Cottages contain a natural beauty, you don’t want to change the originality of it. Instead think of ways to enhance what’s already there. Instead of buying all new furniture, whether you’re on a budget or not, refinish your old furniture or head on over to a second hand store. You’ll learn your way around a sander in no time. The brightness of the space, older cottages can hold deeper colors, a little paint and some new linens can help brighten up your cottage. White is a clean look, if your not comfortable with colors and accents, you’ll be safe with white.
Mix and match your furniture. Make sure to keep balance in the space. Casual and comfortable is much better suited for a cottage then high-end and too modern. Some key fabrics to keep in mind for that cottage life- burlap, linen, wool. Guest should feel welcome and able to relax and escape an uptight world that most of us live in. Instead of all wood chairs and a table in the dining area, add wicker chairs and a cute faux fur to throw over them. Add some wild flowers for a centerpiece aaaaaand Voila!
Floors can also be painted, stained, or redone. Stairs in a cottage are also fun to re-design. A couple cute ideas for you: 1. placing rough wood right over the original rise and step and adding a wool runner up the center 2. On each rise of the stairs either painting it one color or trying something unique on each rise ex: a different constellation on each 3. applying a nice floral/wood/etc. wallpaper to it. Any and all of these ideas would be so fun as an afternoon project. Maybe add some rose.
A splash of color. You don’t need to theme a room based on a color by any means, but throwing in a yellow framed mirror in an all white room will add energy to it, brighten it. I have to say I’m not a fan of seashells or sailboats on wallpaper + figurines placed about just collecting dust. Stay away from the knick-knacks. Cottages don’t have to be cluttered, just cozy.
Lighting in a cottage can bring in an element that will pull the design together. Lantern style with any finish will look beautiful. Keeping it simple or adding a little glam will all come down to personal preference. Everything is returnable-ALMOST. Make sure when you’re making purchases you keep track of the return policy. Something can look great in the store on a shelf alone, and then once you bring it into your space, you’re completely thrown off from it.
That’s a lot of information to take in, so to make this super simple, If it ain’t Cozy it ain’t Cottage.
Remember- update yo'’ paint + use wool, natural looking leather, wood, burlap, linen, pillows, lanterns… all are key design features to pull your cottage from dark and dreary to light and lovely.
photo credit: gracefully-restored.com // grayskymorning.tumblr.com // lizmarieblog.com // witanddelight.com //