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How to Incorporate Modern Farmhouse Design into Your Home
Contemporary farmhouse decor has been extremely popular in the last few years. Your social media feeds have most likely been inundated with the sleek lines and country chic decor intrinsically tied to modern farmhouse design.
If you’re trying to achieve a look that’s inviting and cozy, a farmhouse design is an ideal solution for you.
To help you on your journey of creating a home with a warm, practical touch, we’ve compiled some fantastic modern farmhouse decor ideas. However, before we get started, let’s explore the definition and history of this design philosophy.
The phrase modern farmhouse probably sounds like an oxymoron. However, when these two styles are combined with intentionality, you can create an amazing space. By identifying the best aspects of a farmhouse interior and applying elements from more contemporary designs, you end up with a unique yet welcoming look.
Natural hues offset by smooth lines highlight modern farmhouse interior design—you're given leeway to blend various textures and materials to provide depth to your living spaces. A modern farmhouse interior makes you feel snug without feeling cluttered and cramped. By incorporating vintage looks with contemporary efficiency, you'll create a modern home with rustic roots.
Modern farmhouse ideas are linked to the design of farmhouse architecture found in Scandinavia and Germany countryside. These homes were built for function, serving as a place to rest weary feet after tilling the land throughout the day. The style came about with a minimalistic point of view. Nothing was extraneous, everything was useful.
The lifestyle of the farmer and thereby the designs migrated to American farmlands as a new nation was forming. As American farmers expanded out west to harvest the land, they still relied on minimal creature-comforts, with the tradition for a rugged yet welcoming home extending well into the 20th century.
These homes served the purpose of providing shelter from inclement weather. However, they were are also unique in their architectural design. Timber and stone became the materials of choice, as it allowed the owner to source from local resources. The ability to quickly add expansions to the home was necessary, too, as the layout of a farmhouse would start simple and then expand as the family grew in number.
The beauty of farmhouse design stayed for the most part in the country, until the show Fixer Upper brought the world’s eye to Joanna Gaines' modern farmhouse decor. The exposed beams, antique accents, elegant lines, and white walls complementing a toned-down color palette brought the modern farmhouse to the forefront of design.
This new design paradigm was quickly adopted when Gaines joined forces with Target and released a modern farmhouse home decor line. The Hearth and Hand home sets were bought up en masse by the public and has led to more lines being released seasonally.
Shows like Fixer Upper and HGTV have made the modern farmhouse one of the most popular design choices in recent years. And it’s easy to see why. The traditional materials contrasted by industrial accents make your home feel lived-in without appearing in disarray. The aesthetics of this design-style makes coming home a joy.
Whether you’re working with a home equipped with long porches and large kitchens or revamping your apartment’s interior design, there are several ways that you can add a little modern farmhouse flair.
Dark trims against white wood details are an excellent starting place to begin your farmhouse aesthetic overhaul. Paired with a natural color palette, you can set the overall tone of your house by adding board-and-batten siding to the exterior walls.
If your home already sports wood wall panels, then you can accentuate them with contemporary black bookshelves. However, if your walls are bare, then you can find salvaged, weathered wood to create shelving fixtures as a way to incorporate an earthy touch.
The goal is to find contrasting, yet not conflicting, elements that combine to form a clean aesthetic. To achieve this style, you want to match the rough, rugged textures of wood with sleek neutral-hued modern accents. Metal-finishes or glass work exceptionally well in juxtaposition to wood.
One of the hallmark traits of a modern farmhouse is the use of comfortable yet refined furniture silhouetting immaculately against the rough architecture of the home.
If you have a large wood-hewn table, metallic, industrial chairs can be the optimal counterpoint to bring out the uniqueness of every piece. To continue this trend, you can pair a large, comfy couch, upholstered in warm neutral colors with side tables composed of wood and metal. Overall, you want to combine various textures and materials to create a home that’s both stunning and inviting.
A quick way to add that farmhouse look is to invite live edges into your kitchen. A live edge is, basically, an unfinished edge that adds a rustic appeal to modern finishes. As a result, they work very well in a kitchen. If you have countertops and tables made from heavy woods, you can add touches of lighter elements to space for contrast You can also create contrast by adding light-weight pendant lights or minimalist chairs. However, you do it, incorporating counterbalance is key to successfully implement a modern farmhouse design into your home.
Just because you want a taste of the country throughout your house doesn't mean you can't add industrial flourishes. For example, you can use subway tiles as a backsplash against white, wooden cabinetry. Then, pair industrial stools with a weathered kitchen or opt for an elegant glass table with wooden pendant lighting illuminating the space from up above. Overall, you want to choose industrial pieces with clean lines that will showcase the natural curves you will find in a modern farmhouse.
Farmhouse chandeliers are an essential component to creating the perfect ambiance in your home. The form of the shape, the glass, and the bulb all add to the effect. By installing a farmhouse chandelier, your guest will automatically be put at ease as they enter your home under it’s inviting light.
The best part is that even if you choose to highlight your home with a distressed wood chandelier, you can still make use of modern technology by installing LED, incandescent, and CFL bulbs.
You can even mix and match the different elements of modern farmhouse design in the lighting fixture. One of the best combinations is to choose a modern design made with natural material. This allows you to bring in a clean look while maintaining a rustic motif.
One of the easiest ways to start converting your home’s design to a modern farmhouse is by starting with the kitchen lighting. A rustic pendant made from wood and metal automatically sets the mood for the room.
If you’re looking to upgrade your living room or dining room, then a wagon wheel candle chandelier is the right choice, as its weight gives it a sense of formality without feeling imposing.
Creating a modern farmhouse design seems like a simple enough affair. You just need to paint everything white, add some wood finishes, maybe some rough-hewn rope around the edges of a picture frame, and voilà, you have the perfect home for entertaining. Well, there are a lot of potential pitfalls that you need to avoid. Otherwise, you can find yourself in a kitschy mess.
The core foundation of modern farmhouse design is centered around coziness. You will want to add plush pillows to enhance the comfort of the couch as well as drape a textured throw over the back. You can strive to have a room filled with baubles and accent pieces. However, make sure the decor doesn’t overwhelm the setting. Each addition you make to the room should enhance it, not bog it down.
Many modern farmhouse ideas stem from the design choice of mixing and matching various styles. However, by incorporating too many different styles, your home can feel unbalanced. An example would be having beautiful farmhouse architecture overlaid with industrial accents and then adding a large bohemian door or victorian armoire to the setup.
Your farmhouse design should focus on neutral tones and natural fabrics. Cotton, linen, and canvas fabrics make for excellent additions to the house’s overall aesthetics. Keep in mind, though, when you start adding in large swaths of black lace or incorporate overly-saturated colors, then you can end up missing the mark.
This texture mash-up can also play into the material you choose for your furniture. If you have the perfect rustic table, pair it with metal or fabric chairs. Stay away from plastic options as these are entirely too modern for this style.
Your lighting scheme is what will dictate the success of a room’s atmosphere. Choosing the right lamp or the perfect chandelier will create a home that you want to spend time in. Alternatively, a lighting system that is too harsh can cut through the atmosphere, removing the warmth and comfort of your modern farmhouse.
If you’re searching for the ideal lighting fixture for your home, let Claxy help. We have a variety of rustic pendant lights, farmhouse chandeliers, and industrial table lamps that will provide the perfect lighting accent to your home. Browse our collections or contact us directly to learn more.
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