Rustic Elegance Decor: Blending Chic Design With Country Furniture

Style Spotlight: Rustic Elegance

What is Rustic Elegance?

Decorating a home using a mixture of contrasting decor styles can create a unique and fabulous one-of-a-kind space. One of these hybrid styles gaining traction is known as “Rustic Elegance”, but what is it, and is it right for you? 

The term refers to a style that’s homey yet chic, and comfortable yet fashionable. Rustic Elegance incorporates high-end, often solid wood, furniture while using rustic elements to create an upscale look in your home while keeping a casual, relaxed vibe. The interior design blends the high style and classic aesthetic of quality antiques with the modern desire for comfort and convenience. It employs intricate detail work, earthy colors, and natural materials. If considering a rustic chic look for your home, here are some tips and ideas for achieving the look in every room.

This stylish and handmade Alpine Bedroom Set puts a fresh, rustic twist on Craftsman style with a rich finish and neutral bedding. Sealing the deal is the wide shiplap walls and exposed rustic beam.

Favor a neutral color scheme

Usually, a room with Rustic Elegance will have minimal color since the rustic pieces will demand attention on their own. Rustic elegant decor tends to go heavy on white and warm grays. Layering neutrals keep rustic chic spaces dynamic and interesting without relying too heavily on any specific color palette.

Pops of color should be limited and purposeful. This aesthetic embraces nature, so look for comforting, earthy colors. Greens and pale browns are common and they favor warmth, so it doesn't feel too cold and stark. Contrasting colors may come in handy if you can match a color shade.

Use accent colors in a focal art piece or rug to tie everything together. Other ideas for how to incorporate color in the spirit of Rustic Elegance include bouquets of live or dried flowers and throw pillows or blankets.

Add rustic warmth to the room with elegant wood grains, selective metals, and natural textures

One of the defining characteristics of a rustic home, whether it's cottage or coastal, is the use of natural materials. A variety of shapes, textures, and colors from natural materials ensures that pieces are unique and not cookie-cutter. Earthy colors, natural materials, organic forms, and weathered accents can give even the most contemporary rooms a rustic, elegant edge.

The key to giving your home a rustic chic twist is incorporating hardwood items and making them a staple in the home. Nothing says rustic like weathered wood, especially if it’s authentic barn wood. Specific species or woodgrains that could complement the Rustic Elegance design include Oak, Hickory, Walnut, and Quartersawn White Oak.

Warm metals, such as copper, gold, and brass, work particularly well, though there’s no need to abandon cooler metals entirely. We recommend choosing duller finishes, such as oil-rubbed, antiqued, or hammered.

Other chic natural textures to consider include jute, ceramics, glass, rattan, wool, leather, and stone.

Select simple yet elegant furniture pieces to act as the focal point

The emphasis tends to be on having fewer pieces, but on having every piece be very deliberately chosen. Consider the room from all angles; at any point, are other furniture pieces or decor choices blocking the chosen focal piece?

In keeping with the natural theme, rustic furniture is handmade. It's generally simple in design and shape, letting the materials stand out instead. Look for quality construction and premium materials, particularly those with an interesting texture like reclaimed wood. The focus of rustic should be on the material, not the design, so many pieces are incredibly simple. Streamlined tables and chairs allow the eye to focus on the material rather than the shape it takes.

Depending on the room, fireplaces, large dining room tables, or statement-making bed frames are common choices for Rustic Elegance design.

In this Donahue Dining Set, we used a robust pedestal table with an elegant dining chair. Using classy, natural upholstery helps tie in rustic and elegance into the same furniture piece. 

Furniture examples:

• An oversized, weathered dining table
• Large armchairs covered in genuine leather
• A reclaimed hardwood coffee table
• Distressed wooden trunks or chests

Use restraint when accessorizing - less is more with Rustic Elegance decor

It’s easy to get carried away when you’re decorating. If you use too many decor pieces in one room, the space could wind up looking overwhelming. Rustic chic style in today’s homes is much more successful and effective when one considers quality over quantity in the pieces themselves.

Try to keep a good balance between the rustic and elegant aspects. Focus rooms around a single show-stopping element or one-of-a-kind furniture pieces that will draw the eye to the focal point. Rustic and elegant spaces have everything you need in them, but they don’t have unnecessary clutter and there aren’t items without a purpose in the room.

Decorations should complement the focal point rather than compete

If you use too many decor pieces in one room, the space could wind up looking overwhelming. As the old saying goes, less is more. When you use fewer stand-out pieces, it will be easier for you to create a beautiful living space. 

Similarly, patterns and textures should not clash. Don’t have more than one bold print and choose wood stains that go well together.

Decor examples:

• A fireplace mantle
• Carved wooden floor lamps
• Woven throw blankets or rugs
• Exposed ceiling beams
• An ornate old-world chandler
• Oversized wall painting

Cozy, laid back, comfortable, welcoming—the Casselberry Reclaimed Living Room Set showcases a mix of textures and materials such as barn wood, leather upholstery, and a stone fireplace.

Embrace “negative space” to add airiness and purpose

Mirrors along with translucent or transparent accent pieces add visual dimension while embracing the levity of Rustic Elegance. This can include vases, light fixtures, or candle holders. 

Think of Rustic Elegance as a soft elegance with a rustic edge. It exudes both luxury and comfort while beautifully highlighting natural materials and a sense of connection to the past. Whether you want a look that’s raw or refined, masculine or feminine, cozy or classic, Rustic Elegance can help you attain that look.

Bailiegh Basham is Lead Sales & Marketing Strategist at Countryside Amish Furniture. She's been a team member since 2014. Bailiegh is deeply passionate about furniture design and home decor.