Many reasons to love the farmhouse style

Why am I in love with the farmhouse style right now? Obsessed is more like it. Well, there are many reasons to love the farmhouse style and I love all of them. So, through my dining room redecoration I will explain why I love it so much and why you should too.

It is timeless

How can you not love the fact that if you bring in anything from your past generations it will fit beautifully into this style. I regret everyday that I didn’t keep items from my childhood home when my parents sold it. Back then I thought it was just “old” but now I see how those items were treasures to cherish and enjoy now.

In the photo below I used some bells that I inherited from my Mom’s collection when she passed away. Out of all the beautiful bells she owned (100’s) I picked the old, tarnished ones because it reminds me of how they are timeless treasures and it adds character to this style beautifully.

It’s casual and welcoming

I am far from formal and sophisticated. In fact I think I’m the polar opposite. I want people to come into my home and immediately feel like they can kick off their shoes and put their feet up on the coffee table. As much as I love everything to look perfect (the OCD in me) I love the way this style embraces the imperfect. This imperfection is what makes this style so welcoming. Nothing formal about this. This is the reason I love the farmhouse style the most.

If your decorating on a budget you will love the farmhouse style

No need to go out and spend a lot of money to redecorate in this style. Just hit up your local thrift store, antique store, flea market, or someone’s basement and you can pull off this style. Yes, you will need to incorporate some design rules, but nothing has to match so you don’t need to purchase sets of anything.

It’s light and bright

Most of the farmhouse decorating I have seen is very white and neutral. This doesn’t mean you can’t and shouldn’t add color. I would however stay away from bright, bold colors and use soft muted ones instead. You can see below I used a wallpaper with greens and blues but they are soft and grey toned. The point is to keep things neutral and add interest with texture and small pops of color.

I have yellow walls throughout my home and this is literally driving me crazy. As much as I love yellow it’s just not working with everything else. I’m trying to get up the courage to paint them all white or soft grey but just the thought of it is making me tired. I think it’s time to hire a painter and just do it. 🙂

Want to learn how the pros decorate? Read my post “How to decorate like a pro” and get all my insider tips to pull a room together.

It’s good for the environment

Okay, what? LOL. Re-purposing is very popular right now. Use items already in your home or items you’ve found elsewhere and either fix them up or use them for something completely different than it’s intended purpose. In the photo above I hung a farmhouse style woven tree skirt as a focal point and added a cotton wreath inside it. When Christmas comes I will take that down and use it for it’s intended purpose under the tree.

So how is that good for the environment? Your reusing items you already had, or someone else had, instead of purchasing something new every time you redecorate.

Tip:

Farmhouse decorating can feel a bit cluttered if your not careful. Too many small treasures can overwhelm your space and make it hard to live with in your normal daily life.

Above I used a tray to hold all of the items on the dining room table so when I need to actually use the dining room table (which is not very often ;)) all I have to do is pick up the tray and can move everything at once. Then when we’re done just replace the tray and my decorating is finished.

It’s so easy to pull off this look

I think this photo above says it perfectly. Look at all of the different textures and materials. It has different wood elements (painted, stained, and natural), wicker, ceramic, different metals (mirrored, hammered, and brushed), burlap, greenery, and some white and soft colors. And everything is asymmetrical meaning not matchy-matchy but still balanced.