No design aesthetic is as universally misunderstood as rustic style. More than a raw and unpolished look, rustic style recognizes natural materials, comfortable spaces, and the outdoors. For those looking to achieve a fuss-free, practical, yet warm and inviting space, rustic style is the best way to achieve this look. We’ll walk you through the open fires, comfortable furnishings, and rough textures that make rustic style utterly welcoming in this guide.
What is Rustic Style?
Rustic decor is the ideal marriage between practicality and warm interiors. Natural materials are set as the foundation of this style and create that warmth and coziness we all thrive to achieve. An ode to the simple past, rustic style can also lean contemporary, modern, eclectic, and even incorporate some farmhouse style elements. This flexibility makes rustic style so versatile and timeless.
The Key Elements of Rustic Style
With rustic style, you celebrate your home for its existing beauty. The same goes for the furnishing and decor. Rustic style highlights the quirkiness, the rough edges, crude walls, and more. Nature and the outdoors are the fundamental elements and the core bones that makeup rustic interior design.
Rustic style is:
- Raw and natural with materials left in their organic form.
- Tough, rugged, and weathered, with heavy-duty pieces built to withstand the test of time.
- Cozy and warm with elements set to create comfort after a long day spent outdoors.
Rustic style is not:
- Fussy or complex with layers and layers of furnishings and decorative objects.
- Trendy or ever-changing with new contemporary pieces all over.
- Polished and sleek with accents like polished chrome or metal accents.
Colors & Texture
Because rustic style is simplistic and fuss-free, color helps you achieve that warm and intimate look and feel. Natural tones are the starting point for more spaces, while color pops add vibrancy and make the room stand out more. But, rustic interior design will ask you to rethink your definition of neutrals. While most people think of whites and creams, rustic style invites warm chestnuts and terracotta as neutrals. Great color shades for rustic interior design include:
- Soft neutrals: creams, stones, wheat, straw, and buttermilk.
- Earthy tones: terracotta, sepia, mushrooms, chestnut, and umber.
- Spicy colors: cinnamon, baked apple, saffron, pumpkin, and chili pepper.
In rustic spaces, texture isn’t an afterthought but a deciding ingredient. Rough-hewn wood, stone, iron, copper, and brass are great natural textures for rustic decor. These are not only shown in furnishings but become part of the house. Fireplaces with stone details, wood panelings, and sometimes even floor-to-ceiling wood walls create that distinctive look.
Flooring
Rustic flooring is deliberate, serves a purpose, and is part of the decor as furnishing itself. Wooden flooring, cement, and rustic tiles play into the theme and bring the outdoors indoors throughout the home. From the kitchen to the bathrooms, rustic flooring is a critical element of a rustic home design.
Furniture
Bulky furniture that looks strong, almost heavy-duty, will feel right at home in a rustic space. You’re likely to find solid wood coffee tables, leather armchairs, and sofas for the primary furnishings. Nubby linen, velvet, and sometimes burlap takes a second role as part of the details. But, rustic furniture also mixes and matches from diverse styles. Sometimes you’ll see mismatched furniture pieces like a sturdy leather couch next to a slim armchair around an organic, solid wood table.
The one distinction between rustic style furniture and other aesthetics has to do with the lines. Straight lines have no place in rustic home decor. Instead, abstract and organic shapes that honor the original figures of pieces prevails. Furniture, commonly vintage or second-hand finds, get a second chance in the rustic home. Notches in the furnishings, uneven grains in the wood, and other natural imperfections become highlighted rather than hidden.
Decor
With so much happening with the furniture, accent walls, natural elements, and so forth, rustic decor is minimal. Color comes from furnishing, so wall decor isn’t a priority. Wood pieces, fresh florals, dried stems, and other natural elements are the decor’s go-to choice. Metal and iron decorative pieces also make an appearance in rustic decor. Finally, hunting trophies, rugs, and nature art decorate the walls to complete the rustic aesthetic.
