In the past decade, there’s no style that’s captured the collective imagination like farmhouse style. Rustic finishes, muted hues, and an overall aura of tumbledown elegance make the style feel accessible as well as escapist. If you’re enchanted by the idea of creating your own farmhouse-style room or home, we’ve assembled the bucolic building blocks you’ll need to pull off the look. From storied antiques to aesthetic techniques that feel time-honed, these are our foundational farmhouse favorites.
Historic Windsor Chairs
Nothing evokes the farmhouse spirit like a Windsor chair. Even stationed next to the most non-descript sofa or dining table, a Windsor chair will instantly make your room skew more farmhouse-centric. If you’re decorating a farmhouse kitchen or dining room, a Windsor chair can be an excellent jumping-off point. Resurrect the form anywhere you’re looking to conjure architectural intrigue—and don’t be dissuaded from stationing one solo. Grounded by a simple round rug, one can assume a striking presence.
Rustic Farm Tables
Part of what draws people to the farmhouse style is its casual aura. Nothing better personifies this than the farm table. Generous proportions and a rustic finish make a farm table the kind of casual gathering spot that can handle big dinners just as well as weekend craft sessions. If a farm table feels too grand for your space, consider a drop-leaf table. A drop-leaf table possesses the same rustic merits as a farm table but can be pushed against a wall to free up floor space.
Artful Open Shelving
When you consider farmhouse style’s easy-living ethos, it makes sense that cabinets are often eschewed in favor of open shelving. Not only does open shelving make a farmhouse kitchen feel more relaxed, it allows for utilitarian tools to be displayed as art. Treat open shelving as an opportunity to curate a beautiful vignette, and give new life to old objects. Work in items like serving bowls, mortars and pestles, copper pans, or even beautiful oil or vinegar bottles.
Casual Flat-Weaves
In general, a newly-made wool rug will feel too formal in a farmhouse interior. Rather than a wool pile rug, opt for a flat-weave or rag rug. These rugs will provide a bit of softness underfoot, without alienating a farmhouse’s function-first proclivity. Given farmhouse style’s pulled-back palette, a farmhouse rag rug is also an excellent place to have a little fun with color. Look for rugs in soft hues like sage, rose, or slate blue to energize your space.
Apothecary Furniture
Channel a Mayberry mood that feels perfectly in tune with the farmhouse aesthetic with apothecary pieces. Whether it be an old card catalog or a bank of open shelving outfitted with orderly glass jars, apothecary pieces can recall an old country pharmacy. Not all apothecary pieces have to be salvaged, either. Apothecary elements can be incorporated into new millwork if you’re building from scratch. Alternatively, a simple china cabinet can also be filled with jars or boxes to simulate the look.
Bold Beadboard
When it comes to procuring farmhouse vibes, perhaps no other element has the transformative powers of beadboard. The trick to making beadboard feel fresh and farmhouse-esque and not like it belongs in a subterranean 1970s den? Paint. Whether coated in white, sky blue, or an even more daring shade like herbally green, painted beadboard channels a cheery mood that feels perfectly apropos in farmhouse interiors.
Stately Iron Bed
If it seems like farmhouse kitchens get the lion’s share of the attention, it’s because they do. Farmhouse bedrooms can be just as enchanting, however, and an iron bed is an excellent stylistic springboard. At its core an iron bed is quaint, so don’t tread too far from that when choosing bed linens. A layering of simple quilts can confer a farmhouse vibe, but take care to keep the entire ensemble looking interesting. Color and texture, even if subtle, can really bring an iron bed to life.
Bountiful Baskets
Baskets are a boon in any interior, but they feel exceptionally on-the-button in a farmhouse interior. In a traditional farm setting, bumper crops of tomatoes and squash call for wide-mouthed collecting baskets. In urban farmhouse interpretations, baskets can recall those more pastoral endeavors—even when your produce comes from the supermarket. Consider working in a myriad of baskets to transform everyday tasks like collecting mail and laundry into daydreamy pleasantries.
Vintage Paintings
When you don’t have picture windows that look out over bucolic hinterlands, old landscape paintings can be an effective sub. Pepper in paintings wherever you feel you need a dose of Old World character. If you’re not a landscape fan, portraits, or even abstracts, can work just as well as landscapes. The key to keeping paintings farmhouse-appropriate is framing. Nix modern black and chrome frames. Crumbly gilded frames, old wood molding frames, or even bare canvases feel like natural fits with the farmhouse rubric.
Utilitarian Hardware
In keeping with the theme of a traditional farmhouse, utilitarian decor is always welcome. Try a proliferation of hooks in an entry or kitchen to create unique wall decor. If the look feels too one-dimensional for your tastes, try layering them atop beadboard or wainscotting. Another option is to consider adding peg hooks under open shelving. Pegs outfitted with items like patinaed pans or antique cooking utensils truly embody the farmhouse way of life.
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Lead image design by KitchenLab Interiors / Photo by Michael Alan Kaskel
