What is Cottage Style Furniture? Beautiful Inspiration For Your Home

Popularly referred to as cottagecore, the cottage look utilizes attractive furniture, comfortable designs, and an aesthetic that is at once rustic and elegant.

Cottage style furniture is often whimsical and romantic, while remaining practical and welcoming. In fact, this look is a kind of adaptation off of the traditional home style that emphasizes functionality and livability despite how outwardly elegant the arrangements may appear.

Home owners love the organic, nature-inspired, and cozy feelings that come with this style of home decorating. From the use of weathered vintage furniture to soft color palettes and elements of nature, it’s no wonder why anyone would want to make this the central theme of their home.

In this guide you will find everything you need to know about cottage furniture and how to achieve the cottagecore look in your home. We will also provide plenty of visual inspiration along the way that may help you determine which pieces of furniture are right for you.

Important Qualities of Cottage Style Furniture

The cottagecore style itself is an ode to a simpler time, one of natural beauty and self-reliance. The movement is decidedly traditional yet possesses an air of magic that makes it easy to create unique home spaces that are incredibly charming yet comfortable as well.

The furniture pieces themselves are often French-style antiques, as these possess the traditional qualities of elegance and sophistication that the cottage style is noted for. While there is an obvious cheeriness and minimalism to the style that people love, most of the furnishings used tend to be vintage, with elegant details and better-quality construction than most modern furniture.

Items such as large farmhouse tables, armchairs with solid wood construction, and sturdy storage pieces such as sideboards and dressers are the norm. You will also see beautiful bedroom furniture featuring floral motifs that are vibrant and romantic.

One notable feature of the cottagecore style is that comfort is one of the most important elements that seems to be baked into the overall design and decides what furniture pieces are used. You definitely want to steer clear of furniture that is overly austere and not designed to offer a comfortable living space. Think of beautifully-designed vintage bergeres that you can sink into, antique beds you can get lost in, and stylish dining room furniture that begs to be used.

You will know you are on the right track when the rooms in your home have a rustic charm to them, and feel naturally livable.

In general, cottage style furniture is high-quality, lightly decorative, timeless, and very often inspired by nature. Think country living but with a romanticized twist. This is what makes the style so popular, as it contains elements that are intrinsically relatable but also ever-so fantastical at the same time.

How to Create the Cottage Look in Your Home?

To actually transform your home into a cottage haven, you need a few important elements to come together.

First, you have to include the right vintage-style furniture pieces into your home. These furnishings are what will set the overall tone and framework for the theme you are going for, and are a crucial part of what will help make your home feel authentic and truly livable.

You also want to consider the various decor pieces you are using. A cottage style home is rarely sparse, as it should contain plenty of rustic elements, callbacks to nature, aesthetic finds, and practical decor items as well. This includes everything from vases and plant arrangements to wicker baskets and attractive wall hangings. This is one home style that allows you great leeway in terms of what you can include in terms of decorations.

Here you also want to be aware of the colors and fabrics you are using within your home. Too much of a certain color tone or material will throw off the look you are going for. Here is some general advice on which direction you want to go in when it comes to cottagecore home elements:

Furniture and decor: rustic, practical, and aesthetically pleasing. Furniture pieces with slight weathering can help create an attractively aged or lived in look, which is an important part of the cottage aesthetic. Also consider the make of the furniture in terms of the embellishments and details.

While the cottage look is decidedly traditional and it’s not uncommon to see elaborate furniture pieces, you do want to lean minimalist with most of your furniture. This will create a balanced atmosphere and won’t bog your design down with unnecessary finery. Keep this in mind for your decor as well, as overly gilt mirrors or incredibly elaborate statuary could detract from the look you are trying to create.

Color Palette: The colors you utilize throughout your home should primarily consist of natural pastels, whites and creams, and gentle rustic colors. Most cottage style homes are light and airy and this sentiment is anchored by the colors being used. Pale greens and pinks, soft yellows and beiges, interspersed with dots of greenery and the unmistakable charm of natural woods.

With the cottage look, you will often find whitewash furniture and more painted pieces in general, but natural wood tones are still present as well. This is most often the case with certain pieces of antique furniture, such as cabinets, bookshelves, and architectural elements.

Fabrics: These materials also take on a clearly nature-inspired tone, as the presence of floral patterns are common. You will also see plenty of off-whites, beiges, and other pastel prints, with subtle lace embroidery. Soft checkered patterns and stripes are another common motif. In most cases, the color tones present in the fabrics of pillows, linen, and slipcovers will mirror the furniture pieces that are present, in order to create a coherent and visually pleasing look.

Arrangements: As mentioned above, the cottage style is not cluttered or disorganized, nor is it completely minimalist and stale.

