Cottage and farmhouse decor is comfortable decor. In this post I’m showing you all the items you can add to your home to achieve cozy 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 decorating style.
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.
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If you want to achieve comfortable cottage style decorating in your home or even just one of your rooms, look for these items:
You can always find all my favorite farmhouse and cottage decor in my Amazon shop!
- furniture with weathered, chippy, or rustic finishes, like this farmhouse table, rustic metal chairs, side table, and bench
Isn’t this table pretty? I love the drawers.
I can’t believe how inexpensive a set of these 4 rustic chairs is!
This rolling little rustic shelf comes in handy in several rooms. I have a similar one in our kitchen for extra storage. I added two baskets to it to hold some of our snacks.
- 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 fireclay farmhouse sink. That price is unbelievable! It was so affordable compared to so many other farmhouse sinks I looked at, and fireclay is very durable. How cool is it that you can choose from two styles!
Here is another tip: when you buy a farmhouse sink, make sure shipping is free – they are VERY heavy!
- beadboard or shiplap along the walls or on the back of furniture pieces
You can obviously install real shiplap.
The next option is to use peel and stick wood panels for a similar look:
If you want a more inexpensive solution: use shiplap wallpaper on a wall or on the inside or the side of furniture pieces:
I wrote a whole post about shiplap paneling decor you might enjoy — you can find it here.
- wicker furniture and a lot of baskets
Okay, this set is ridiculously inexpensive — and it can be used outside or inside:
I have these white baskets myself and use them on the rolling side table I mentioned above:
- romantic 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
I still don’t have one of these nifty cup organizer trees yet and have my eyes on this one!
These shabby chic/vintage storage tins are adorable. Store items like tea, coffee, and sugar in style!
- sheer or lace window coverings
These natural linen curtains bring that cottage/farmhouse feeling to your home.
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?
You can always find all my favorite farmhouse and cottage decor in my Amazon shop!
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Lisa says
Lovely, warm, and inviting cottage! I love the farmhouse sink! can you share with us where you got it from?
Dagmar Bleasdale says
I found it on Amazon. Make sure you get free shipping – these farmhouse sinks are very heavy.
Jessica says
I love the Blue kitchen cabinets, do you know what colour it is?
Dagmar Bleasdale says
No, sorry, Jessica.
Wendy says
It almost looks like Topsail from Sherwin Williams…
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!
[email protected] 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!