Your Guide to Cottagecore and Its Recent Popularity

Perhaps, you have seen a steady trickle of nostalgic countryside images in your social media streams. You are not alone. It is the birthright of the new generation to rebel against tradition and customs. It’s not surprising that the cottagecore aesthetic has become quite popular with Gen Z. This trend is quite sustainable, and with the worldwide pandemic, the movement has accelerated rapidly as people seek escape from the dark reality.

Cottagecore as a Budding Aesthetic Movement

Cottagecore, as a concept, embraces a simpler and sustainable existence that is one or harmonious with nature. It is a nod to the countryside. It is romantic and nostalgic. Believe it or not, you probably have participated in cottagecore activities without even realizing it. The activities embraced by this movement are wide-ranging. They cover everything from fashion to gardening, cooking to frolicking. It is also related to ongoing interest in organic, wellness, and sustainability.

Cottagecore has begun to fill people’s feeds on Instagram, TikTok, and even Tumblr. It has become quite popular that New York Times even published a piece about it and called it a “budding aesthetic movement.” Once the pandemic hits, it ceased being a budding movement, and it became a full-on movement. With so much time at home, everyone was soon baking focaccia laced with herbs, planning indoor and outdoor gardens, and engaging in all kinds of craft projects like knitting and sewing.

What Embodies the Cottagecore Aesthetic?

Cottagecore is about being cozy at home. The key aesthetic components bring natural elements indoors. These include dried or fresh flowers, houseplants, and natural color palette with neutral and warm tones. It romanticizes the traditional bucolic and nostalgic décor. It emphasizes rural idyll, and it is anti-modernity. Think Anne of Green Gables meets The Secret Garden – that’s cottagecore.

Cottagecore is hinged heavily on modern escapist fantasies. You would find posts full of foraged mushrooms, gingham tablecloths, baskets of wildflowers, mossy terrariums, white billowy dresses, and sourdough bread. This movement is all about the outdoors and the country's living. Think Oxfordshire in the UK, which encompasses the ideals of the countryside. This quaint, bucolic, and charming English village ties in perfectly with the cottagecore aesthetic.

Cottagecore is a design and lifestyle, which is anchored on tranquility, domestic living, and creativity. It is a charmed and dreamy way of life without the stressors of modern living. It sounds dreamy – and it’s exactly what everyone needs right now. We all want a relaxing space with no or little technology.
It is about simplifying your life and dressing your home in a way that will remind you to savor moments and to slow down.

This time in history is redefining us as humans. We are all asking who, what, and where we can find happiness and inspiration. Our homes have become the source of peace and happiness. We have our walls instead of galleries and museums, our kitchens instead of restaurants, our bedrooms instead of the fancy hotel suites.

Creating a Cottagecore Home

With the Cottagecore movement, the old has become new again.
Perhaps, you can tweak existing home accessories to give them the cottagecore look. Tone down the brightly colored furniture with white chalk paint to give them the shabby-chic and rustic feel. You can mute down the colors into light pink, yellow, green, or cream.

If you live close to your parents or grandparents, you can probably raid their garage or attic for cottagecore items. They will likely be thrilled to give you something that has only been taking space and gathering dust. With cottagecore décor taking over the Internet by storm, you will enjoy raiding your grandma’s home for natural-looking furniture and items that you can use to create a dreamy space.

What is a Cottagecore Décor?

The concept of cottagecore evokes the idea of living in a rustic cabin in a wooded forest or a quiet countryside. This movement attempts to recreate the feeling of living during the simpler times when everything was less complicated. This romanticizes the old and creates a sense of living in the woods even if you are in the middle of a bustling metropolitan. You can liken this to living a homesteading lifestyle with an emphasis on comfort and softness.

It is whimsical, dreamy, and charming. This décor gives your home character and personality. Imagine being tucked away in a log cabin in the middle of the forest, with your cottage nestled among wildflowers.

How to Get the Cottagecore Feel for Your Home

If you have spent hours swooning over the charming photos of the Cotswold cottages, then you are already a cottagecore fanatic. Here are a few ideas on how you can turn your house into a cottagecore home:

Start Gardening

To give your home an insta-worthy exterior, you can grow a climbing rose up the front or around the doorway. You can even create a path of lined flowers leading to your front door. This would give your home a welcoming atmosphere. You can even line the outside with hollyhocks and white picket fences.

Get a Farmhouse Dresser for Your China

Do you have a collection of vintage china? If not, perhaps you can start one. Look for a vintage dresser or farmhouse dresser where you can display your vintage china. This vintage dresser is a mainstay in most farmhouse kitchens. It offers a beautiful way to display your collectibles and ceramics.
You can go online to look for dressers like this, or you can visit local thrift shops for well-preserved dressers.