You will want to strike a balance between lived-in and messy. The floorplans of homes in this style are typically rather open, to inspire feelings of countryside villas and rustic estates. Spaces are comfortable, with an abundance of attractive throw pillows, blankets, plush seating options, and welcoming decor that inspires feelings of warmth, creativity, and calm.

When creating a certain theme for your home, you want to be aware of how certain elements compliment one another and reinforce what you are trying to create.

The vintage cottage style is practical, cozy, cheery, and warm. When decorating each space, think of how you can utilize the light that is available to you, as well as bring elements of nature into your home. Floral wreaths, wrought iron, wildflowers, artistic patterns, and quality antique furniture can come together to create a look that is playful and romantic yet down to earth.

Using The Right Vintage Furniture Pieces

In any interior design project, the furniture you utilize is going to in large part determine the overall effect you are able to create. When it comes to the cottage look, you certainly want to invest in high-quality antique furniture pieces that possess the timeless qualities that you would like to impart on your home.

For instance, to create a functional and attractive cottagecore living room, you will want to begin with a beautiful vintage-style sofa with the proper color tone that suits the aesthetic you are going for. One point worth noting about our gorgeous sofas and loveseats is that they have interchangeable slipcovers that can be mixed and matched depending on the model. This is perfect for changing up the overall look of a certain room seasonally, or simply giving you more room to experiment as you acquire different decor pieces.

Another essential aspect of creating a cozy cottagecore home is having a beautiful dining room furniture set. The cottage lifestyle or movement is a callback to a more traditional age when the kitchen or dining room table was often the heart of the home. Families would gather around and quality time would be spent with reflection, conversation, and good food. This is the kind of mood you want to create with the furniture pieces you intend on adding into your home. The table should be sturdy and attractive. A beautiful farmhouse trestle table would fit quite nicely in such a setting.

You can’t ignore the other parts of your home, either. To create a cozy home environment that fully meets your needs, you will want to carefully select your vintage bedroom furniture with the same degree of care. We have a variety of beautiful antique beds, stylish dressers, and romantically designed nightstands that can help you create the look you are going for.

As always, your bedroom should not only be comfortable and aesthetically vibrant, but fully functional as well. Consider adding a sitting area or vanity space if you require one, and if you have plenty of room to work with. Be mindful of the space you have between furniture pieces and use plenty of cottage decor to enhance the atmosphere.

For instance, beautiful antique mirrors and chandeliers work exceptionally well when it comes to creating a traditionally-inspired bedroom. Also keep in mind how important lighting is to the look and feel of a particular space. The cottage style tends to be bright and cheerful, rather than dull, moody, or dour. In that sense, you want to take care to include as much natural light as possible, and when it’s not available, utilize mirrors and elegant lighting options to better balance the space.

There are other cottage style furniture pieces that we feature in our collection that you may want to consider if you are in the process of putting together a beautiful farmhouse-style or cottage home. For instance, we have a variety of beautiful cabinets, bookshelves, desks, and benches that can help give spaces an extra bit of functionality and beauty. We also carry plenty of architectural accents, including statuary and shutters that can give your home a special sense of country style.

In general, you want to make sure you are using furniture that is first and foremost, designed with quality in mind. The quality of your furniture pieces will be reflected in the overall atmosphere of your home, so you want to be meticulous about which pieces to include. Each piece should be crafted with the best materials, by skilled craftsmen that know how to infuse their work with that sense of refinement and style that is standard in vintage French furniture.

Mastering the Cottagecore Aesthetic With the Perfect Decor

To put the finishing touches on your cottagecore home and help everything come together the way you want it, it’s worth investing in high-quality decor as well. The additional elements that you add into a space can be what completes it.

That being said, what are some of the most common and important kinds of cottage decor worth including in your home?

●Vases, antique pottery, bowels, and similar items that can be used to house floral arrangements.

●Anything pleasantly architectural that compliments the rest of your furniture and that also goes along with the general style you have established for your home.

●Wicker objects are not only delightfully aesthetic, they are functional as well. Consider adding wicker accents around your home to give it more of a rustic vibe.

●Don’t neglect your garden and outdoor spaces. A beautiful cottage home should have a well-cultivated garden or space around it that reflects the same traditional values and atmosphere as you are trying to create on the inside. If you don’t have space for a garden, make generous use of potted plants.

●Linen can be used in a variety of attractive ways as a pure aesthetic feature. Once you find a color tone and a pattern that suits a particular room, feel free to drape a blanket or piece of linen over the arm of a sofa, over the backs of chairs, or folded on a bench or table. Such small decorative elements can do a lot for the beauty of a particular room.

By now you are likely all set and ready to start transforming your home in the cottage style. In order to do so though, you should take plenty of time to browse through our selection of vintage furniture here in our store, as you are sure to find a variety of antique treasures that can help you create the perfect look.