Rustic interior design evokes a primitive or country feeling and welcoming warmth. Achieve the look using simply patterned fabrics, faux wood beams and planks, and antique-looking furniture, lighting and accessories. From cabins that feature primitive log walls to cottages that reflect the "country chic" trend, rustic decor can create a bucolic ambiance anywhere, even in a high-rise apartment in the heart of a teeming metropolis. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Install a floor made of irregularly shaped pieces of slate, or choose an engineered floor of random-width, beveled planks accented with pegs.
2. Install faux wood beams, spaced as desired and accented at each end by matching faux wood corbels, to create the feel of a ski lodge or old cottage. These beams are available in various stains and types of "wood." They look authentic and can be purchased and installed at a fraction of the cost of real timber beams.
3. Plaster the walls and ceiling in a rough texture.
4. Paint the walls in faded shades of barn red, buttery yellow, apple green or slate blue, accented with cream. Use bright white instead for a seaside cottage look. Paint the ceiling between the beams in cream or white. Apply crackle finish in some areas, if desired, to create the illusion of old paint.
5. Upholster comfy, overstuffed chairs and sofas in cotton twill in faded solids, checks, stripes and nature motifs. Select end tables, bedside stands or a dining table of weathered wood in simple, primitive designs. Add ladder-back or Windsor-style dining and occasional chairs in maple or oak. For a bedroom, choose an old-fashioned bed of brass tubing, painted iron or wood, and an armoire in a simple cupboard or French country style.
6. Cover the windows in stained or painted shutters, or use cafe curtains with valances in a checked or floral pattern.
7. Install a chandelier and sconces of antique brass, pewter or wrought iron. Add oil lamps or lamps of apothecary jar, candlestick or jug designs and shade them in old parchment laced with cowhide or cotton gingham.
8. Hang artwork with rustic framing and accessorize with basketry, pewter, earthenware, hooked rugs and patchwork quilts. Have fun and use your imagination.
Tags: faux wood, accented with, faux wood beams, wood beams
