25 Easy Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating

Cottagecore ideas for home decorating exude a cozy, charming lifestyle that brings the outdoors in while focusing on statement vintage pieces. Find out if cottagecore ideas for home decorating fit your style and how to maximize your home decor with easy decorating ideas!

The idea of the cottagecore aesthetic for home decorating first came around several years ago and the cottagecore trend continues to be a strong influence in living spaces and home decor all over! Today, we are going to chat about what the cottagecore style actually is and look at some easy cottagecore ideas for home decorating that you may want to incorporate into your home!

Or, you may be like me and realize you’ve got the cottagecore lifestyle allllllll over your home already! Haha!

I am not one to really follow the TikTok trends and get too picky about giving everything a name. However, it can be really fun to think about all of the different decor styles out there and how it influences your own living spaces. While the vintage charm of the cottagecore style definitely appeals to me, it is interesting to also see all the many ways that the home decor pieces I gravitate toward also fit into the cottagecore home style.

To start, however, let’s set one, simple rule. You do not have to give your style a name.

In fact, if I were to have to label my home decor, I would be hard-pressed to narrow it down to just one or even two particular styles. A combination of several different things, all with my own little twist on it, makes our house a home. The same is true for your home also!

That being said, I always love to see different decorating ideas that could work in my home too! I’ve rounded up 25 different cottagecore ideas for easy home decorating that I think you can tweak to fit into your own style as well!

If you are wanting to change your home decor style and work toward more of the cottagecore look, these 25 things will definitely help you get started with that also!

Is cottagecore still popular in 2024?

The answer is a resounding yes! The cottagecore style seemed to begin as a bit of an objection to the overload of technology in our lives. While our culture depends on technology more than ever in 2024, there is also a strong pull toward a lifestyle that emphasizes simple, cozy living for the beauty of it and also for the good quality of life and mental health that accompanies it. More than ever, it seems people are getting back to some of the hobbies and tasks of by-gone eras, such as making bread, gardening, sewing, thrifting, and enjoying the outdoors!

Cottagecore ideas for home decorating are a great way to make those philosophical lifestyle choices a visible, tangible style in the home. It is also a style that evokes a nostalgic, comfortable, lived-in feel for many people. To me, it is very peaceful and relaxing style with light colors and touches of nature brought in throughout the home.

How to make your house look cottagecore?

While this list could grow with many other ideas and specific examples, I want to chat about 25 cottagecore ideas for home decorating that are easy places to start, along with specific examples of how to style them in your home.

Layered decor pieces
Mix in antique pieces
Styled collections
Functional items used as decor
Mix of wooden furniture
Faux flowers and fresh flowers
Floral prints with gallery wall
Mix of pattern on throw pillows
Botanical prints
Audubon accents
Old books
Baskets
Cozy throw blankets
Lamps and pretty lighting
Vintage fabrics
Vintage-style patterned rugs
Ruffles
Scallop edges
Touches of brass accessories
Table linens
Curtains

While this is not an exhaustive list of cottagecore ideas for home decorating, it is certainly a list in which you can’t go wrong! If you want to incorporate more cottagecore style into your home OR you want to refresh you existing cottagecore home decor, this is a great place to get started!

25 Cottagecore Ideas for Easy Home Decorating

1. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Layer your decor

How to decorate a cottage style home?

The easiest way you can start to get that cottage style or cottagecore home look is to layer your decor. Layering throw pillows with contrasting patterns, layering mirrors and artwork for wall decor, or adding layers to a vignette with a tray, architectural salvage, or old books are all simple things you can probably do right away! The cottagecore style is definitely NOT about minimalism, though you can still achieve a clean, uncluttered look by carefully curating your decor choices.

Here are a few ways I have decor layered around my home right now:

Cottagecore bedroom decor with layered comforters and quilts at the foot of the bed. Many people put a pretty blanket or throw on the foot of the bed. However, I used extra layers to add a more cozy cottagecore style. Adding neutrals with contrasting texture gives a really cozy look without being too bold or overwhelming.
In the dining room, I added layers on some of the shelves by leaning mirrors and artwork behind the stacked dishes and glassware.
To add layers in the living room, I added an antique breadboard with a lot of patina and character under the coffee table vignette. You could achieve the same goal with a pretty tray or even oversized coffee table books from the thrift store! THESE pretty trays would bring in the scalloped edge that gives such a perfect cottagecore look to home decor!

Pro Tip: To achieve an uncluttered cottagecore home style, add layers with contrasting texture and pattern while keeping a cohesive color palette. Choose no more than 3 colors to incorporate throughout the space and feature those in layers that contrast the texture and pattern.

2. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Mix in antique pieces

Cottagecore home decor can sometimes be referred to as the “grandma style.” I have to say, I love this representation of a grandma because it is cozy, yet elegant, and pretty, yet functional. If you think back to visiting a grandparent’s home, you may have fond memories of some of those specific antique pieces that were often family heirlooms, scattered throughout their home.

