Top 10 Farmhouse Style Decorating Tips

Top 10 Farmhouse Style Home Decor Tips

Top 10 Farmhouse Style Decorating Tips

Most everyone that knows me knows I’m a sucker for the farmhouse look. Actually I have been a lover of all things farmhouse for most of my adult life.  I love farmhouse style so much that I convinced hubby to buy a farmhouse several years ago and fix it up.  You can read all about the story of us buying our circa 1827 farmhouse at an auction here.

People come in my shop all the time and ask me if I can come to their house and make it look the way my shop does.  I’m always flattered because I’ve never really felt like I was adequate or educated when it comes to styling and decorating.  I’ve always just gathered things I like and somehow made them work.

There’s a lot to be said for learning as you go and screwing up ahem, constantly redecorating until you get it right.  And that my friends I have lots of experience with.

I’ve found lots of simple ways to add farmhouse charm to our home.  I like to keep things very budget friendly so most of this can be found pretty inexpensively.

In fact several things that can add farmhouse charm to your home you may already have.

So here we go….

1. Mismatched Dining Chairs

Chairs with chippy or distressed paint make my heart skip a beat.  They add instant personality to your dining area and have so much charm and character.

Don’t get me wrong, buying a matching dining room set is what most people do.  And let’s face it’s much easier.  But I’ve found it’s much more fun to collect chairs (or even benches) overtime and mix and match them.

Hubby enjoys building the custom farm tables that we sell in the shop.  Or if you’re handy you can find lots of sites online with plans to build your own.

Painted Chairs

Farmtable

Burlap Table Runner

As you can see in the photos below, my dining room chairs aren’t the same style at all.   They work together because there are two of each color.  Doing things in pairs or sets helps balance them out.

Most decorators recommend using odd numbers, that works well too.

Dining Room

Farmhouse Dining Room

2. White Painted Flooring

You may have read about our painted hardwood floors here.

I love the bright look of white and these particular floors weren’t candidates for sanding and staining because of the patching we had to do to them.  Well, that and I just didn’t have it in me at the time to refinish them.

So bring on the paint!

Painted Hardwood Floor-28

Painted Hardwood Floor-27

Painted Hardwood Floor-22

3. Farmhouse Sink

Now obviously I know all of you aren’t going to luck up and get an old farmhouse sink when you buy your home like we did.  But if you’re going to redo your kitchen find room in your budget for an apron front sink.

Instant farmhouse charm!

Farmsink

Apron Front Sink

Farm Sink

4. Subway Tile

The white subway tile backsplash in my kitchen is one of my favorite things.

It is so clean and simple.  If you don’t have room in your budget for tile you could always tape off grout lines and create your own faux tile backsplash with paint or there’s also wallpaper available here that looks absolutely fabulous!

Subway Tile

Kitchen Subway Tile

5. White Kitchen Cabinets

Painting your kitchen cabinets is a big job.  Paint is one of the most impactful tools that you have and if you do the job correctly there’s noting else like it!  Believe me I know.  I’ve painted more kitchen cabinets than I can count!

The transformations are incredible.

I love General Finishes Snow White for giving cabinets a farmhouse look.  I even have a tutorial you can read here all about painting cabinets white.

Snow White Kitchen Cabinets

White Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen in Antique White

Custom Painted Kitchen Cabinets-23

6. Plank Walls

Installing plank walls isn’t as hard as you may think.  In fact my daughter and I had a blast installing these in our family room.  You can read all about it here.

Have a tight budget?

You don’t have to do an entire room.

Adding planks to a little nook or focal wall can add lots of depth and charm as well.

Whitewashed Plank Walls

Plank Walls

Whitewashed Plank Walls-2

Whitewashed Plank Walls-36

7. Mason Jars

I am blessed to have a really cool collection of vintage mason jars that I’ve collected from all over the place.

They are great for holding all kinds of things or just to display some burlap flowers.

Vintage Mason Jars

I’ve also painted new jars to give them a vintage look…..

Painted Mason Jars

Painted Jars

Here’s a couple my sweet friend painted for me.

IMG_7734

8. Cotton Stems, White Dishes and Burlap

Adding different textures can soften the hard lines of a room.

