While it is easy to equate rustic design with weathered wood, peeling paint and rusty metal, it is just as appropriate to apply the word to the best of past tradition, whether that tradition stems from the baronial residences of Europe or simple Northeastern coastal fishing cottages. In truth, rustic can be beautiful, refined and upscale just as it can be woodsy, barefoot casual or flea market frivolous. When planning your living room design style, if you lean towards comfort and a bit of whimsy, consider rustic elements to breathe fresh vitality into your home’s decor.
10 No Fail Ways to Introduce Rustic Elements into a Living Room
1. Forget about Matching. Embrace unique elements. Don’t be afraid to combine new with old, authentic with reproductions, and mix periods and styles to achieve your desired degree of rusticity.
2. Go large. Be bold. Group for Effect. You can layer Oriental rugs or cowhides on the floor, and display ethnic pieces as art on the walls or on built-in shelves. Utilize oversize furnishings to make a bold statement. Keep colors simple and monochromatic or achieve a fiesta spirit with bold primary hues. Keep accessories simple, but large, and let the emotional impact take center stage.
3. Embrace Contrast. If you have rustic wood-paneled walls, add drama with floral chintz upholstery, light-toned draperies, solid colors and softer textures. Achieve the look of an African hunting lodge or a West Indies retreat with a mix of dark polished woods and smooth light-reflecting walls. Add animal prints or bamboo flooring and mix traditional campaign chests with lighter British Colonial plantation chairs. Plant ferns and palms in terra cotta pots or woven reed planters and use polished brass accents. Hang antique maps and sea charts on the walls.
4. West by Southwest. Southwest style has moved far beyond howling coyotes, stylized sand paintings and potted cactus. Today, the style is upscale, casual, comfortable, and features a mix of cultural elements that can lean toward either old West or South of the Border. The decor can be subdued or vibrant, totally refined or funky and invigorating. The best of today’s Southwest style is easy to live with and equally effective in small doses or for a complete redo. Just as Southwestern decor has evolved, Western design is no longer characterized by rough wood, barbed wire and cowboy boots. Both aesthetics have moved beyond stereotypes and are much more appealing for today’s homeowners.
5. Sticks and Stones. There is little that speaks rustic as well as wood and natural stone. In combination, they can be dark and heavy, but if you temper wood beams and a stone fireplace with lots of windows and some softer elements, the look is stunning, cozy and comfortable, and very appropriate for your living room. Scale is important, however, if you opt for this look. Too much of a good thing is just that — too much!
6. Sea and Shore. From the Outer Banks to the Northern Woods, from the Pacific Northwest to Key West, rustic reminders of sea and sun, boating and fishing, sand and shells form the basis of timeless decor. Whether you build your living room design around the location, or “import” memories and found objects from former homes and favorite times, the appeal of beachy or nautical decor is never out of place. You can decorate with a nod to the sea through art, nautical-inspired accessories, or a color scheme that hints at a specific place and time: Pastel reminders of the Bahamas, the grey, white and slicker yellow of the Maine coast, or traditional blue, green and sand colors of any seashore.
7. Industrial Rustic. Even though you may think industrial chic is modern, slick, shiny, and more defined by the space age than the past, there are elements of the industrial revolution that hearken back to the past and can spice up an interior design scheme in a very special and specific way. Think of vintage luggage carts from old railroad depots, large iron freight scales, ornate cash registers from turn-of-the century shops, and reclaimed counters, desks, light fixtures and display cabinets from early offices and commercial establishments. Remade into chests, coffee tables, accessories and playful, one-of-a-kind home accent pieces, they are stunning and often affordable.
8. More Farm than City. Tractor-seat barstools, worn butter churns, well-used spinning wheels and even rusting farm implements are turning heads in modern settings as both useful furnishings and decorative accessories. More available in the Midwest, these farm-to-city transplants can spell a new direction for your living room decorating efforts.
9. Life Well Lived. Part of the appeal of rustic decor is that it is not pretentious. Because it has a history, a “former life,” old furniture and rustic art has imperfections and does not require constant care and upkeep. You can incorporate rustic design elements into any decor; all it requires is a bit of imagination, a willingness to experiment, and the ability to “prune” your choices and to try out ideas until the entire picture seems just right. With practice, you’ll find it easy to add a vintage element to a thoroughly modern setting. Rustic may indeed be the trendy look of the coming decade.
10. Environmentally Conscious. Just as reuse and recycle have become part of the mainstream vocabulary of sustainable living, rustic is now part of the lexicon of decorating trends. It is a welcome change from the formula design rules of past decades, one that we expect to continue to evolve and influence home decor for decades into the future. Rustic accents are also perfect for a stylish city garden.
2 Point Highlight
While it is easy to equate rustic design with weathered wood, peeling paint and rusty metal, it is just as appropriate to apply the word to the best of past tradition, whether that tradition stems from the baronial residences of Europe or simple Northeastern coastal fishing cottages.
Part of the appeal of rustic decor is that it is not pretentious. Because it has a history, a former life, it likely has some imperfections and does not require constant care and upkeep.
