Complimentary Design Services: Spence and Lance
Rustic Home Design Creates a Cozy Retreat
Whether you live in a jam-packed city or a cabin in the woods, rustic home design lends an air of welcoming relaxation to your space. This interior design approach takes its cues from nature, especially the more rugged elements. Look for hearty wood details, earth-inspired tones, and a total lack of pretension that puts everyone at ease.
Today's rustic home design is lighter in feel than the look of a few years ago. This is great news for anyone who might have a smaller space. There's no need to worry about the look being too heavy or dark.
If you're unsure of where to begin, complimentary design services take the guesswork out of getting it right. A design pro can visit your home and prep tailored recommendations for you, so you have a clear picture of your home design, before and after, before you get started.
Work With Your Natural Setting
A rustic home design is easiest when your home is surrounded by nature. If you're fortunate to live by a lake, a stand of pines or a mountain range, you can find home decor inspiration just by looking outside. The cool whites of snowy fields or the warm twinkle of stars overhead help you develop your neutral base. Deep greens and bark-inspired reds and browns anchor color schemes or serve as accent colors. Interior wood furnishings that match the outdoors are a simple choice.
Even in urban or suburban neighborhoods, you can grab cues from your setting. Ideas for home remodeling are everywhere:
• What is your favorite natural setting? This is the perfect place to start if you're in a concrete jungle.
• Do you have floral trees anywhere nearby? Draw upon their colors or textures.
• Do leaves change where you live? Embrace transitional tones and warming materials.
• What is your closest body of water? Blue and even gray are earth tones, too.
• When did you last look at the sky? Pick cloud-inspired softness or sunshine-bright details.
Eco-Friendly Furnishings
It only makes sense that a nature-lover would want their home to be eco-friendly, too. Fortunately, many of the pieces that anchor a rustic home design are made of sustainable materials.
Other eco-friendly home ideas with a rustic bent include:
• Furniture made with reclaimed materials or wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council
• Bedding, bath towels, and rugs made from organic cotton, linen or other natural materials
• Glassware, barware, dishes, pitchers or other serving pieces made from recycled glass
These sustainably sourced or recycled pieces are just as high-quality as any other furnishing you'd select. Sometimes they're even greater quality, because the materials receive unique attention and care.
Play with Rustic Color
Color is the quickest way to make a big impact. The outcome of your home design before and after usually rests on the colors you choose – for furnishings or rugs and window treatments, but mostly, on the walls.
Picking paint can be one of the most fun parts. Think about the mood you want to set in your rustic home. Some people love a homey, traditional feel. Others know rustic contemporary is their speed. You want to feel a sense of peace when you enter your rooms. That mood starts with how to choose wall colors.
You can start by choosing a flowing sequence of soft, neutral hues and let the subtle changes carry you from room to room. This is a simple way to create a whole-house effect that gives you space to focus on furniture, rugs, and windows. If you love collecting artwork, lighter walls often help your art stand out, too.
If you love bold colors, choose a signature shade and decide which room you'll showcase it in. Rustic hues are often big colors when you get them onto an entire wall, so if you're worried about closing in your space with dark tones, pick an accent wall to get the look without the risk. Clay red, forest green, tans and ochres, or even deep brown colors can be an incredible way to warm your home. If you like a contemporary feel, play with swaths or accents of blue, teal, yellow and orange. After all, these colors are found in the woods and mountains, too.
Pulling The Look Together
Once you've selected wall colors and furnishings, it's time to tie the room together with curtains or blinds. Choose the right window treatments for your rustic home by considering how your windows function.
In some homes, windows frame a gorgeous view. If this is your home, try wooden blinds with light, gauzy curtains to soften the look. They'll be easy to pull to the side or raise to look outdoors, but still help bridge the styles indoors and outside. In other homes, windows are a simple way to get a little fresh air, but they don't look out at much. In this instance, you can have fun with heavier drapes. Make your own view with damask or patterned curtains. If you need treatments to help with temperature or regulate heating and cooling bills, try shades made just for the purpose and decorate around them with rods, finials and valances.
Your rustic home is a reflection of a beloved style that's been popular for decades, but it's also about you and who you are and where you choose to live. Enjoy the touches that make it your own.