Cotton stems and wreaths are super popular and a great way to add some country charm.

Cotton Stems

Burlap is another great way to bring some texture in and soften up your space.

I almost always have a burlap table runner on my table.

White Dishes

Burlap Runner

White dishes and Ironstone are another farmhouse favorite.

Gathering them in collections is the perfect way to keep things from looking junky.

White and Gray Cupboard

White and Gray Cupboard-11

White and Gray Cupboard-10

9. Barndoors

Sliding barn doors are all the rage.  From television shows to decorating magazines we see them all over the place.

Hubby and I built one for around $25 for the storage closet in our garage.  I wrote a post with full instructions so you can do it too.

It’s been one of my favorite diy projects because it’s hides all of the junk we all have in our garages.

How to Build a Barndoor-2

How to Build a Barndoor-5

We have another barn door in our bedroom.

Behind it is hubby’s closet which I am planning to show you in an upcoming post.

Sliding Barndoor

Barndoor

We also hung the door from the old smokehouse on our property on the wall.

I love how it breaks up the white and adding the green boxwood wreath gives it that added farmhouse touch.

Barndoor Plankwall

10.Painted Furniture

If you’ve been around very long you know I’ve painted my fair share of furniture.  Pale grays, whites and even soft pinks are perfect for giving a dated piece of furniture instant farmhouse charm.

French Linen Desk

Dresser Transformed with White Latex Paint

White Desk

Desk

Painted secretary
I hope you’ve found some inspiration and tips for adding farmhouse decor to your home from this post.

Thanks for being here.  I’ll see you soon!

Farmtable Transformation Part 1
How to Achieve Flawless White Kitchen Cabinets

24 Comments

  1. LOVE everything! Love the idea of just one planked wall! I’m going to try that!

    1. Thank you Kim. Yes break it down and make it manageable for your budget and home.

      🙂 Beth

    1. Thank you Mary!

      🙂 Beth

  2. Jody Leneave says:

    Love your style!!

    1. Thank you Jody! Have a wonderful day!

      🙂 Beth

  3. Hi! Beautiful kitchen! What name brand and color are the darker gray chairs and kitchen island? Thanks!

    1. Hi Susan,

      The gray on the island and chairs is called Driftwood by General Finishes.

      Thanks,
      Beth

  4. Tracy Smith says:

    So very pretty! I love the size and look of the island. Curious where it came from?

    1. Hi Tracy,

      Thank you! It was custom built from various recycled materials.

      🙂 Beth

  5. I love everything, too, Beth. Been wanting to see your house for a long time. One question. Is the black bedside table the one you got from me? With the crack on the top? I knew you could make it a beauty!

    1. Hey Lane,

      No it isn’t the same table although very similar. I hope you’re doing well!

      🙂 Beth

  6. Sally Brown says:

    We share the love of vintage and just trying to keep old stuff out of landfills!!!!
    Great blog…keep inspiring us!

    1. Thank you so much for reading Sally! I appreciate you. 🙂

      Blessings,
      Beth

  7. Hi. I believe it was last year around thanksgiving I purchased a pillow that had removal sayings from you. I believe pillow was burlap. I was interested in purchasing another. Do you know what I’m referring to? Tks

    1. Hi Linda,

      We actually got some blank pillow wraps in yesterday that we can embroider and we have a few others on the way. Please drop by the shop to see what’s new.

      Thank you,
      Beth

  8. Love everything! What’s the best way to get that chippy worn look with paint.

    1. Hi Marlene,

      I like to use a putty knife to apply paint and then scrape it off in places. DIY Chalk and Clay Paint is great for this type of application.

  9. I love your style. Where did you get your white living room couch and chair?? thanks!

    1. Hi Heather,
      Thank you so much! They are both from Ikea. They have slipcovers that are super easy to remove and throw in the washer. 🙂

      Thanks for reading!
      Beth

  10. Beth,

    I love your Blog but especially love the furniture etc. I fell in “love at first sight” with your Basil Milk Paint Color on Pinterest. I am a sucker for green, black and white.

    Thanks for the great information.

    1. Hi Patricia,

      Thank you for your kind words.

      🙂 Beth

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