearth or a modern electric installation, try to design and decorate around it. When lit, the fire from the fireplace add new dimenions of color, lighting, and sense of movement to the rest of your décor.
Pro Tip: Above and around your designer fireplace are the ideal spots to show off your tastefully picked decorations. Hang an aged gold wall mirror above the fireplace or arrange a cluster of votive holders on the mantlepiece for a posh yet rustic impression.
Farmhouse style is an inherently layered aesthetic that represents functional spaces with cozy, rustic ambiance. Thoughtfully chosen rugs help to further create this effect. Layers of plush area rugs are the classic way to add warmth and character to your farmhouse-style home. Unless you really know what you're doing, be careful not to overdo it with overly rich patterns and vibrant colors.
Pro Tip: Set the foundation with a large area rug in a neutral color and flat weave design and top it off with another smaller rug preferably in a warm color and busier pattern. You can always mix and match various shapes of rugs to create your own artistic space.
Proper lighting is the key to establishing any design theme, and farmhouse interior design is no exception. However, the farmhouse style has a very distinct taste when it comes to lighting fixtures.
Choose the lighting fixtures to highlight your specific type of farmhouse style. In an industrial farmhouse-style home, a vintage rope and metal chandelier will work best, and in a romantic French farmhouse style, a gold pendant light will do wonders.
For a traditional farmhouse style, opt for a natural wood floor lamp, while for modern farmhouse aesthetics, add a minimalist matte black arc standing lamp.
Pro Tip: Vintage lighting doesn't just mean electrical fixtures. Consider making thick candle lighting part of your farmhouse décor. Use multiple candles and choose candleholders with sculpted detailing for a vintage look to match.
Due to its timeless appeal and versatile attributes, the farmhouse style remains the much-loved interior design style. Whether it's new construction or you wish to infuse farmhouse styling into your existing home, this style can effortlessly blend into any modern space while bringing rustic charms and vice versa.
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Learn how to create a rustic and welcoming space with the timeless charm of farmhouse interior design. Learn the key characteristics, popular farmhouse style variations, furniture selection, proper color palette, and other farmhouse decorating tips.
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