Ideas To Give Your Home Farmhouse Style

You don't need to live in a barn to embrace the charm of the farmhouse style of home remodeling. It has a nostalgic look that brings to mind a simpler time. If home remodeling, on a big or even small scale, is in your future, here are some ideas to incorporate farmhouse style into your plans to make your home warm and welcoming.

Rustic Residence

Create farmhouse style with rustic accents, like antique-inspired wood furnishings and distressed finishes. If you're focused on painting, start the color palette with white and add matte colors and warm wood tones to the mix. There's also an emphasis on natural materials, such as burlap, terra cotta, galvanized tin, and worn wood.

Farmhouse decorating is the style that most lends itself to repurposing. An easy DIY project is to make throw pillows from old grain sacks. Start with a pillow form from a craft store. Sew up a cover for it using a vintage flour, bean or coffee sack from an antique shop. Another great idea is to create a coffee table from something you might find on a farm, like a chicken crate or a barn door.

Barnyard Beauty

Certain motifs pop up again and again on all types of farmhouse decor. Rooster, pig and cow are the most commonly seen. You'll find these barnyard animal images on everything from lamps to garden planters, from window curtains to tableware. Barnyard animals enhance your farmhouse theme with a little cuteness.

Pastoral Pantry

The room where farmhouse decor really shines is the kitchen. If you're doing a total remodel, consider putting in a farmhouse sink with an apron front and a classic deep basin. You'll also want an old-style stove--the kind that's big enough to cook up meals for a crowd. Choose glass front cabinets or open shelves so that your down-home tableware can be seen. A big center island in natural wood would be the perfect finishing touch.

Provincial Piping

Consider using galvanized tin containers as planters, catchalls, desktop organizers, and more. Creamware tabletop and serving pieces are longtime favorites of real farmer's wives. Old-fashioned milk bottles in wire racks work well as vases for cut flowers, or leave them empty for display. Wooden bowls are great for holding fresh fruit on the countertop. Mason jars are the hottest thing in home decor these days.