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As many of you know, my husband and I have been remodeling and renovating our little home for YEARS. We're doing all the work ourselves (with a little help from friends and family whenever possible – i.e. not hiring anyone) and on a tighter-than-tight budget.
We are remodeling room-by-room and recently, we tackled the bones of the newly built entryway. This is a tiny addition (that includes a small half bath and a nicely sized front porch) that was constructed right before our wedding.
We knew that we wanted the entryway to function as a mudroom with lots of storage while introducing people to the clean-lined, homespun style that we had designed for the rest of the house.
Most of that feel would come through in the bones of the room and I learned a lot about how to style a rustic farmhouse entryway as we went along. Read on and I'll share what I learned with you!
How To Style A Rustic Farmhouse Entryway
Start With Good Bones: Sure, you can decorate a plain beige box of a room in a rustic farmhouse style but, honestly, it will always be a little bland. Why? The very foundation of a rustic farmhouse style is the textures that appear in the room's fixed features (the flooring, the walls, the trim).
Old farmhouses were not built from finely milled boards and fancy trimmings – they were straight up workhorses and built from whatever lumber was readily available. So what does that mean for you?
It means that, instead of slapping some pretty paint up and sticking some Mason jars on a shelf, you'll actually need to spend a little time and money on adding interest to the structure of the room.
We did this by reusing the old wood slats from our wedding's wooden pallet tables and attaching them to the ceiling. We also used some scrap cypress wood to finish off a simple bench and create a waterfall edge on a basic Ikea cabinet.
Lastly, we did an interesting grid pattern (simply some paneling and 1×4 boards painted out white) on the walls. Yes – these things took time but the result is lovely and really makes an impact.
Use a Neutral Palette As Your Foundation: I am a huge proponent of using a neutral palette in room whenever possible (and then adding color with accessories later). This makes simple financial sense as a neutral colors are timeless and make a great backdrop for whatever accent colors you're in love with at the moment.
Simpy put, neutrals for all the stuff that's hard/expensive to remodel and color in the places where you can easily swap decor in and out.
For a rustic farmhouse style, I always recommend painting everything in white (I use Simply White by Benjamin Moore in a satin finish) as it creates a clean backdrop for your room finishes. It also makes wood and metal accents look amazing.
Add Texture: Texture is key in achieving a rustic farmhouse style. From adding soft fabric pillows to woven rugs to metal baskets, anytime you can add a bit of decor that begs to be touched – you're adding interest to the room.
It's especially stunning if you pair two or three objects near each other that have contrasting textures. For example, a small seagrass basket next to a wooden candlestick and a cool animal bust will make more of an impact than several items made from identical materials.
Remember, people who lived in farmhouses didn't have the money or ability to purchase lots of matching knick knacks to display so they made decor from what they had available to them.
Mix in Color With Your Accessories: This is an easy and affordable way to bring your favorite colors into a room without overwhelming that rustic farmhouse style. Personally, I love sea colors like greens and blues so I like to find vintage pieces in those colors that I can incorporate into my room decor.
For example, in our entryway, I have displayed some Blue Ball jars, a cool little wooden boat in blue, and some green vases that I picked up in Round Top. It's a nice punch of color but doesn't scream – LOOK AT THE DECOR!
The rustic farmhouse style is still intact but you get to add a little bit of your personality. And what if you love the all neutral palette? Knock yourself out! White on white on white is classic farmhouse and simply gorgeous.
How are you styling your rustic farmhouse entryway?
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