Author: Kari Apted

Rustic interior design embraces everything that’s aged, natural, casual, and organic. Raw and distressed wood finishes are a cornerstone of rustic decor. Earthy, spicy colors contribute to a rustic living room 

Rustic style can take on many variations, including modern, minimalist, farmhouse, and industrial elements. The perfect rustic living room is the one that best reflects your own personality, whether that’s rustic with  decidedly country or urban edge. Scroll through these rustic living room ideas and you’ll see what we mean.

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1.Maximize Rustic Charm in Apartments

Some apartments have non-descript “cookie cutter” interiors and limited space. These factors can make it hard to create that desired rustic vibe. Other apartments—particularly renovated lofts—have enviable rustic style elements, such as an exposed brick wall or a wooden ceiling.

Expand a small rustic style apartment by going with a light color scheme. Choose furniture with a distressed white paint finish and include large wall mirrors to visually expand the room.

2. Embrace Country Rustic Elegance

A country living room probably already includes certain rustic interior elements. Both types of decor are comfortable and welcoming, and signature decor from each style is at home in both of these. A generous brick or stone fireplace is a necessity, with curl-up-worthy plush chairs positioned nearby.

A country rustic living room can include cool colors not often seen in pure rustic design. Various shades of blue, rose, or even lavender can be incorporated to merge the two types of decor. Traditional country textile patterns, such as gingham and florals, also “countrify” the more straightforward elements of rustic living.

3. Create a Welcoming Farmhouse Feel

Farmhouse style celebrates rustic living with its focus on reclaiming and repurposing pieces you already own. A farmhouse living room usually feels light and airy due to its inclusion of white and light colors. A rustic farmhouse trends toward darker, more solid decor which also helps to anchor the space.

Sticking to a classic farmhouse decor color palette will help you project the rustic feel you’re going for. A farmhouse rustic living room is mostly a neutral living room, focusing on white, stone, tan, and brown. Often the only injection of color is green, in the form of living plants or perhaps as a rug or vase.

4. Center Around a Rustic Fireplace

To be honest, it’s hard to create a rustic living room without a fireplace. A live fire is such a vital part of the rustic living experience, and nearly all rustic living room decor is positioned around this focal point. A brick or stone fireplace is the classic rustic touch, but other types of fireplace materials can also merge into rustic decor.

Concrete fireplace surrounds have an earthy feel that coordinates well with a rustic color scheme. A stained, glazed, or textured concrete fireplace design would be perfect in an industrial living room. Marble fireplace walls are appropriate when going with a modern or minimalist rustic feel.

5. Select Rustic Furniture Essentials

Say the words “rustic furniture” and chunky, exposed wood pieces immediately come to mind. However, rustic furniture encompasses so much more than this most basic style.

Natural fibers look best in a rustic living room, so when choosing upholstery, focus on linen and linen-look fabrics. Solid hues of brown, grey, or beige will integrate nicely with a rustic color palette. 

For wood pieces, keep in mind that stained and painted finishes work equally well. A solid wood coffee table with cast iron rivets is a classic rustic living room idea, while a whitewashed coffee table conveys rustic farmhouse charm.

6. Blend Industrial with Rustic Flair

If you’re drawn to rustic decor and embrace the edgier side of life, you’ll probably love industrial design elements. Look to converted warehouses and factory loft apartments for inspiration. Exposed beams and ductwork, unfinished concrete, metal architectural supports, and exposed brick accent walls are all important features in an industrial living room.

Industrial interior design includes furniture and accessories that fall into the vintage spectrum. Raw, distressed, and aged objects are excellent industrial living room decor. Hit secondhand shops for old fans, vintage barstools, and metal lamps bearing a natural patina. Draw the eye up to the ceiling and its exposed wooden beams by hanging an oversized antique dome light.

7. Transform Interiors with Rustic Touches

No matter what type of interior you inherited in your home, you can tweak it to reflect your love of rustic style. Add wooden wall coverings, such as shiplap or paneling, or place these finishes on the ceiling. Building supply stores sell hollow wood ceiling beams that look like heavy solid wood, but are lighter, more affordable, and easier to install.

If you don’t have a fireplace, add a big rustic impact by creating an accent wall out of brick veneer. Replace carpeting with wide plank hardwood flooring or a rustic tumbled tile like travertine. Keep in mind that lodge, cottage, and Mediterranean home decor can all be combined in a rustic interior.

8. Incorporate Leather for Rustic Luxury

What’s more inviting than a couple of plush leather armchairs tucked in front of a wood-burning fireplace? Leather is a must-have decor idea in every rustic living room. The most logical place to incorporate leather is on your furniture, but animal hide rugs, leather lampshades, and other leather accessories are also appropriate.

If you prefer fabric upholstery on your sofas and chairs, place a large leather ottoman in the center of the living room. A leather-topped chest would make an awesome rustic coffee table as well.

9. Illuminate with Rustic Lighting Choices

Your choices in living room lighting provide a make-or-break opportunity to fully showcase your rustic style. Incorporate plenty of lamps and dimmable overhead lights so that it’s easy to capture the warmth that’s such an integral part of rustic design. Lanterns and candles add so much to rustic decor.

Simple brushed metal chandeliers with Edison bulbs are trendy industrial overhead light fixtures. For a softer look, choose woven wood or wicker dome lights. Simple Tiffany stained glass lamps can fit into certain rustic living rooms, as can mid-century light fixtures—if you’re going for a modern rustic vibe. Choose deer antler light fixtures if you prefer a rustic home with a mountain lodge ambiance.

10. Simplify with Minimalist Rustic Style

Minimalism is all about embracing an uncluttered, simple lifestyle. A minimalist rustic style will include the colors and textures associated with rustic decor while eliminating any degree of visual clutter. Furniture in this style will be simple in design. A rough-hewn reclaimed wood coffee table and a fur rug add the rustic texture you need.

Blank spaces can be used to your advantage in a rustic minimalist space. Don’t be afraid to go for an open, almost art gallery feeling with white walls showcasing a few carefully chosen rustic-themed paintings.

11. Modernize Your Rustic Living Space

Modern and chic may sound like the opposite of cozy and rustic, but the two concepts can come together surprisingly well. Rustic chic decor will celebrate a rustic element—such as an exposed brick wall—but turn it chic by painting it white. All modern living room design should include metal, but if you’re going for a rustic vibe, make it matte instead of shiny.

A modern rustic living room adds interest through textures, not clutter. Think of a faux fur rug under an unfinished concrete coffee table, set between a low black sofa and a plush chair covered in a mid-century mod fabric.

12. Celebrate Traditional Rustic Ambiance

A traditional rustic living room usually has a darker color palette and lots of natural materials. Ceilings may include weathered wooden beams and the centerpiece of the room is often an oversized stone fireplace.

Dark leather and wooden furniture pairs with natural linen throw pillows to create traditional rustic living room seating. It’s fine to include a few traditional living room accent pieces that don’t fit the “rustic” definition. For example, throw fringed damask pillows on the sofa and lay a traditional Persian rug on the floor.

“Country roads, take me home, to the place I belong.”  –  John Denver

The word “country” has long signified a place that’s comfortable, unpretentious, and home-like. Like the rolling hills and blue skies of the countryside, country home decor draws us to a kinder, simpler existence.

Beneath the larger umbrella that is country style, several specific decor flavors exist. Coastal, cottage, and farmhouse are American standards, while French, Tuscan, and Scandinavian styles introduce European flair. You’ll be amazed by the variety of cozy living room concepts as you browse our collection of the best country living room ideas.

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1. Seaside Serenity: Coastal Country Living Room

Some of the coziest country homes are located near the beach. They embrace everything about the seaside aesthetic, with pale, calming colors and weathered wood surfaces. The coastal living room is meant to remind you of relaxing on vacation and is a great place to showcase collectibles from your travels.

Various soft hues of blue are a must in a coastal country home as they bring the sea and sky indoors, but darker blues, greens, and browns are also welcome. A nubby jute rug adds a rope-like nautical element to your coastal country home. Substitute an old steamer trunk for a traditional coffee table to complete your nod toward all that’s good about traveling.

Read more: 65 Coastal Decor Ideas

2. Shabby Chic Cottage Country Living Room

Cottages were traditionally smaller houses built on large estates, comfortable little homes that received all the hand-me-downs from the main house. Decorating a comfy cottage is more about creating an aura of warmth and light than sticking to a certain design manual.

The beauty of cottage decor is that it reflects your personality and preferences. Pretension is unwelcome in a cottage inspired room. Because it is genuinely you, the people who love you automatically feel comfortable and welcome in this space.

A cottage-inspired country living room can include shabby chic decor. This casual, ultra-feminine style includes lace, stripes, and large floral prints in soft hues of pink, white, and cream. Beaded chandeliers and chippy paint finishes are also fitting in shabby cottage design.

3. Add Cozy Country Decor Elements

Country decor used to mean lots of quilts, lace, and heavy wooden furniture pieces. Now it can include a diverse range of textiles and materials, but they must share certain common denominators. Country decor is generally considered the epitome of coziness paired with livability.

Fresh flowers, whimsical paintings, rustic metal light fixtures, and candle chandeliers are common country and farmhouse living room elements.

A large area rug often anchors the space and provides a soft place for bare feet to land. Persian rugs are classic country living room accents, but other types of rugs fit well into country style. Oversized checks, simple stripes, and colorful plaid rugs work well in country spaces.

4. English-Inspired Country Living Room with Warm Elegance

An English inspired country living room has a warm, dark color palette and is a bit more formal than cottage style. Textiles include chintz, a colorful fabric with a shiny finish, often showcasing plaid or floral patterns. The sofa must include a generous throw pillow collection and a knitted wool afghan.

