If you feel drawn to the cottagecore aesthetic but aren’t sure how to get the look in your house, keep reading to learn the basics of cottagecore decor, styling tips, and a free summer wall art printable!
Defining Your Decor Style Can be Hard to Do
Since I’ve gotten into home decorating, I’ve been trying to nail down my decor aesthetic. And that’s hard to do.
I don’t know that many people embrace just one decor style… usually it’s a skillful eclectic mix of a few styles that complement each other.
As I’ve tried to tune in to what I really love – styles in the store that grab my attention, pictures on Instagram that stop me in my scroll, I landed on something of a rustic garden aesthetic (my own name, lol).
I definitely gravitate towards a light and airy feel – light and bright, but if I had to identify with a particular style, I’d say it’s on the spectrum of cottagecore.
What is Cottagecore Style?
While I’d say cottagecore is more nostalgic than it is new, here’s a definition of what is most commonly accepted as the cottagecore aesthetic, well, according to Good Housekeeping, that is:
“Cottagecore embraces the charm of the English countryside creating an idealized representation of farm life — no matter where in the world you may live.”
It goes deeper than just home decor but almost more of a way of life… airy dresses, gardening, baking sourdough bread, hanging clothes on the clothesline, having a cup of tea in the garden.
It’s embracing a rustic simplicity in how you live – a cozy domesticity that is in touch with natural, bringing it indoors to our living spaces with fresh flowers, dried flowers, and plants.
It sometimes can lean towards farmcore or countrycore… you know, a life of having chickens that lay fresh eggs, growing your own vegetables. But it definitely has a historical, timeless, classic vibe.
In short, it’s a return to a simpler way of life, though on some levels it does romanticize the past with its simplicities, in order to escape our modern frenzies.
The Spruce gives a detailing of the history of cottagecore, if you’re interested in going down that rabbit hole!
Cottagecore can be a whole lifestyle, but some people just love the vibe and decor without needing to hang their own clothes out to dry or bake fresh bread everyday (that’s more of where I fall).
Cottagecore as a Decor Style
If you want to narrow down what cottagecore looks like in a home or how to achieve that aesthetic, here are a 10 easy characteristics and decorating tips:
1| Rustic furniture with its imperfections or vintage appeal
2| Natural materials: wood, linen, cotton, stone
3| Vintage and antique accessories (old windows are a super-easy way for a quick cottagecore addition!).
4| Warm, neutral, earthy color palettes, for a cozy vibe
5| Second-hand furniture – repurposed or antique (especially cute on summer porches!)
6| Incorporates personal decor items: family heirlooms, meaningful or nostalgic gifts, personal photos, pieces that tell a story
7| Classic or antique books as decor (shelves, coffee tables, etc.)
8| Fireplace mantel (real or faux) with candles and elements from nature
9| Dried flowers, herbs, dreamy florals, or plants – bringing nature indoors
10| Handmade decor or crafts – quilts, beeswax candles, pressed flowers
You can take a look here to see how I used a lot of these cottagecore elements in my home for spring!
An Easy (& Free) Way to Incorporate Cottagecore in Your Home
The above tips should give you lots of idea for how to at least start to give you a cottagecore vibe in your house. Today I want to offer one more – free printable wall art.
Printing out wall art and placing them in thrifted or antique frames is a simple way to instantly begin to decorate with cottagecore.
I’ve designed a series of summer cottagecore printables for my Etsy shop, and I’d like to offer one of those prints to you for free!
I love and use printable wall art all the time in my own home. It’s a fabulous budget-friendly option (usually, you can get them for free!) to add cottagecore (or any home decor flavor) style to your home!
This printable is an 8×10″ PDF that you can download and print instantly!
To get the free printable, just fill out the box at the very end of the post!
If you’d like more size options or have the JPG file where you can easily use the file in many ways, you can check that out in my Etsy shop!
I also have printables that coordinate with this one to create full set of coordinating wall art – you can see that in my Etsy shop, too!
Tips to Display Printable Wall Art in Your Home
There are so many ways to use free printable wall art.
Feel free to experiment to see what looks and feels right in your own home.
I’ve hung a length of twine and used clothespins to hang printables from.
I’ve displayed printables on a DIY clipboard-type frames – or on a clipboard that sits on a stand.
I’ve created mini signs with printables. They look adorable hung on hooks or on tiered trays.
I’ve made poster hanger frames and hung printables of all different sizes, even poster size!
Even just frames placed on a shelf or wall is a beautiful way to display printable wall art. Thrifted or vintage frames especially complement cottagecore home decor style.
Even MORE Summer Printables
If you like printables for all kinds of occasions, I have MORE!
I’ve teamed up with some amazing bloggers who have shared free summer printables for you as well!
Take a look at the list below (the picture is loosely in the same order) and see if there are any printables you can use!
Homemade Heather – Nature Scavenger Hunt
The Girl Creative – Summer I Spy
Lemon Thistle – Summer Bucket List
Creatively Beth – Hello Summer Coloring Page
Smiling Colors – Summer Coloring Pages
Try it – Like it – Create It – Summer Recipe Card
Me and My Inklings – Summer Journal
Artsy Fartsy Mama – Summer Color By Number
The Crafty Blog Stalker – Summer Search and Find
Hand Lettered Printales – Summer Reading Tracker
Ink Happi – Summer Story Printables
Our Crafty Mom – Summer Printable Tags
Simple Nature Decor – Sea Animal Coloring Pages
Michelle James Designs – Summer Party Invite
Lauras Crafty Life – Summer Banner
I hope you found some great ideas in this post that you can use! I’d love to see anything you come up with! Tag me on Instagram @100affections and I’ll share it in my stories!
If you’d like even more free summer printables, here are some you can grab on the blog! Just click the image to be redirected!
Don’t forget to grab your free cottagecore summer wall art printable! Just fill out the box below!
Other thoughts? I’d love to hear them! Leave a comment below!
Leave a Reply