To achieve a true cottagecore style, you simply must include some old pieces. Now, you don’t have to have expensive antiques that break the bank. However, patiently visiting great thrift stores, you can find some antique furniture pieces to mix with your new furniture. This mix is exactly what generations before us have done in their homes and we can achieve that nostalgic style by doing the same.

3. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Style collections in decor

Another theme in cottagecore style is seeing collections featured in vignettes, on open shelves, on a window sill, or in a special dining room hutch. After all, neither my grandma or probably yours grew up in an era of abundance. Special dishes or collections of prized figurines and wooden spoons or coins from travelling weren’t something to be hidden away where no one could see!

In our modern-day living, most of us probably have so much stuff that we can’t possibly display it all! However, to achieve the cottagecore style, you can pull out some of those special collections and work them into your decorations. My collections are mostly just things I love rather than sentimental collections, so I enjoy rotating them around and using them at different times.

For example, I have a small collection of old clocks that I love to display around the New Year time. In the spring, my old thrifted pots can be easily styled into a collection. Pretty soon, I’ll be pulling out the seashell collection that we add to every year! These are just little things that I enjoy. When they are grouped together, they can become a statement piece in my decor rather than a bunch of clutter sitting around!

Pro Tip: To achieve the cottagecore look, try grouping some like items together to create vignettes of pretty collections.

Here are a few other little collections I like to display:

glass cloches
ironstone dishes
ironstone pitchers
brass candle holders
wicker demijohns
mortar and pestles

4. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Use functional items as decor

One thing you can be sure of is that neither of my grandmas let things go to waste! The same is true for home decor. One way to bring in the cottagecore lifestyle is to incorporate items that function well for you but are also pretty and double as decor. My favorite kind of home decor are pieces that can play more than one role!

Here are a few easy examples you could try:

When you look around your home, you probably have a lot of ways you can hit the reset button by combining function and decor. This can really help bring clean lines to your style while keeping the cozy, collected, cottagecore aesthetic in your home!

5. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Mix of wooden furniture

A really great way to add even more of a cottagecore style to your home decor is to mix and match your furniture a bit. Keeping the furniture light and bright with slipcovers is one of the best cottagecore decor ideas. However, mixing in a bit of wooden furniture will give it more of the cottagecore aesthetic.

For example, a pine side table or a wooden rocking chair in the living room can break up the fabrics and add a beautiful cottagecore look. In a cottagecore kitchen, you could add a floating shelf made of wood or use a large wooden dough bowl on the kitchen island. In the dining room, a pine table with white chairs and floral prints on the place mats or table runner can add instant cottagecore charm.

Pro Tip: You don’t need to go out and purchase new furniture! Just add some wooden accents throughout and shop your home.

Try rearranging a few pieces to scatter your wooden furniture throughout different rooms in your home. Then, hit up the thrift store for some smaller accent-style wooden furniture that you can add to your home decor!

6. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Faux and fresh flowers

Floral motifs are a key component of cottagecore decor ideas. However, if you want to add some cottagecore accents without replacing throw pillows, furniture, and rugs, try adding a simple vase of faux or fresh flowers.

I recently picked up THIS vase and it is going to be my new cottagecore favorite for the spring and summer! I love the rattan wrap for a touch of natural materials. Next, I added 3 gorgeous faux hydrangeas. THESE come in a variety of colors and are so incredibly realistic. I can’t get over how real they look and feel!

Adding this vase of hydrangeas to a coffee table vignette, kitchen table centerpiece, bedroom nightstand, or living room side table are all quick and easy ways to add a touch of cottagecore style in a budget-friendly and time-friendly way.

Here are my other very favorite faux flowers that I frequently use in our home:

White tulips
Realistic hydrangeas
Real-touch peony bouquet
Realistic greenery stems
White forsythia wreath

7. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Add floral prints to a gallery wall

This cottagecore decor idea is a little more specific but it is definitely a way to make a strong cottagecore statement in your home decorating! Floral prints are an important part of the cottagecore style because the idea of picking flowers from the garden or carrying home a bouquet of flowers from the farmer’s market is a delightful concept common to the cottagecore lifestye.

If you have a place in your home for a gallery wall, it can be a really fun way to decorate seasonally with cottagecore style. I have quite a few vintage art pieces that I’ve picked up at thrift stores and flea markets. However, THIS is my favorite way to add to my gallery wall inexpensively. Plus, it is easy to change up for the seasons!

No matter what the season is, some kind of floral or botanical prints can really give that cottagecore home decor look. If you don’t have a gallery wall, try tucking a piece of art into your shelf decor! You can see more ideas to style vintage art here.

8. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Mix of patterns on throw pillows

Another key element of the cottagecore trend is to mix patterns on fabrics. If you aren’t sure what patterns to mix together, try this easy formula:

one solid color, preferably with texture
add a check or stripe
finish the vignette with floral patterns

You really can’t go wrong with this mix of floral patterns combined with a stripe or check and a solid! Experiment and have fun playing around with your pillows until you love it!

9. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Add botanical prints to your home decor

While this is similar to the concept of adding floral prints (see #7), botanical prints can be a great way to add the cottagecore home look in a more subtle and neutral way. Since botanical prints are the equivalent of greenery in your home, they take on a more neutral look while still having that overall cottagecore home style.

THIS is a gorgeous art set that has some lovely botanical prints. Bonus: it is under $20 for the entire set! Add some thrifted frames and you’re all set for a cottagecore style gallery wall in your home decor!

10. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Incorporate some Audubon accents

I love using some Audubon accents throughout my home decor, especially in the spring season. One of my favorite ways is by using pages from my vintage Birds of America book and framing them with gold, thrifted picture frames. There are also great reproduction vintage posters with Audubon style that you can frame and include in your wall decor. You can see more ideas for Audubon style prints here.

If you want to take the Audubon style off the wall, try adding beautiful gold swans to a vignette in your living space. I also love these antiqued gold candle holders with the little bird. They are such a pretty and subtle way to give a nod toward the Audubon decor style and they still have such great vintage charm!

11. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Decorate with old books

Good books are basically an essential for cottagecore decor ideas! I love using old books around our home. Actually, I keep a shelf in my extra decor closet just for books. Collecting pretty, vintage books in different color schemes allows me to use them year round in my decorating. Old books are a great way to add a pop of color to complement your home decor.

I also love using old books because it can help me give varied height to decorative accessories. My mantel is one place that I almost always use old books to vary the height of the home decor objects. You can also use a pretty book as a base for a vignette on a coffee table or side table. The vintage charm of old books is an easy way to add a touch of cottagecore style to your home decor!

You can see many more ideas for using vintage books in your home decor here!

12. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Use baskets in your decorating

I absolutely love using baskets in my home decor! They are a perfect way to add tons of texture, dimension, shape, and interest to living spaces. Baskets are also perfect for the cottagecore aesthetic because they bring in a touch of the natural materials that cottagecore is known for.

If you want an easy way to add some cottagecore decor ideas to your home, check out THIS post for ideas to decorate with baskets!

Here are a few of my favorite ways to use baskets in my home decor:

Hang a basket on a wall with seasonal greenery or flowers.
Used stacked baskets on a shelf or coffee table to hide away things I need to keep close at hand.
Place a large lidded basket in the family room to hold cozy blankets.
Keep a small basket on the kitchen island to hold fruit.
Stand a tall basket on a console or entry table with a small tree or long greenery stems in it.
Currently: basket with a lid for our puppy’s toys and another for his grooming supplies! It’s handy but hidden away in plain sight!

13. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Keep cozy throw blankets laying around

Speaking of cozy blankets, almost any element that adds a cozy feeling in your home can probably fit into cottagecore decor ideas! I keep THIS soft blanket tossed over the arm of a chair and another at the end of my bed year round. Since it is a neutral color, it is a subtle cozy layer. However, the texture makes it add simple dimension. Most of all, it is super functional because it is soft, cozy, and easy to grab for a movie night or to curl up with a book!

Pro Tip: Try tossing a pretty blanket (make sure it blends with your color scheme!) over the arm of a sofa, the back of a chair, or casually “falling out” of a pretty basket on the floor.

INSERT FLORAL THROW IN FAMILY ROOM IMG

14. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Create ambiance with lamps and cozy lighting

Not only do lamps and accent lighting add ambiance, but they also look pretty sitting out in your home decor! Don’t discount how a pretty lampshade or gold fixture can elevate the overall look of your home decor!

Here are a few lighting favorites:

These battery operated wall sconces (no hardwiring required) are so elegant with clean lines.
This gold picture light makes any gallery wall or wall art look extra special. We hung ours over our Frame TV!
These wicker pendant lights add so much texture to a space.
These battery operated taper candles are my very favorite to add a cozy glow around our home.
This chandelier has been a favorite of mine for many years. I love the clean lines and mix of industrial/traditional style.

15. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Incorporate vintage fabrics.

Okay, the fabrics don’t have to ACTUALLY be vintage, but a vintage-style fabric can go a long way to creating cottagecore charm in your decor! Whether a table runner, table cloth, placemats, curtains, cushions, throw pillows, or rugs, fabrics are the icing on the cake in any space.

Here are a few favorite styles of vintage fabric for the cottagecore home:

Grain sack pillow covers
Vintage rug pillow covers
Vintage style rug
Gauzy stripe curtains (multiple colors available)
Ticking stripe dog bed (our puppy loves this!)