Plush wing chairs and wooden Windsor chairs exhibit classic English style. These chairs make great filler pieces in family room or dining room corners.

Don’t forget to anchor the space with a generous area rug in deep, warm hues. An English living room is centered around a heat source, so if your home lacks a fireplace, consider installing a wood stove to achieve that by-the-fire ambiance.

5. Farmhouse Fusion: Blending Traditional Country and Modern Style

Farmhouse design combines traditional country elements with contemporary style. For example, open shelving, or floating shelves, are as great in farmhouse style as they are in more modern spaces. Vaulted ceilings with decorative beams are one of the more rustic hallmarks of farmhouse decor.

White walls and an open concept floor plan are common features in a farmhouse living room. Offset the white with plenty of natural wood surfaces.

Use plenty of black accents as well, such as throw pillows, wall art, and picture frames. Add baskets, metal light fixtures, and stone bowls to elevate the room’s natural elements.

6. Rustic Elegance: French Country Living Room Decor

A French country living room melds the elegance of French style with more rustic comforts. Designed after homes in Provence and the rest of the French countryside, French country decor includes lots of botanical themes. These appear in French country design as toile fabric, artwork, wallpaper, and accessories.

As in other country style living rooms, French country style relies heavily on natural materials such as wood and stone. However, they often have a weathered appearance. Furniture is still more refined than rustic, but its subtle distressing provides a lived-in, well-loved vibe. Traditional and modern French country furniture shuns minimalist lines, preferring natural curves and softer boundaries.

7. Simplified Charm: Modern Country Living Room Decor

Modern country decor can be described as a more simplified type of country decor. Somewhat eclectic in nature, it combines elements from vintage, industrial, and coastal country decor and conveys a naturally relaxed vibe.

A coffee table in this style may combine a stocky wood base with a modern glass tabletop.

Modern country decorating ideas mix new and old pieces into each room. In this way, it shares similarities with modern farmhouse style. But unlike a farmhouse living room, a modern country style living room often incorporates plenty of bold colors.

8. Neutral Elegance in Country Living Room Decor

Neutral colors are a common element in country living room decor. Pale neutrals can make a small country living room feel bigger and brighter, especially when used on the walls, rug, and sofa. Offset neutrals with warm wood tones and black or metal touches in your artwork and accessories.

Farmhouse style relies heavily on a neutral color palette, as does Scandinavian cottage style. A cream or white sofa provides a large neutral base in a country style living room and can support any sub-style in the country genre.

9. Rustic Harmony in Country Living Room Decor

Rustic style is a natural partner with country decor ideas. Rustic living room ideas include sturdy, industrial-inspired elements with a strong masculine flavor. A leather sofa and a heavy wood coffee table set on top of a cowhide rug are all great illustrations of rustic country style.

Organic wood paneling warms up any rustic living room. A room-width stone fireplace flocked by leather wing chairs is a comforting centerpiece in many a country living room. Hang mounted taxidermy skulls over the mantel—something preferably made from a single heavy beam of reclaimed wood.

Read more: Top 53 Rustic Living Room Ideas

10. Scandinavian Serenity in Country Living Room Decor

Scandinavian design emerged in the 1950s and remains popular for its clean minimalism and functionality. A suitable addition to modern or country decor, Scandinavian furniture’s simple lines designate basic comfort—something inherent to country style.

Unlike rustic or farmhouse style, which can become a bit cluttered, a Scandinavian approach to country decor includes all of the comfort with none of the clutter. This doesn’t mean that it’s a boring living room idea, however. Scandinavian decor often includes interesting patterns and bright pops of color.

11. Vintage Charm in Traditional Country Living Room Decor

Traditional country decor is based on interior design preferences that were common in old farmhouses. As such, it usually includes plenty of antique furniture and vintage collectibles.

It’s best if some items show gentle wear and tear, so don’t be afraid to use distressing techniques when finishing repurposed pieces.

Traditional country textiles include ticking stripes, toile, gingham, and plaid. As with furniture, fabrics that appear gently worn are more at home here than brand-new materials. Wainscoting, beadboard, ceiling beams and other natural wood accents add traditional country details to the room.

12. Tuscan Tranquility – Classic Country Decor Inspired by Italy

Classic Tuscan country decor hails from the sunbaked region of Tuscany, Italy. Its Mediterranean style centers around rustic surfaces, a warm color palette, simple furnishings, and plenty of iron accents. Terra cotta must be included as well as other natural stones devoid of any glaze or sheen.

Rough hewn wood ceiling beams are common in Tuscan living room decor, especially paired with white or beige plastered walls. As in other country decor, a stone, brick, or tile fireplace is a welcome living room focal point.

Arched door openings and bookcases are another authentic country Tuscan touch. Tuscan-inspired fabrics feature rich, earthy colors in a variety of botanical prints and tile-like patterns.

Read also: The Top 47 Country Bedroom Ideas