How to Decorate With Rustic Furniture

Did you know that aged furniture is one of the hottest design trends for 2022? 

Rustic furniture is all the rage right now, but it's not just a shiny new trend that's here today and gone next year. Rustic furniture has a timeless beauty.

True rustic pieces are also better quality than items you'll find in big box stores. Well-crafted pieces will stand the test of time and hold up to years of wear and tear.

Decorating with rustic furniture can also be effortless, as you won't need to cram your space with cheap new items all the time in a desperate attempt to keep up with the trends. 

With a few key pieces and some insider tips up your sleeve, you can easily create a beautiful, timeless, rustic design style in your home. 

Keep reading to find out some of the secrets to decorating with rustic furniture. 

Choose Natural Materials

One of the first guaranteed tips for decorating with rustic furniture is to always choose natural materials where possible. 

Wood is a staple part of rustic designs, especially reclaimed and repurposed wood. Reclaimed wood imbues pieces with authentic character, making them one of a kind. 

Reclaimed wood also tells a story. Its imperfections are the exact embodiment of rustic design. 

Besides wood, you can also incorporate materials like stone, brick, and steel into your decor plan. 

Natural materials aren't just an integral part of rustic design. They're also an easy way to elevate your space. Natural materials automatically look and feel more high-end than faux imitations. 

Go For Unfussy Designs

If you want to nail the rustic look on the head, it's best to go for unfussy designs that aren't too ornate. 

The Cambridge dictionary defines rustic as "simple and often rough in appearance; typical of the countryside".

Rustic pieces often look like they might have come straight from an old farmhouse. They tend to look solid, well-loved, and hardworking.

Overly intricate, lux items don't usually blend well with rustic pieces, even if they are vintage items. 

Prioritize Good Craftmanship

One of the most important things you can do when decorating with rustic furniture is to prioritize good craftsmanship. 

A rustic item that's well-made will be sturdier and look far more authentic than any mass-produced item. Just because something is marketed as a "rustic cabinet" doesn't mean that it will actually look the part when placed in your home. 

Unfortunately, fast furniture has cottoned on to the fact that consumers are opting for rustic design styles, and the market is awash with faux rustic pieces. For instance, you might have seen distressed farmhouse-style pieces that imitate the rustic look but are actually made out of wood chipboard or plastic. 

Don't let yourself be fooled by these pieces. They might look the part in the shop or product image, but once you bring them home they will make your space feel cheap and phoney, not authentically rustic. 

Picking authentic rustic items made by true artisans is also a more ethical choice. Fast homeware has quickly reared its head as one of the world's latest sustainability problems.

If you buy cheap furniture, it won't stand the test of time. Soon, it will start looking shabby, you'll have to replace it, and the item will end up in the dump. 

This isn't a problem with handmade rustic times. If you buy a set of rustic shelves, they'll last you a lifetime. They won't be wobbly, or at risk of falling down, swelling, or chipping. 

Opt For Bare Wood

Like we said above, wood is an integral material in rustic design, and the barer the better. 

Rustic industrial furniture is usually finished off with traditional products like beeswax-based wood sealants or polish. 

Although some pieces might be finished off with synthetic stains or sealants, you definitely won't see a high-gloss varnish on a rustic wood piece. 

You Can’t Go Wrong With Wrought Iron

Wrought iron is another great material to keep an eye out for when shopping for rustic furniture. Wrought iron lends an authentic, industrial feel to any well-crafted piece. 

It also adds some drama and is very strong and sturdy. 

Other good metals to choose for a rustic interior are warm options like copper and brass. 

Bring the Outdoors In

Rustic interior design styles are inherently associated with country living and a closeness to nature. 

If you want to create a seamless rustic look, make sure you bring some of the outdoors into your space. You can do this through nature-inspired paintings, drawings, and fabric patterns. 

You can also pick up a few galvanised planters and pots and place some houseplants around your living areas. If you're aiming for a farm-house aesthetic, snake plants, fiddle-leaf figs, aloe vera plants, and spider plants are a few popular and easy-to-care-for options. 

Mix and Match Your Pieces

Another vital tip to use when decorating with rustic furniture is mixing and matching your pieces. 

Rustic interior design styles aren't supposed to be perfect. If you get too matchy-matchy with your pieces, this can make things feel contrived. 

Instead of buying a set of bedroom furniture, make the effort to source different pieces of rustic bedroom furniture to mix together. 

For instance, instead of matching your bed and side tables, you could opt for an iron bed frame and pair it with a rustic side table in wood.

Mixing and matching items like this will make your design more interesting, authentic, and dynamic. 

Take Your Time When Selecting Rustic Furniture

When mixing, matching, and sourcing rustic furniture pieces, it's always a good idea to take your time and not rush the process. 

After all, buying good quality, ethically made furniture isn't cheap. If you're going to be investing in quality pieces instead of contributing to the mass-produced furniture waste problem—you want to take time to think about your purchases. 

Reports state that the average living room in the UK gets a makeover every 2 years. If you want to pick out furniture that you won't want to get rid of in a couple of years, it pays to be patient. 

Curating the perfect selection of pieces to grace your space isn't something you have to do over a weekend. Instead, envision your space, and take time to decide what type of furniture pieces you need. 

You can even create a mood board and a space plan to really map out your areas and envision how potential furniture pieces will fit into them. 

Always make sure you take measurements before you buy new pieces. To get a visual of how a potential item will work in a room, you can also tape out its dimensions on the floor. 

Stick to a Neutral Colour Pallete

Another key tip for decorating with rustic furniture is to stick to a neutral colour palette. 

In many cases, it might be easiest to veer towards bright and airy neutral paint colours for your walls and ceilings, such as white and off-white. This will create a bright, blank backdrop for your furniture pieces and allow them to be the star of the show. 

Whitewashed brick is also a classic rustic look for fireplaces and exposed brick walls. 

At the same time, if you want to go moodier with your colour palette, you can. Just make sure you stick to earthy tones. 

For instance, dark green, grey, and brown walls can set a perfect moody atmosphere in which to nestle your new rustic pieces. 

Add Soft Texture

A very important piece of advice to keep in mind when decorating with rustic furniture is to incorporate soft textures wherever you can. 

Rustic industrial furniture can bring a masculine, solid feeling to your space. To soften this up, think about adding cosy textures through things like rugs, blankets, and cushions. 

Things like sheepskin rugs and mohair blankets can add visual softness, extra texture, and create balance and a sense of cosiness. 

Are You on the Hunt for Beautiful Rustic Furniture Items?

Decorating with rustic furniture is not hard to do once you know what to look for and how to incorporate it into your home. 

However, true, artisan-made rustic furniture can be scarce to come by. Fortunately, you're in the perfect place to pick up some beautiful rustic pieces. 

Here at Vincent and Barn, all of our pieces are handcrafted, and each one is unique. Many of our pieces incorporate repurposed and reclaimed wood, and all are crafted with attention to detail. 

Browse our online shop today for a wide selection of high-quality rustic industrial furniture.