Designer Tips For A Rustic Living Room (Cozy Retreat Ideas)

Rustic living room ideas embrace natural materials in their most natural state—finishes, colors, and shapes are kept as natural as possible, and even the imperfections of these materials are left alone.

Rustic Living Room Designs

“Old” is the new “New”. The classic style of natural finishes, massive furniture pieces, and heavy textures make a comeback in the interior design scene, in fusion with more contemporary styles to create a luxe yet homey feel. Most importantly, rustic interiors give a homey & cozy ambiance. It should feel relaxed, at home, casual, and unrestricted. Forget about your OCD with symmetry, perfectly-pressed fabrics, and spotless surfaces, as rustic interiors embrace the signs of use and age on their furnishings and finishes.

The rustic style is perfect for people who want a laid-back and fuss-free living room design that has a “lived-in” feel, incorporating elements such as natural materials, character, and furnishings. It should have a very relaxed atmosphere and often reflects the personality and taste of its owner. For those who love collecting various items from their travels, rustic style interiors are a good choice as they basically let you embrace eccentricity & eclecticism. The beauty of this style comes to life in various country settings and cozy places.

Key Takeaways of Rustic Living Rooms

• A warm and homey atmosphere – has that “lived-in” look
• Emphasis on the use of natural materials – wood, stone, etc.
• Natural or wear-related imperfections are left alone as part of the look
• Usually uses large/bulky classic or vintage style furniture pieces
• Color palette is often based on creams/browns/beiges
• Perfect for old houses with naturally-aged wood
• Warm lighting for a cozy ambiance
• Often features exposed wooden trusses

Rustic Furniture

When choosing furniture for your rustic living room, consider the following important features:

Upholstery – Often uses warm-tone colors such as browns and beige, or any muted/grayed-down color.

Prints – Prints can also be used, but they usually use classic tapestry patterns.

Fabrics – Fabrics can range from linen to cotton, suede, and even leather. Textured fabrics are often preferred. Rugs can be used as accents.

Wood – Most furniture pieces would probably made from wood or at least have a wooden component. Chairs and table legs are often made from wood, often with a bulkier/heavier silhouette.

Metal – Metal can also be found used on furniture pieces, but instead of stainless steel or chrome-plated finishes, you would usually find blacked bronze, brass, antique gold, and wrought iron.

Stonework – Stone and brickwork are hallmarks of the rustic style. These rooms often feature large stone or brick fireplaces that become the focal point and are finished with rich reclaimed wood mantles.

Silhouette – Antique shops and second-hand stores would be your best bet if you don’t have existing old furniture to use. Look out for any of the following features when selecting your furniture, as they are common in rustic style designs:

• • Scroll armed sofas and chairs
  • Camel-back
  • classic furniture legs – turned,  cabriole, Jacobean, etc
  • ball & claw foot
  • nailhead details
  • textured upholstery
  • bulky massing, but looks comfortable
  • Wooden pieces such as coffee tables, side tables, and console tables are also often bulky & heavy and made from solid wood.

Rustic Decor

The decor for rustic living rooms often comes in the form of art pieces, pottery & ceramics, chandeliers & lamps, pillows, and area rugs.

What’s great about rustic-style interiors is that there’s no need to bother with a strict color scheme and even symmetry when it comes to decor and accessories. To help guide your selection of decor for your living room, here are some common decor items:

Lamps – chandeliers, floor lamps, and table lamps are the usual lighting features of rustic living rooms. They are often made from metal or wrought iron in various finishes such as blackened bronze, brass, burnished gold, etc.

Wood and colored glass can also be used. They usually have a more organic and curved silhouette. You can also opt to use candle holders/candelabras as well.

Area Rugs – Traditional style area rugs are preferred, but natural woven rugs such as jute rugs can also work for rustic-style living rooms.

Pillows – play around with patterns and colors. You can use velvet, chambray and basically any fabric and pattern you want. Dark reds and greens often work well with this style.

Accessories – antique style accessories are often found in rustic designs, and you can also use natural items such as shells, unique rocks/stones, rattan balls, handwoven fabric throws, etc. Candles, plants, and paintings are also common accessories used in this design.

Rustic Room Paint Colors

Often, the walls, floors, and ceilings of rustic interiors use texture-heavy finishes such as reclaimed wood, ceiling beams, and natural stone finishes; therefore, walls are often kept plain, clean, and warm. Here are some paint color suggestions from popular paint brands. You can also try to find their equivalent colors in your locally available paint brands:

• Benjamin Moore
  • Simply white, swiss coffee, white wisp, white dove, china white
• Sherwin Williams
  • Extra white, eider white, pure white, alabaster white, creamy
• Dunn Edwards
  • Swiss coffee, Navajo white, silken pine, trite white, oatmeal cookie, limestone

You can also explore taupes, warm-toned grays, and other similar colors to match the mood you want to achieve.

Below are some great examples of rustic-style living rooms from which you can take inspiration.

Going for a log-cabin-inspired look, this living room uses cut logs as a finish for the wall to create a faux log wall. Natural wood flooring and exposed wooden trusses for the high-sloped ceiling also appear. Standing in the middle of the living room is a massive fireplace clad in natural slate stone with a weathered wood mantel. The furniture is classic-style with notable characteristics, such as scroll arms and solid wood pieces with turned legs. The color scheme is mainly brown-toned because of the walls, floors, and ceiling, so to add a bit of contrast, an emerald green traditional area rug and green-upholstered sofa were used.

Going for a more elegant look, this rustic living room boasts of its elegant marble flooring and fireplace, as well as a high-sloped ceiling with decorative wooden trusses made with reclaimed wood. The walls are painted in an off-white shade similar to Creamy by Sherwin Williams to give it a bright and light ambiance, while furniture pieces also use muted cream colors.

High ceilings and large windows definitely make this living area look bright and welcoming. It uses a light off-white color for the walls and natural wood-framed doors and windows, paired with a birch wood plank ceiling and solid wood trusses. Because of the light-colored wood finishes used in the space, it doesn’t look too heavy, and the high, sloped ceiling with skylight keeps everything balanced. The massive fireplace is still the focal point of this room, as its natural stone finish stands out against the other finishes. The furniture has a simple and casual layout, using beige and taupe upholstery with bright-colored throws and pillows for accent.