With people spending more time in their homes, there is a bigger push now to create more of a sanctuary inside with comfort and style. The natural features of a house can help do this, as well as renovations and additions that can produce a sense of coziness in any interior through color, fabrics, and materials.
One such style is the modern farmhouse decor look, which has become popular because of the sense of nostalgia and serenity it brings to any home. This is not the classic country farmhouse look seen in smaller, older designs, but a new, elegant interior inspired by the memories of a time with a slower pace and a focus on family.
Some structural elements of your home might already include features that can be emphasized to bring out that farmhouse charm. Exposed brick on interior walls can provide a rustic element, while other walls provide a more modern, polished feel. Exposed wood beams and rafters, sometimes hidden behind sheetrock ceilings, also can deliver a farmhouse sense of style. Even a front porch and large windows opening up rooms with sunlight can help bring nature inside.
But additions can also be made to an existing home interior that will create that farmhouse decor in your otherwise more modern design, changes that can easily add the comfort and style you are seeking. The idea is to keep things simple, with very crisp lines in furniture and soft, plush accents that bring out the comfort.
Start with color. A blend of neutrals on the walls, primarily whites, creams, and soft grays, are ideal choices for the modern farmhouse look that will help brighten a room. Cabinetry and other surfaces made from wood can be transformed into lime-washed timber with hints of light blue and green to create a rustic, clean look. The greater the natural brightness in your home, the more calming sense of nature you will experience inside.
Next, consider replacing some basic elements in your home to develop more of that farmhouse experience. Your freshly painted kitchen cabinets, for example, will need new hardware with a classic design, perhaps an aluminum or bronze color that will help balance the neutral colors. A simple door on hinges can be replaced with one more resembling a barn door type painted in an antique or distressed style that rolls gently on a rail overhead. Try changing out your basic sink with a farmhouse version made of porcelain, copper or fireclay. Or you can add an antique white portable island with a butcher block surface in the kitchen to accent your existing space.
Overhead and ceiling lights can be replaced with simple designs of metal and glass, such as a copper or rustic metal rod with a globe at the end that uses an Edison-style vintage bulb. Basic and classic lighting that doesn’t go too far into the industrial design is the balance you’re looking for with these.
And because this design leans on the modern sensibilities that you appreciate, new kitchen countertops made of stone or metal, even those with built-in butcher block, help create that more elegant version of the farm.
Finally, think about the extras you can sprinkle throughout your home that will elevate this farmhouse theme throughout the interior. These are easy additions that can help create that cozy feeling you seek. Think simple wooden chairs with a fabric cushion placed around the kitchen, a vase on the counter with fresh flowers and greens from the garden, a small collection of herb plants near the stove. These are all touches of that farmhouse decor that will add more to your home.
You can continue the theme in your kitchen with basic, white dishes that accent the counters, big pitchers of white or glass that come in handy when mixing summer refreshments, and cast iron pots and skillets on the stove or hanging nearby that create a sense of time and place.
There are many ways to introduce the modern farmhouse design into your home. The only limits you have are in your imagination.
