Key elements to a Rustic Design

The philosophy behind rustic design is relatively simple: embrace an organic aesthetic that will infuse your home with comfort and warmth. The following design principles help in the creation of a rustic aesthetic.

Organic Textures

Organic i.e anything that is made from or inspired by nature. This could be anything from woven reed wallpaper to seagrass rugs. Stone or timber feature walls would be a bold statement of texture and would give even a brand new home a sense of history. Always a good idea to try and use locally sourced materials so it brings authenticity to the space.

Natural Colour Palette

This does not mean your space needs to be all neutrals with no colour - quite the opposite. You should pick your neutral base colours and play off your feature colours to complement and contrast them. Another way to go is having a bold base colour and play off the room with accents of softer tones.

Textiles

Textile is often a easy and relatively cost effective way to add dept to a space. Drapery, cushions, throws, linen all play important roles. You could choose to match one to another or deliberately contrast colours and textures to create a more bohemian look.

Patterns

Many are afraid of what too much pattern would do to a room. Rightly so; a poor choice could mean a room end up looking busy and too little may look like the space has no soul. Trial and error could be an expensive way to test the waters here but if you are really unsure, best to get some professional help.

Rustic furniture

Though replica furniture and antiques are used by many, I cant say I'm too much of a fan. You are better off having one genuine piece of old furniture in a room as opposed to trying to fake the look.