Farmhouse Decor Ideas (Top 5) | Best Modern Decorating Tips

Living in a farmhouse keeps us connected to our past. The sense of history is built into the bones of these old homes. That’s why vintage, country properties continue to increase in popularity even as inventory inevitably decreases.

But, decorating a farmhouse can be a challenge. Here are 5 helpful tips to transform your farmhouse decor ideas while providing motivation to see your project through.

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1. Balance Rustic and Modern Decor for Farmhouse Style

A farmhouse isn’t a museum or time capsule. folks new to farmhouse decorating make a common mistake: striving to attain the perfection of a movie set.

The truth is that, even in the past, these homes were practical, functional and eclectic. The home would see several generations of family pass through, each keeping the heirloom pieces, throwing out the junk and adding “modern” conveniences as they saw fit.

Honoring yourself along with the past is at the heart of modern farmhouse decorating. These tips will help create spaces that are comfortable, practical and sophisticated. Making sure that your decor is functional for your family’s current lifestyle is key.

Strive to create a sense of continuity by keeping antique pieces in use. An open, turn-of -the-century, roll-top, with your laptop sitting on it, highlights the desk’s original purpose. Integrating the old with the new can make much more impact than the same desk closed up in a corner.

Modern accents often enliven the older elements of a home. Don’t shy away from recessed lighting or even stainless-steel appliances in the kitchen. The juxtaposition of sleek, glossy textures with your home’s old bones will make anchor pieces like antique cabinetry or an old stone fireplace really pop.

flower vase tulip farmhouse deco

2. Think Outside the Big Box: Shop Country Boutiques

The attraction of the mega-stores can be overwhelming when you have big decorating ideas on a limited budget. It is often one of the cheapest, most convenient hacks to find home accents in a hurry.

While this is a fine way to flesh out the decor on your dining-room fireplace mantel, your anchor pieces should be unique. The tips here are to slow down, be patient and look off the beaten track.

Over time, you can make a true hobby of this kind of shopping. Ask friends for tips on their favorite country shops or consignment stores. They often source locally, which makes it far more likely that you will find a piece that suites the style of your particular farmhouse.

Target estate sales in your area to find that one-of-a-kind, industrial hutch for the dining room or rustic, console table for the entry lobby. Then, hit the flea market or a yard sale to fill your newly found hutch with vintage crystal or china.

eBay can often be a great place to find niche items that are authentic antiques. Tin-print reproductions of vintage soap ads have become popular decor items in the laundry room.
You can find a huge selection of these retro-tin, advertising signs on eBay. But, if you have a few extra dollars in the budget, you can also purchase the real deal: pre-thirties signs that have been naturally distressed by age. A large vintage sign is a great decor choice that can provide the focal point for a whole room.

3. Avoid Color Palette Mistakes. Vintage Chic Begins with Walls

This is one of the ultimate techniques to support modern farmhouse style. Honor the bones of your home with muted, neutral tones. The palette is solidly rooted in grays, muted greens and earth tones. The idea here is simplicity. The colors available in the heyday of the functioning farmhouse were limited. Less is more when it comes to vintage color schemes.

Think of your walls as a clean slate on which to communicate your vision. In fact, a light slate is the perfect color to act as a backdrop in a bedroom or office space. Bring the outdoors inside by choosing the hues of a spring or autumn field.

Many farmhouse color palettes are available at your local paint store. Be sure to select accent colors from the same palette because paint brands are often professionally combined to match perfectly. It narrows the choices but boosts confidence that you are choosing colors you can live with a long time to come.

4. Feature Theme Materials Throughout the House

Farmhouses usually feature an abundance of one natural material or another, sometimes several. Here are more ideas and tips to honor the bones of your home in a way that is subtle, sophisticated and sure to give your home the mark of professional decoration.

If you have a brick structure, exposing sections of the brick wall in several rooms can act as a grounding force for all your other décor ideas. The color and texture of the brick itself will inspire you to build other decor choices around it, creating a cohesive look.

If you are lucky enough to have a lot of richly stained wood on your floors or trim, accent with light fabric colors and glass to create textural tension. Or, paint old wood furniture to contrast with the natural wood.

If you have a large stone fireplace, extend that feel with a stack-stone backsplash in the kitchen or natural slate in a bathroom shower. Cast or wrought iron pieces also pair beautifully with stone, giving your farmhouse a primitive, solid feel that’s timeless.

Whatever you choose to emphasize, theme materials ground your décor all year round inspiring your ideas from season to season. Whether arranging a colorful wooden bowl of gourds in the fall kitchen, decorating your Christmas tree, or selecting a simple spray of flowers for the coffee table at Easter, your theme materials will help you choose well.

5. Do it Yourself to Make it Yours

A diy project is one of the most powerful tricks in the book to feel right at home. Think big. Go bold. You are making your mark on the house. It’s just like writing your name in fresh concrete. It will probably be there a long time.

Build an arbor over the front walkway. Train Wisteria or grapes onto it. Then, dream about how gorgeous it will be one day.

Build that floor-to-ceiling bookshelf you’ve always wanted. Turn the spare bedroom into the family library.

Take those two French lanterns you found in Marseilles off the basement shelf. Now, install them on either side of the porch, even though you’re worried about the look. If you like them, they are works of art.

Turn the attic into a craft studio.

Then make a stained-glass window for the entrance transom.

Everything is allowed as long as you honor the bones. That is the beauty of an old farmhouse. Whether you plan to stay forever or eventually sell to another family with stars in their eyes, let the house know you care by leaving a legacy for others.

It’s the core of the farmhouse lifestyle.

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