Cottagecore Decor: Countryside Chic Home Ideas ~ Fresh Design Blog

We’re pleased to see that one of the hot design trends for 2020 is cottagecore decor. To be honest, this one has never really gone away – it ebbs and flows a little, but it’s always a classic look. This time around it’s become particularly popular with a younger age group too and has been trending on TikTok – some say this may be due to the lockdown and the desire for a simpler, country-style aesthetic.

Either way, you can forget 1980s-style yellow stripped pine and dried flowers – modern cottagecore decor has clean lines, pretty florals, neutral colours and a hint of Provencal farmhouse about it. Here’s how to achieve the cottagecore decor look in your home.

Cottagecore Decor Colours

Think shades of off-white, beige, cream and grey with some subtle pops of floral colours. The idea is to create a neutral, harmonious background with an atmosphere of relaxation. You can incorporate colour in crockery, table linen, wallpaper or soft furnishings, but they should blend rather than shout. Think soft yellow, denim-y blues and lilac-y purples.

Set of three striped storage baskets, Garden Trading

These rustic baskets are ideal for keeping bits and pieces out of sight – position them by a back door to hold gloves, hats and scarves or use to hold vegetables or table linen in a kitchen. £60 for the set, available from Garden Trading.

Meadow Garden tea towel, Lynn Forder Designs

Beautiful meadow garden design tea towel by Lynn Forder Designs — Cotton tea towel by Lynn Forder Designs

Do the drying up and accessorize your kitchen in cottagecore decor style, with this 100% cotton tea towel, by Lynn Forder Designs. £12.

Adam Lippes x OKA Roseraie China

Pretty cottagecore style bone china crockery from OKA — Rosearie China range by Adam Lippes x OKA

Inspired by antique famille rose porcelain, fashionable in Europe during the Late Baroque period, the Roseraie china range features a menagerie of colourful flora and fauna on bone china and would make a nice addition to cottagecore decor. Designed by Adam Lippes for OKA.

Cottagecore Decor Textures

The key to this look is not to have any hard lines or perfect surfaces. Natural wood works best, particularly darker woods such as oak that have an interesting, characterful finish. Painted surfaces are de rigeur as well, but the paintwork shouldn’t be too pristine but slightly shabby chic. Natural stone, ceramics and linen all work well.

In a kitchen, you could also mix in some more contemporary materials such as a marble or quartz worktop to give a little contemporary lift, and mix traditional painted cabinets with modern handles in wood or metal.

Flooring should be bare wooden boards, painted wooden boards, stone flags (or stone-effect tiles if you don’t fancy taking out a second mortgage!) and scattered with fluffy rugs.

Hoxton white farmhouse dining table, Modish Living

The perfect blend of cottagecore aesthetics and practicality, this spacious table combines bare wooden and painted surfaces and would work equally well in the kitchen or dining room. It’s available in a range of sizes, starting at 1.8m long, and prices start at £1,325 from Modish Living.

Island Breeze small open dresser, Painted Furniture Company

The perfect open dresser for the cottagecore decor in your home — Island Breeze small open dresser, Painted Furniture Company

The compact open dresser is a mini version of a classic farmhouse Welsh dresser, ideal for smaller spaces. It’s handmade in Gloucestershire, and you can specify your choice of colour, wood tone and hardware to customise it to your taste. £1,134, available from Painted Furniture Company.

Cottagecore Decor Patterns

Soft floral patterns, stripes in muted colours, and you can throw in a bit of gingham as a nod to the look’s origins. Steer clear of anything too bright and bold or geometric, as they look too modern. Very busy, bright florals don’t work either. Vintage fabrics are excellent, so scour local charity shops, flea markets and antique shops for fabric you can plunder and re-purpose.

Roxanne rose floral patterned cushion, Yorkshire Fabric Shop

Gorgeous cottagecore decor countryside chic floral rose cushion — Roxanne floral rose cushion, Yorkshire Fabric Shop

The Roxanne rose floral design fabric, from the Yorkshire Fabric Shop, makes ideal cottagecore style cushions.

Cabbages and Roses floral filled cushion, Terry’s Fabrics

Use this ready made floral themed cushion to accessorise your cottagecore home decor — Ready made cushion, Terry’s Fabrics

If you don’t want to make cushions yourself, then this ready made Cabbages & Roses floral embroidered cushion is a great alternative. It’s feather filled and £30 from Terry’s Fabrics.

Cottagecore Decor Details

Adding details such as using chicken wire across cupboard doors will help to give a rustic feel. If you have an outside door in your kitchen, then think about putting in a stable door (these are also brilliant in the summer!), or a door with glass panels at the top only.

Rustic wire shelf with towel rail, Melody Maison

A versatile shelf unit that can be used in the kitchen as a storage unit with kitchen roll holder or storage hooks underneath. The metal finish is slightly distressed for a vintage look. £19.95, available from Melody Maison.

For more cottagecore decor ideas, check out these bedroom decor tips and browse around a Cotswold country home.