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Interior Design: Choosing a Style For Your Cottage Home

Sunlit wall with various hanging items including plants, a broom, and straw hats, casting long shadows.

When furnishing a new cottage home or current living space, it is important to take your time and find the interior design style that is right for you. Do you envision something with statement pieces, art and color that convey your personality? Do you want your home to be a relaxing oasis, with elements intended to promote comfort and simplicity?

Simple cottage home design.

Consider your personal preferences, lifestyle, and budget. If you don’t have a specific style in mind, imagine the ambiance you want to create. There are lots of home décor trends out there right now! The best thing you can do is research them all and consider the layout of your home. Don’t be afraid to mix and match different trends to find your own personal style that is unique to you. Let’s break down some of today’s popular décor styles!

Coastal As Your Cottage Style

Coastal style is a decor theme that evokes a relaxed and breezy seaside atmosphere. It often combines natural textures like rattan or linen with light wooden elements typically found in furniture. Coastal style uses a color palette inspired by the ocean with hues of green, beige and deep blues. The furnishings and accessories are typically casual and create an inviting and comfortable setting. Whether you live near the coast or just love the beach, coastal style is the perfect choice for those who want a relaxing and airy space. Combining these textures, colors, elements and materials, you’ll find yourself with a home that feels like you’re always on vacation.

Bohemian is a type of interior design that embraces a free-spirited style.

Going ”Boho” For Your Cottage Interior Design

Bohemian, or, “Boho,” embraces a free-spirited style, mixing different patterns, colors and textures to really show one’s personality. Some key elements of bohemian style are natural materials like rattan and jute, colorful items like blankets and mismatched pillows, and plants. Big leafy green plants add life to the space. One way to incorporate this eclectic style into your home is to set an intention to look for items as you travel to new places. Visit markets, vintage shops and even consignment stores to find unique pieces for your space that you would not find anywhere else. A bohemian home is full of color, personality and warmth. This is the style that most expresses creativity and individuality.

Embrace Simplicity: The Minimalism

Minimalism embraces simplicity and functionality. It is a popular home decor trend that uses very neutral colors, with very little decoration that might be found “unnecessary.” This style promotes balance, calmness and freedom from life’s distractions. It is a great way to set an ambiance in your home that encourages mental clarity. The minimalist color palette is typically comprised of black, gray, white and a pop of color to add a little excitement. Functional furniture is an important part of this design style, using items with hidden storage to ensure there is little to no clutter found within the home.

Farmhouse interior design is inspired by the simplicity of country living.

The Trendy Farmhouse as Your Interior Design Style

This decor style has become very popular within the last decade. It combines vintage and industrial items to create the modern-day farmhouse, inspired by the simplicity of country living. The colors used in farmhouse style are typically pretty neutral, with white, beige and gray as the stars of the show. For decor, you will typically find repurposed items like mason jars, metal or old signs. Farmhouse style is supposed to elicit a feeling of nostalgia for simple living.

Discover The Shabby Chic

Shabby Chic blends vintage and antique styles with a romantic vibe. The furniture is typically distressed and worn, like you would find in an antique shop. (This is not a style you will be shopping much for at Target or Homegoods!) You might use floral prints and lace textures, with a color palette filled with pastels. This style embraces feminine characteristics, creating a space that feels comfortable and well-loved. Some of the perfect touches are fresh flowers in a makeshift vase, like a pitcher or teapot, as well as antique mirrors that you can repaint and hang on the wall.

Mediterranean style uses earthy tones and a mixture of elements.

Learn To Embrace The Mediterranean

Mediterranean style is a trend that draws from the homes in regions of the Mediterranean Sea, like Greece, Morocco, Spain and Italy. It uses earthy tones and a mixture of elements like stone, wood and terra cotta, paired with a warm color palette of blues or yellows. You might find some unique decorative objects as accessories in a Mediterranean style home, like wall tiles, lanterns or pottery. This interior design style is very historical, usually with a touch of elegance found in textiles like silk or velvet.

Hopefully these ideas helped inspire you on your decor journey for your new home!

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