What is cottage style? It's relaxed, perhaps a little shabby chic, with timeworn and much-loved decorating elements. A cottage is a vacation place, somewhere cozy, comfortable and eclectic. Your cottage home reflects your region, whether it's a beach cottage, a cabin in the woods or an urban historic neighborhood.
Recognizing Cottage Style
Cottage style is more about atmosphere than following decorator trends. The look is unpretentious and organic, as if the elements came together in the course of daily living rather than being artfully arranged. It is comfortable, romantic and even a little bit country.
Cottage decorating is about simplicity. The look is informal and doesn't rely on expensive antiques or pricey materials. Quite the opposite, in fact, which is good news for anyone decorating on a budget. It is easy to create a cottage look by breaking down the decorating elements.
Colors
Think light, airy, faded colors. Electric blue or blazing red? Not cottage, except perhaps as small accents. Pale green and sun-washed beige are cottage.
As much as possible, carry these color themes throughout your home in fabrics, paint and accent pieces. Floral, country-themed wallpaper is cottage, as are muted faux finishes and simple stencils.
Flooring
Think of wood floors, natural, painted or even whitewashed. Natural flooring like tile and slate is also cottage. Floor coverings in natural, nubby fabrics, like hand-woven or braided rugs and sisal mats, will make a room look warm and homey.
Hand-painted or stenciled canvas floor coverings are distinctive and practical. Many online retailers carry them, or you can make your own quite inexpensively.
Furniture
Sleek Art Deco or expensive antiques are not cottage. Simply styled whitewashed or painted wood furniture, old wrought iron and light wood furniture are cottage.
Estate sales and country antique stores are wonderful resources, and you won't have to spend a lot of money. Choose simple, practical, pleasing furniture in natural materials like wood and wicker. The more naturally and gently aged, the better.
Want to create your own cottage furniture? Inexpensive pieces of furniture can be whitewashed with thinned white paint. Another technique is to paint furniture with several layers of different colored paint, then use a fine sanding pad to distress it at wear points like corners and edges. Most paint stores will sell crackle glaze, which will also give your furniture an antiqued appearance within hours.
If you have the space, outdoor furniture like Adirondack chairs or wrought-iron stools are really interesting accent pieces when brought indoors. Cozy up furniture with throw pillows and quilts. Remember Grandma's lace doilies? They're very cottage.
Fabric and Prints
Mix it up. Lace, small florals and bold prints can be liberally combined in the same room. Remember that you're not going for a decorator look but an eclectic, sunny jumble. As long as you don't use too many bright colors and strong prints together, the effect will be homey instead of overwhelming.
Window Coverings
Forget heavy drapes and metal miniblinds. No tassels, no heavy valances and no velvet swags are allowed.
Natural or painted wood blinds and shutters work. So do airy lace curtains that let the sunlight filter in pretty patterns. Tab-top curtains in light, natural colors on wood or wrought iron rods are also good. Simple gingham or striped drapes, muted florals (think faded cabbage roses or lilacs) and natural fabrics like burlap or jute all lend cottage charm to window treatments.
Decorative Cottage Accent Pieces
Here is where you can really let your creativity run wild.
Whether you live in an actual cottage or a new condominium, it is not difficult to get that comfortable cottage-style effect with just a little creativity.
 | There are hundreds of interior design styles, and each can be mixed and meshed with other designs, as well as your own, to bring about a completely distinct design that is yours and yours alone. |
 | Thanks to their pursuit of perfection, the Shakers created furniture designs that are prized to this day for their elegance and simplicity. It's easy to add a Shaker feel to your home, but you'll need to look for reproductions to keep the cost down. |
A 1950s kitchen represented the age of linoleum and soft pastel colors, like pink and blue. |
Art deco is a distinct style calling for clean lines, vibrant, solid colors and chrome. It's easy to create this look in your home through vintage stores and reproductions as long as you know what to look for. |
Art Deco grew as a rebellion against the Art Nouveau movement. While the Art Nouveau style was curvilinear and reflected organic, living things such as flowers and leaves, the Art Deco style was more geometric and angular. |
