In 2019, the Internet and social media were flooded with photos of homes and interiors that remind you of returning to and immersing yourself in nature and living a simpler life.
These homes and interiors featured green and flowering plants, rustic wooden furniture, vintage decor, and other nostalgic elements that highlight a pared-down yet a self-sustaining lifestyle.
This interior design style is inspired by the cottagecore movement, a concept that encourages people to go back to basics, live with and in nature, simplify one’s life, and find contentment in self-sustenance.
With a concept that promotes comfort, functionality, self-subsistence, and simple living, it was inevitable that cottagecore would find itself an interior design style that would be popular for years.
Embracing the Cottagecore Aesthetics in Your New Apartment
If the cottagecore interior design appeals to you and you want your Dubai Festival City apartment to embody this concept, here are seven tips for decorating your home based on this trend:
1. Invest in vintage furniture.
Decorating your home with vintage furniture is an easy way to get that cottagecore look and vibe in your apartment.
Vintage furniture with a rustic farmhouse or French look is an essential item in cottagecore interior design. It works well with the aesthetics of this nature-inspired style and helps create the nostalgic vibe this trend is known for.
If you’re looking for vintage pieces, try sifting through your parents’ or even grandparents’ attic and storerooms for old furniture and any appliances they may still have.
Antique stores, thrift and second-hand shops, and garage sales are excellent places to search for old furniture as well.
Aside from chairs and tables, look for dressers, bed frames, rugs, lamps, and other fixtures that can give your home that charming vintage look.
If you find a piece you like but it already has faded fabric or chipped paint, don’t stress too much. These blemishes can actually add to your overall cottagecore design’s charm.
2. Look for vintage kitchen tools.
Aside from furniture, you can channel cottagecore with the tools you have in your kitchen.
Cast iron pans, copper pans, antique tea kettles, and wooden rolling pins are some of the rustic yet appealing accessories that embody the cottagecore lifestyle.
Like vintage furniture, your family, antique stores, thrift and second-hand shops, and garage sales are the best sources for old kitchen essentials.
You can also search online for vintage kitchen pieces that you can display in your kitchen.
If you can’t find original vintage kitchen essentials, search for items inspired by Old French and English when you go shopping at the mall.
3. Opt for natural materials.
Since cottagecore and nature go together, your home should have a variety of decorative pieces made of natural materials. Examples of these are wood, rattan, wicker, and hemp.
You could get a wicker hamper or basket for your laundry or blankets, wooden stools for the kitchen counter or bar, or macrame wall hangings made of hemp.
Try to furnish most of the rooms in your apartment with wooden furniture as well.
Pebbles and stones are great natural materials that can also be used as decorative pieces. Look for stone table runners and placemats, stone flower pots, and pebble bath mats.
For upholstery and other textile furnishings, choose wool, linen, sisal, cotton, and other natural materials.
4. Showcase plants and flowers.
Plants are also essential elements of the cottagecore aesthetics. As such, decorate your home with a variety of flora.
Maintain potted plants inside your home. Look for hardy varieties and ones that are native to where you live to keep up with the cottagecore concept.
Also, try growing and cultivating herbs and other edible plants that can grow indoors for that ultimate back-to-nature vibe.
Don’t forget to display a vase of freshly cut flowers on your tables and counters to emphasize the nature-inspired aesthetic of cottagecore.
Lastly, arrange dried flowers on hanging or wall baskets for that additional natural rustic charm in your living room, kitchen, and bathroom.
5. Display food ingredients.
Cooking, baking, and other homemade meal preparation activities are also part and parcel of the cottagecore lifestyle.
Putting dry ingredients, herbs, fruits, and other food items that do not need refrigeration in bowls or clear containers and displaying them on the counter and inside glass cabinets is a great way to enhance cottagecore aesthetics in your kitchen.
It also makes it easier and more convenient for you to access these items when it’s time to use them.
Placing fruits and vegetables in suspended bowls or tiered hanging baskets is another fantastic way to use them as decorative items.
Lastly, don’t forget to display your spices in decorative jars.
6. Display handmade arts and crafts projects.
DIY projects make incredible additions to cottagecore-style homes. Because of this reason, bring out all the arts and crafts you worked on or received as presents.
Display the framed embroidery and needlepoint projects you worked on or were gifted to you. If you need to get the new frames, opt for wooden ones to give these items a more natural, vintage look.
If you want to make your own decor, try cross stitching or macrame.
A simple arts and crafts project you can also do is flower-pressing. The framed product will look great on any wall.
Additionally, you can always buy handmade pieces from local artists to support their business.
7. Use lace and rustic fabric patterns.
Finally, capture the cottagecore aesthetic by using the right types and designs of fabrics around your home.
Choose tablecloths and runners with bold prints and patterns. Gingham and bold floral designs are fantastic options since these convey a country-side, rustic look and feel.
You can also achieve that comfy country cottage feels by covering sun or window seats with patchwork blankets, lacy slipcovers, and plenty of stuffed throw pillows in soft fabrics.
Stripes are also options you can consider for your other fabric or soft furnishings to enhance the cottagecore aesthetics in your apartment.
The upside to having a cottagecore interior design style in your apartment is that you may find that you already have many of these items. The next thing to do is pull them together and add other pieces to turn your flat into the perfect back-to-nature retreat.
