Cottage Core Decorating Ideas for a Cozy Home

If you have been reading any magazines, ordering things on-line, or seeing ads on TV, you may have noticed a new term, “cottage core decorating” or “cottage core decorations.” You might have asked yourself, “What is cottage core?”

One description of cottage core decorating is…

“Decorating in such a way that evokes romance, whimsy or nostalgia using items or decorations that make you feel like you are in a cozy cottage.”

People are veering away from the stark, black and white, cookie cutter style of the Modern Farmhouse decorating trend and are wanting their homes to reflect more of their personality and charm.

Before there was ever a term “cottage core” I tucked “Cozy and Romance” all over our home…and their cousins, “Whimsy and Nostalgia” are peeking out from every corner of our Cottage Green! (: Today I’m going to share some easy ways you can add touches of cottage core decorating to your home.

Tip #1: Use everyday items in unexpected ways and places and bring “the outside – inside.”

This garden statuary normally would be used as a decoration outside, but it looks delightful setting on our hall tree at the head of the stairs. To soften the look of the cement statue, I twined a delicate vine with silver leaves around the cherub. Adding a little more whimsy and bringing more of the outside, inside…I placed a bird nest with little eggs at the base of the statue.

Tip #2: *Use fun items and unify decorating areas by repeating the same colors or theme for whimsical, cottage core decorating.

These “fun items” I’ve gathered together and placed on a small, green shelf. The color green is repeated throughout the shelf decor and the nature theme is depicted with…a miniature canvas with a bird on it, colored pencils made from twigs, an antique floral frog, and a bird figurine.

Tip #3: *Use everyday items in unusual ways and unexpected places.

Rather than storing this beautiful cake plate trimmed with gold filigree in the kitchen or in a cabinet, I placed it on these Italian nesting tables. The unexpected cake plate adds romance and intrigue to the tables and a little gold leaf looks like it drifted down and landed on the cake plate, adding more whimsy!

I want to have a little house 
with sunlight on the floor,
A chimney with a rosy hearth
And lilac by the door

~ Nancy Bird Turner

Tip #3: Add baskets for rustic cottage charm and to unite an assortment of decor items.

On our coffee table, this large basket adds texture to the glass top, but also corrals a crystal decanter, 2 brass candlesticks, an antique stamp box, and a stack of books with a little gold hinged box placed on top.

Tip #4: Use antique and vintage finds for cottage core decorating.

Fill a bathroom cabinet with practical necessities, but make it pretty by adding antique or vintage finds! Rosebud towels, a pink heart shaped soap, and small, vintage mirrors placed inside this cabinet make me smile every time I walk in the bathroom. An antique cruet makes an elegant receptacle and is filled with mouthwash, adding another cottage core touch.

Tip #5: Use plants and florals (dried, faux, or real) to add warmth and cottage core touches to your home.

This antique Art Deco coffee urn with matching creamer and sugar bowl shines against the warm wood of the tea cart and faux branches loaded with little blackberries.

Tip #6: Use items stored away in your cabinets and arrange them to bring storybook, cupboard charm to your shelves.

Cottage Core: A return to gracious Southern style and traditional decor.

Recently, I had an urge to change the decor on two of the bookshelves that are on either side of the fireplace in our living room upstairs. l opened up my cabinets looking for items I could display and found lots of treasures! I pulled out teapots and tureens…coffee urns and cloches…serving platters with scalloped edges, and an assortment of creamers, sugar bowls, and pretty glassware. I love how the shelves look like now, like shelves in a storybook cottage. Remember our cottagecore definition, “using items or decorations that make you feel like you are in a cozy cottage.”

Tip #7: Decorate in such a way that evokes romance, whimsy or nostalgia.

When I decorated this shelf, I could just imagine the life and romance of this maiden that tended the geese, as she walked through her little French village with her beloved “Fermier.” More whimsy and romance spill out on the shelves with stacks of saucers, thatched roofed creamers and sugars, and village scenes painted on the dishes.

Home and cottage - two words most suggestive of comfort in the English language.  

~  William H. Ranlett  1851

Tip #8: Create cozy spots with visual intrigue in“ “everyday spots.”

Instead of keeping my desk closed and storing only the usual desk paraphernalia, I use my desk as another place for displaying my collection of antique ink wells and collection of other sweet “little’s.”

On top of my desk, is another small vignette with a Scottish theme and lots of whimsy. A tartan “cap” tops a forest green inkwell and sits in front of this glass Scottie trinket tray and a prized antique pencil chain attached to a darling Scottie Dog.

I hope these ideas and tips will help you get started adding more cottage core decorations to your home! Don’t let personalizing your home become overwhelming, just take one area at a time. Start by placing a pretty bud vase, a favorite paper weight, and framed pictures on your desk…arrange a collection of mugs or stack collected cups and saucers near your coffee area or decorate a shelf mixing collectibles and dishes. You probably have lots of keepsakes, dishes, and pictures stored away in your cabinets just waiting to become cottage core decorations.

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From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda