How to Cottagecore Your Home: Guide and Inspiration

The cottagecore clothing aesthetic is one of the most popular aesthetic fashion trends these days, but fewer people are die-hard romantics enough to go for a cottagecore interior. Cottagecore house decor is based on the same aesthetic system as the fashion and shoe aesthetic. It is a style that depicts an aesthetic of romanticized rural life in 18-19th century England. This aesthetic, just like most others, is often broken down into different styles, such as prariecore (a more American version), French cottagecore or dark cottagecore. But at the same time, all cottagecore sub-genres are fairly similar: It’s the image of looking at the flowers growing outside your window while you sip on some tea with a book in front of you and a bowl of yummy fruit that you hand-picked earlier. How to cottagecore your home If you’re a fan of any romantic aesthetic, then you probably don’t mind getting inspired on how to add a touch of cottagecore into your house. So, here are a few tips on how to make your home look closer to a charming country cottage (but with hot tap water and a modern heating system). Choosing the wall color for a cottagecore home The right place to start when you want to cottagecore your home are the walls. The colors you choose will set the tone for the entire space. Some good wall color options for a cottagecore home include: light blue pale pink lavender mint green dusty rose As you can see, those are all pastel colors. That is pretty much the point - in cottagecore aesthetic you won’t get to use strong vibrant colors much. Vibrant colors that capture your attention are just not part of the aesthetic at all. Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and prejudice’, 2005 Darker, muted colors have their place, though. You will see them in accessories or in prints on wall patterns, to add contrast and depth. The largest surfaces of a typical cottagecore home usually carry a lighter color, though. I think this aesthetic quirk comes from the fact that cottages in old England had very little natural light. It was expensive to keep houses heated and cottages weren’t the residences of the very rich. One way to make sure the house would stay quite warm in winters was to make the windows quite small. Jane Austen’s ‘Persuasion’, 1995 Making every surface light makes the interiors lighter, which makes sense in rooms with little natural light. Either way, chances are you don’t actually live in an English cottage. If you have a large space with plenty of natural light, go for darker walls, by all means! Inspo below. Cottagecore decor with light wall colors Etsy: FancyWallsStore, Yellow and green wallpaper Etsy: FancyWallsStore, Blue tile wallpaper Amber Interior Design: Sage stool Cottagecore decor with dark wall colors Amber Interior Design: Eva chair, Henri desk wallpaperdirect.com Furniture that could pass in a Jane Austen adaptation movie set Cottagecore is inspired by the period in which Jane Austen set her novels, and so it is not a bad idea to get inspired directly in movies from that era. Period dramas are always a good place to start anyway. If you want something more lighthearted and close to Austen’s own style, try the Emma Woodhouse movie adaptations. They will give you a good idea of how to approach cottagecore in terms of furniture. Jane Austen’s ‘Persuasion’, 1995 In general, these are the furniture pieces to look for: sofas with floral patterns those particular writing tables bookshelves full of hardcover books You get the idea: cottagecore is all about being cozy, romantic and more than a little bit old-fashioned. A cute pink writing table Most of the furniture will be made of wood, metal furniture was not used for aesthetics back then and synthetic materials did not yet exist. You can still use vegan leather and alternatives to wood, of course! If you are just concerned about the environmental impact, a wood veneer could fit the bill better than timber. Veneer furniture looks just like wood because it is wood, except only in a thin layer while the insides of the furniture are made out of a more sustainable material. notonthehighstreet.com, Earthy hand-printed cushions Etsy: TurkishRugNRoll, Bedroom bench in wood Etsy: EugenieWoodcraft, Spice rack Accessories in porcelain and glass To accessorize your cottagecore home, look for items in natural materials such as porcelain or glass for purely decorative objects, and metal alloys for objects like clocks. Etsy: DeGroteVerzamelaar, China set Porcelain is a great option for vases, plates and other small decorative items that you can put on the mantelpiece if you have one. You can find it in many different colors, but try to stick to pale shades that match the pastel colors of your walls and furniture. Etsy: Vintagetimeon, Vintage baby angel (sweet baby angel!) Glass with engraved pattern is the most cottagecore choice for drinking glasses and bottles. There shouldn’t be any decorative prints or colors on your glassware for the cottagecore aesthetic. Etsy: INTERLUDECANDLES, Scented David’s head candle Etsy: Vintagetimeon, Vintage cherub Where to put the plants in a cottagecore home So, plants are an aesthetic element in home decor aesthetics from all around the world: They are key in Japanese interior design but also in organic modern, modern open plans use them to break up space as well. How to place your plants when you are going for the cottagecore style, though? As cottagecore is inspired by English country houses, you should try to place your plants in a way that would make sense in one of those. So, for example: put them on window sills hang them from the ceiling in the hallway place herb plants on kitchen shelves (and use them for cooking!) group them together on a garden table or patio Easy ways to add a touch of cottagecore to any room People love cottagecore because it is a cozy and inviting style that makes them feel like they are living in a bygone era. It is the perfect aesthetic for people who want to relax and escape the chaotic vibe of modern life, and the whole technology blackbox. Living in a cottagecore house can also feel quite romantic and can be a great choice for couples or young families. Are you not living in a house, but in a condo instead? That’s fair enough. You don’t need to have an actual country house to get a bit of the cottagecore vibe into your home. Here are some tips for adding a touch of cottagecore to any interior: Add just a few key pieces of small furniture in cottagecore style, such as an armchair with frilly details or a coffee table made out of an old wooden trunk. As long as the rest of your furniture is in wood or natural veneer, just a couple of details can shift the mood of the interior. Use floral patterned curtains or wallpaper to give the illusion of living in a country house. Place fresh flowers or potted plants around the windows to add a touch of nature. Use small porcelain decorative items, ideally actual vintage ones. You can buy small vintage items on Etsy, Amazon and very often in local garage sales. Add some scented candles in comforting aromas like lavender or vanilla, to make the room feel extra cozy. Cottagecore is one of the most popular indie aesthetics in fashion, and that popularity has spilled over into interior design and overall lifestyle. If you live in a house and like the aesthetic of 19th century English countryside, there are easy ways to cottagecore your home. Keep scrolling for more cottagecore house aesthetics! Etsy: LittleWonderWalls, Abstract waves wallpaper Etsy: LittleWonderWalls, Pink and white wallpaper