How To Give Your Home A Rustic Look . So you want to make some changes in your home, and you’ve decided that the rustic look is what you like best – that’s a fantastic start; it can be hard to determine precisely what aesthetic to go for when there is so many choices. However, just because you’ve decided what theme your home should have, that doesn’t mean your choices and difficult decisions are over – there’s still a lot to think about.
This can feel like an impossible task – just when you think you’ve decided on how to get started, another idea will come to you. The good news is that you don’t have to worry; keep reading, and you’ll find plenty of ideas about how to give your home a rustic look that will narrow your choices down and still give you the results you want. With that in mind, read on to find out more.
Use Natural Materials
One of the best and most important things you can do when you want to create a rustic aesthetic for your home is to use as many natural materials as you can. Many would say that natural materials are really what rustic design is all about. That’s why you need to incorporate as many natural elements into your home as possible (without going too far and making it look crowded and uncomfortable, of course).
Wood is the perfect material to use as it’s entirely natural and comes in so many different forms for all kinds of different uses. You can have wooden furniture, for example, but you can also have wooden floors or even oak planks on your walls. Perhaps you’ve got some wooden beams in your property that you can make take center stage, or if you like the idea and don’t have them, you can always add them yourself. Wood is warm and versatile, so it’s the ideal choice for a rustic design, especially as there are so many options.
It’s not just wood that will help you, though; stone is another natural material that can work wonders when you want to make your home more rustic. Try using stone for accent walls, fireplace surrounds, or perhaps decorative elements around the home (stone sculptures are a good example). The raw and rugged look of stone does work with a rustic theme, and it will never go out of style.
Use An Earthy Colour Palette
Choosing the right color palette is a crucial part of making your rustic theme work in your home, and the best options for you are going to be earthy tones – as we mentioned above, the natural world is a big part of the rustic aesthetic, so an earthy color palette makes a lot of sense. However, you do need to think carefully about exactly which colors you’ll be using because whatever you choose essentially sets the tone for your overall home. Since earth tones tend to feel warm and inviting, that’s the feeling you want to evoke throughout.
Warm browns are a good place to start when you’re choosing colors for your home’s interior decor, and you want a rustic look. They range from rich chocolate tones to light caramel shades and evoke a feeling of coziness and even stability – ideal for a comfortable home. Deep greens are also good, and they’re similar to forests and other natural elements, and ‘rustic’ reds, the shade of autumn leaves, can make a room feel rich and comforting.
Although these colors (and similar ones) are important, you’ll also need to think of using creams and beiges to help blend them all together. As lovely as the natural colors are, they can also be quite dark, so you’ll need something to bring a bit of light to the room – there’s a fine line between trying to make your home look rustic and making it too dark to enjoy.
Search For Antiques And Vintage Items
When you look around shops to find furniture or decorative items to bring into your home, you might be disappointed – it’s hard to find rustic-looking items in standard stores. There will be things that are designed to be rustic, of course, but they do tend to be expensive, so if your budget is smaller one, it might not be possible to buy them. And then you’ll be left with having to choose more modern furniture that just doesn’t work well with the theme you’re trying to create.
This is why it’s often best to go shopping in vintage shops and antique stores. Here you’ll be able to find some truly unique pieces that are exactly the rustic look you need, and because they’re older, they’ll be a lot more interesting than the mass-produced things you’d otherwise have to use.
Not only will you be sure to find some things that will fit perfectly with your design ideas, but heading to an antique shop or a flea market or similar can be a lot of fun. Searching through the various items until you find the one (or ones, which is more likely to be the case) is a fantastic way to spend some time. You’ll often be able to haggle when it comes to price too, so don’t be shy to ask if there are any discounts available, and always have a budget in mind when you go so you don’t get carried away and accidentally spend too much.
Use Cosy Textures
If you want to create a truly inviting rustic home and atmosphere, don’t forget to include plenty of cozy textures and natural fabrics in your design. These elements won’t just add a lot of comfort to your interior (who doesn’t love snuggling up under a soft blanket, after all?) but will also give your living spaces a feeling of warmth. And, because you’re using natural materials, as we’ve talked about above, you’ll be able to easily stick to the rustic theme you’re trying to create.
Choosing the right textiles and soft materials to use is a crucial part of your overall design, and one thing that always works well is using throws. Make sure they’re made from natural materials like cotton or wool, and they’ll look completely at home draped over your sofa or armchair or perhaps waiting in a pile ready to be used.
Rugs are another excellent addition to your home that can make the entire space feel and look more rustic, and they can be cozy and comfortable too – in fact, they should be, especially if you choose to walk around barefoot. Natural fibers like jute or sisal blend perfectly with the rustic theme, and they’ll bring that small touch of nature into your home. And why not change your window treatments while we’re talking about texture? It might sound strange to suggest that you can use burlap to make curtains (or buy burlap curtains if you prefer!), but it can be a wonderful texture to include in your rustic home, for example. If you’re not so keen on that idea, why not try cotton, linen, or canvas instead? Remember, the overall look of a rustic home is not a perfectly smooth and finished one, so you’ll need to take this into account no matter what material you end up using.
Rustic Lighting Fittings
You’re going to need to light your home – as much as a rustic design might feel as though it only calls for candles, proper lighting is crucial! If you don’t think carefully about this element, you might find you install modern-looking lighting fittings without thinking things through, and these could entirely ruin the rest of the look you’ve worked so hard to put in place. When you get the right lighting in place, however, it can complete the look and make everything work.
Something that can be a great addition to a rustic-themed home is a wrought iron chandelier. These fixtures look elegant and timeless, and if you pick the right design, they’ll work beautifully with the rustic charm you’ve put in place. Of course, there are modern-looking wrought iron chandeliers, and although the choice is always yours, it’s usually best to opt for older-style ones when you want to enhance the rustic theme of your home. These lights are a statement piece, and you’ll need room to hang them, so they’re not going to work in every room or even in every house, but they’re certainly an option to consider.
Wall sconces can be a fantastic alternative when a chandelier is too big or just not the style you’re looking for. These light fittings are attached to the wall, not the ceiling, so smaller rooms can benefit from them as they won’t get in anyone’s way or make the room feel shorter than it is. Don’t assume that you have to use candles in wall sconces; that might have been what was done in the past, but today it’s safer and more effective to buy sconces that take bulbs, not candles. To make these light fittings look right at home with your design, make sure you choose wooden or iron ones for the ultimate rustic look.