Add Checks and Stripes

A way to guarantee a cottagecore charm is to layer up your fabrics and have a mix of prints consisting of checks and stripes. You can never have enough of these prints.  You can also benefit from ruffles and trims. Gingham and checked fabrics are specific to cottagecore. A gingham tablecloth will give your kitchen a quaint farmhouse style.

Create a Traditional Farmhouse Kitchen

If you can afford the renovation, you can design and create a farmhouse-style kitchen. You can add key pieces like a butler’s sink or a Sheila maid. Although you would find stainless steel or seamless quartz sinks, you can’t beat the traditional enamel versions, which were a common sight in most kitchens around the 1930s. They are still quite popular today, and they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes to fit any kitchen space.

Perhaps you can forgo stainless steel range cooker and go for the cottage-y look with a traditional enameled range? Not only are these things incredibly cute, but they are often at the heart of any traditional Cotswold cottage. Not only are these cookers used to cook, but they were also quite useful in heating the house.

You might also want to add a traditional farmhouse kitchen table. No cottage is without it. It’s where meals are shared, homework is done, and plans are hatched. These tables were also used traditionally for preparing food, sewing, stitching, and repairing. They were used for pretty much everything!

Fill Your Home with Flowers Everywhere

Perhaps, you can wallpaper your wall with flower prints, or you can introduce cushions of floral prints. It is up to you to decide how you can introduce florals into your home.
You don’t have to bombard every room with flowers. You can practice some restraint. If you’re cautious with floral wall patterns, you can keep it neutral with reserve prints for curtains and cushions.

Invest in a Clawfoot Tub

Who doesn’t want a luxurious soak in a gorgeous bathtub? For a classic cottagecore look, you can splurge on a clawfoot tub. Authentic ones are made of enameled cast iron, which is incredibly heavy. These days you will find lighter-weight versions of these beautiful tubs, and they are made of lighter and more affordable materials like fiberglass resin.

Add a Garden Room

You can’t have a cottagecore without the rustic garden potting shed or your own shepherd’s hut. These adorable spaces can be the perfect spot for your writing, reading, painting, or other crafts. Your hut will work as your little nook where you can relax and unwind.

Grab Vintage Accessories and Home Organizers

 

 

If you want to get a genuine cottage atmosphere for your home, you have to fill it up with vintage accessories, furniture, and organizers like these four vintage desktop organizers that will help you create that vintage look that you want for your home. These cabinets will help create that rustic vibe, but they are also quite functional. They also have multiple storages, so you can store various items without any problem.

Get Cottagecore Wood Flooring

Instead of obsessing over the wood that you want for your flooring, look for flooring that offers variations in tone and texture. There should be a realistic wood appearance and visible knots that would give your flooring that realistic just-harvested-from-the-forest feel. You can use a wide-plank wood-look laminate if you cannot afford real wood. These are a durable and affordable alternative to real wood. They can help create that warm cottagecore feel to your home.

Consider vinyl plank in warm wood tones with a brown or soft gray hue. Install ceramic tiles that look like wood. These tiles offer low maintenance and create a rustic finish. Avoid flooring with intricate patterns. Ideally, your flooring should have a matte or low-gloss finish. It should have scraped or slightly rough surface for added texture. You can also use engineered wood as a fantastic alternative to hardwood.

Place some accents like soft area rugs that are incredibly cozy like a faux sheepskin. You can also use hand-hooked rugs to give the room that vintage weathered look. Your area rugs will also help protect the flooring.

Incorporate Other Décor to Help Round Out Your Space

While the structure of your home will give it the cottagecore tone, you should also consider incorporating another natural décor to help round out your vintage weathered look. You can grab rustic wooden furniture and plaid upholstery to recreate that cozy feel.

Using wooden pieces around your home will help create that cottagecore feel. We have in our store various cottagecore items that you can use to help you create that cottage-inspired look.

Look for furniture made of aged or reclaimed wood. Grab pillows, blankets, and curtains made of natural fabrics like wool or cotton. Bring in various textures and layer them to create an ethereal look for your home.

Get a glass vase and fill it up with flowers to add a soft color to your home. You can also look for thrift pieces of artwork like vintage folk art, landscape paintings, and sculptures. Display them on mantels and bookshelves. You can also set the scene with the right dinnerware. You can easily repurposed tableware to complement the rest of the items in the kitchen.

Accessorize with nature-scented candles and pine and fresh florals. Bring in houseplants like climbing vines and fiddle leaf trees. Your plants will give any room an organic life and lively greenery. You can hang dried herbs and flowers like baby’s breath and eucalyptus, and display this in your living room, dining room, or fireplace.

Install faux wood beams on your bedroom or living room ceiling. If your home has an open floor plan, you can install the beams on your kitchen’s ceiling.

Install faux wood beams on the ceiling of a bedroom or living space to create a cabin-like look and feel. If you have an open floor plan, carry the beams from the living room into the kitchen for a seamless look.