Cottage Style Decorating
The Key to Comfortable Cottage Style Decorating
We live in a little cottage, which I have named the Blue Cottage, so of course I adore the cottage style of decorating a home.
It’s so inviting and comfortable, not fussy, and full of items that are well-loved and have a story to tell.
Nothing has to match and really anything goes — you can add vintage with beachy cottage decor, English cottage with country cottage decor.
In our Blue Cottage, I’m combining a little bit of country, farmhouse, and vintage cottage furniture and decor with furniture that have more modern lines from HomeGoods, Kohl’s, and Target.
Check out our living room and cottage kitchen.
If you want to achieve comfortable cottage style decorating in your home or even just one of your rooms, look for these items:
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- furniture with weathered, chippy, or rustic finishes, like this farmhouse table, rustic metal chairs, side table, and bench
- a farmhouse sink in the kitchen screams cottage and farmhouse style
I insisted on a farmhouse sink in our Blue Cottage kitchen. I absolutely love it!
This is my favorite sink: it gives you two looks to choose from!
- beadboard or shiplap along the walls or on the back of furniture pieces
A super easy way to add the shiplap look to walls and furniture pieces is to buy shiplap wallpaper that’s removable!
I wrote a whole post about shiplap paneling decor you might enjoy — you can find it here.
- wicker furniture and a lot of baskets
I have these white baskets myself and use them on our rolling side table in the kitchen:
- romantic lace or floral or plaid fabrics
I want these pillow cases! So pretty.
- vintage or romantic quilts
- white walls and decor in white, with accents of pastels, blue, and/or brown
- sheer or lacey window coverings
I use tension rods and these inexpensive tea towels as window coverings in our living room. I added them just to the bottom part of the windows, which gives us privacy but lets in a lot of light.
Here are some more examples of comfortable cottage style decorating I absolutely love:
Have you added some cottage style decor to your home? How would you describe your style?
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Jessica says
I love the Blue kitchen cabinets, do you know what colour it is?
Dagmar Bleasdale says
No, sorry, Jessica.
Katelynn|hampersandhiccups.com says
Some great ideas here. thanks for sharing!
Totally terrific tuesday
Katelynn, hampersandhiccups.com
KAtie says
Country cottage style is so cute and cozy. I’m slowly trying to figure out a style in my house. Right now, it’s a mix of anything that my husband and I were given when we got married.
Tracie says
Wonderful photos! I love the looks you show. i live in a one bedroom apartment with my dog, and I wanted my home to have a cozy factor in imagining it is a small house instead! I do not have a million dollar budget for decorating, and i love thrift stores for amazing finds. I found a $46 oversized armchair (tax included) with a pattern I wasn’t crazy about but with a great quality and style. I bought a nice slipcover for it, and that hides the less attractive behind it. The pattern under also had a couple small spots and minor wear issues. I knew it was a good chair, and I found out later it was worth several hundred and was originally ordered through wayfair. I got a slipcover through them once I figured out where the chair had come from, since I figured they would make a slipcover that fit well. I paid $63 for the slipcover, and my armchair looks great!
I also found a $33 (including tax) coffee table worth $600 at a thrift store. It had a sticky hinge on one leaf, and honestly I think a store donated it for that reason. I just pulled it hard, and forced it, and it fixed it. :) I found a solid wood farmhouse style dining table for $100 (including tax) at a thrift store, too. It looks like a Restoration Hardware table I saw, but I think someone made it themselves and donated it.
My loveseat was free to me from friends, and I slipcovered it with a slipcover from target and love it. I didn’t care for the pattern under it. I do have a small armchair I got at World Market, but that is the only non thrift store item I bought. I also have a $210 (including tax) bookcase in perfect condition that was originally from Pottery Barn and had been $898 at Pottery Barn. the tag for Pottery Barn was still attached. It is a ladder style bookcase.
I think thrift stores are my secret. :) My friends gave me my loveseat free, so that was not a purchase and was just a lucky break and blessing. :) I have found pretty dishes and glasses at the thrift stores, and I go with white to be sure things coordinate in a simple way. You can find unique decor items. I found a handmade folk art style wooden clock; it doesn’t work as a clock because of the way the hands are, but it was beautifully handmade, and I display it like art. It was 29 cents, and it is gorgeous in a fun way.
I use nice looking thrift store baskets, which are always cheaper but great for storage. I also have found antique items, like a beautiful carnival glass fruit bowl that is perfect to hold keys and things when I come home from work.
i make my own paintings and drawings of landscapes, nature, and animals. I can’t sew, but my friend turned four pretty napkins into two pillows that I love. I have that in mind with other napkins I have come across at thrift stores, as pretty as the work she did turned out.
cottage can be very casually pretty, and that is great for the budget.
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Tracie, I love your thriftiness and your home sounds lovely! Just my kind of home.
Carol says
Country cottage is so warm and inviting to me. Love the ideas you have shared. Thank you.
Eula Helpling says
You have inspired me to dig out all my husband’s grandmother’s things from storage and redecorate! A work in progress finally/
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Wonderful! I’m thrilled I inspired you!
Sandra | Sandra's Easy Cooking says
Ah! I am in love with your ideas… Lovely, just lovely!
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Thank you, Sandra!
Sue@CountryDesignHome says
Every one of these photos are just so charming! Cottage style is simply so warm and inviting and not so difficult to achieve on a budget.
Bekah Walsh says
Cottage style furnishings are my favorite! These pics just make me happy and relaxed!
Dagmar Bleasdale says
Hi Bekah, that’s how I feel as well!