INSERT GRAIN SACK PILLOW IMG

16. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Add a vintage-style patterned rug to your room

Speaking of rugs, a rug can elevate any space with any style of decor. The same is true for cottagecore decor ideas too! You can really dress the room up and give it a complete refresh just by switching out your rug!

Pro Tip: If you have a neutral rug, try layering a patterned rug over it for texture and interest.

Here are a few rugs I’m currently loving:

This diamond rug has all the European cottage vibes.
Jute rugs are timeless and add great cottage texture.
I love the pattern and texture in this neutral area rug.

17. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Ruffles are IN!

I’ll be honest, when I think of ruffles in decor, the first thing that comes to mind are the ruffles on my pink comforter in the early 90’s. However, carefully placed ruffles in a space can add a soft, feminine, romantic nostalgia are a common theme for the cottagecore style.

You can really go all out with the ruffles and totally get away with it in the cottagecore style. However, if ruffles sends you back to the late 80’s or early 90’s like me, you can also add them in small doses and keep more clean lines in your home decor.

Pro Tip: Trying adding ruffles on pillow covers, duvet covers, and even dish towels for a fun touch!

18. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Try scalloped edges on your home decor!

If ruffles aren’t your thing, consider scalloped edges instead! I feel like the scalloped edges in home decor has a little more of the coastal cottage look that I love, so I lean toward scalloped edges more than ruffles. However, they mix and match perfectly for cottagecore decor ideas!

You can add scallops in your home decor on furniture, picture frames, baskets, pillow covers, blankets, rugs, place mats, trays, and almost anything these days! Scalloped edges are definitely trending up and that’s a trend I can totally get behind!

Here are a few personal favorites:

These scalloped baskets for pretty storage
Pillow covers with scalloped edges for pretty layers and texture
This scalloped tray is perfect for entertaining
I love this picture frame so much!
For a statement piece, try this scallop pendant. Gorgeous!

19. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Touches of brass accents

A little touch of gold and antique brass goes a long way in the cottagecore style. One thing that sets cottagecore apart from country or farmhouse decor is that it is a little more elevated with a little more elegance. Some touches of gold are a perfect way to add that elegant look while keeping the overall style casual and comfortable.

I love using gold candlesticks, vintage brass figures, gold picture frames, and gold framed mirrors in my home decor year round!

Here are a few favorites that add some vintage charm:

This mirror is gorgeous and has great vintage style.
Gold candlesticks of different sizes are a must! Add my favorite spiral twist, wax finish battery tapers!
These pretty gold swans.
Gold accent lighting, like my favorite sconces

20. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Table linens

I love that table linens are such an important element of the cottagecore decor ideas! Even if it is very simple, a pretty table runner or table cloth can make the entire dining and/or kitchen area look so inviting and intentional. In a day and age when families are so busy, creating time to eat as a family is really important to me! It’s not that we need a fancy table to have a family dinner. However, when a kitchen or dining space feels inviting, it encourages gathering and that is something I can definitely get behind too!

My go-to table runner for every day living is definitely this checked table runner. It is under $10, suites a simple life, and I don’t have to worry about it catching a spill or being covered with school papers and messy backpacks or whatever else the day may bring. Plus, it just looks pretty and I love the check pattern for a cottage style!

I also love anything with a block print and THIS table cloth is so gorgeous!

Here are a few more favorites:

These jute place mats
Casual striped napkins

21. Cottagecore Ideas for Home Decorating: Add some curtains!

Curtains are such a pretty way to add texture to a room! Even though we do not have curtains in our main living space because of the plantation shutters (which are also wonderful for our Florida home), I do love having pretty curtains in our other rooms.

You can get as detailed with your curtains as you care to! Curtains can be a way to add subtle texture and dimension with neutral colors or add a statement piece with bright colors or patterns. Guess what? You get to choose!

No matter what color or pattern, a lighter fabric and overall color scheme will fit the cottagecore home style better. You may also want to consider a simple style of curtain rather than heavy drapes and layers of a more traditional style room.

Here are a few pretty options to consider:

I recently added these gauzy stripe curtains to our back living room. LOVE!
These block print curtains
Beautiful scallop edge curtains
These neutral floral design curtains

Well, are you starting to get the picture of cottagecore decor ideas? Like I said at the beginning, there are so many ways to add touches of the cottagecore style to your home. These are just some of my personal favorites!

I hope you’ve had fun reading through these ideas and gathering some inspiration to add cottagecore touches to your own home! It is a style that I think truly adds an inviting feeling to any home and one that makes living spaces, big and small, feel like a cozy retreat. That sounds like home to me!

Happy cottagecore decorating!

You may also enjoy these home decor related blog posts:

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Blessings,

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