The Rustic Style House
With rustic interior design, everything has a purpose, with rooms focusing on practicality and functionality. Yes, there’s room for play with accessories, textures, and finishings, but everything is set in a place with intention. It also lets you experiment with shapes, textures, and natural materials to create a distinctively unique space that showcases your personality, much better than any other design aesthetic.
People think rustic style somewhat only works if you live in the mountains, but this couldn’t be further away from the truth. Urban and suburban homes can also incorporate rustic aesthetics to connect with nature, even if you’re far away from the mountains.
Rustic Entryway
From the moment you walk into a rustic-style home, you can feel the impact of nature and the celebration of those elements. The wood flooring is likely to greet you instantly. The rustic entryway is all about practicality and functionality, the true spirit of the rustic aesthetic. Don’t expect any fuss or lots of accessories. Instead, a wooden console table, greenery, large mirrors with rust metal frames, and maybe a wooden bench is all it takes to set the tone.
Rustic Living Room
The essence of the rustic home is by far the living room. Furniture pieces here often look as if they’ve been collected over time, slowly building up to what space looks like today. There’s an extraordinary blend of textiles and materials with leather, rough woods, velvets, sheepskin, and linen all coinciding together in one space. Because rustic style is all about comfort and coziness, the living room often flows around a fireplace, the windows, or a central element that invites unwinding and conversations.
Rustic rooms have everything you need in them, but they have no cluster. The living room often incorporates playful accessories like arts and trinkets, baskets to hold blankets and throws, plenty of chairs and spaces to sit down. That’s the true essence of the rustic living room.
Rustic Dining Room and Kitchen
In no other design is the kitchen such an imperative element to the decor. Rich with natural materials and exuding comfort and warmth, a rustic kitchen has broad appeal. Think brick and stone walls, natural woods, soft lighting, weathered hardware, and cast iron and copper pots doubling as decor accents. The rustic kitchen and dining room are open, light, and cozy. Even in small spaces, the dining room is set as a focal point of the house, often featuring sturdy and large tables with mix-and-match chairs and one striking detail: chandeliers.
The rustic rooms break with the oversimplified style with chandeliers and add an air of sophistication and elegance. Classic candelabras, wood wagon wheels, or even naturally shed antler fixtures are the go-to chandelier options for rustic spaces. In modern homes, you’ll find them with dimmer switches to elevate the ambiance.
Rustic Bedroom
It’s common to expect the bedroom to look masculine and rough with an emphasis on roughed, heavy-duty furnishings. Yet, rustic bedrooms can be feminine and soft-looking. Though natural elements are still present, soft lines and plush textiles make it look more comfortable and ethereal. There’s no much decor in rustic bedrooms, with the bed and some secondary furnishing becoming the centerpiece. Wall sconces in rustic metals, wooden bed frames, and leather pillows come together to create a breathtaking space that inspires calmness. It’s through texture in rugs, throws, and wall decor that we create a softer look.
Ready to See How Rustic Style Looks In Your Home?
The rustic house is a timeless classic that will forever feel like a warm hug. Everything is carefully chosen to bring to mind landscapes, traditions, and nature. By celebrating organic elements as they come, rustic interior design gives you a new perspective that doesn’t conceal the flaws. Instead, it highlights those for their beauty and individuality.
Whether you are looking to stay authentic and classic, embracing rustic style for what it is, or looking to add some contemporary elements to it, its core elements are what make it utterly flexible. Rustic interior design is something that you can quickly adapt to your personal style by incorporating different aspects like decorative accessories, artwork, and trophies to make it truly yours.
Collaborate with our interior designers and learn more about rustic style and how it could work for your home. With Spacejoy’s 3D technology, you’ll be able to visualize and interact with a real-life design concept of your home. Even better, you’ll be able to shop from our platform everything our designers used in your home design. Get ready to see how rustic style looks in your home without ever leaving your house.
