Are you looking for a chic and charming style in your home? Then the cottage decorating style might be a perfect way to give your home the unique style it deserves!
Decorating in a chic cottage style is all about combining the rustic with old world style and throwing in some elegant touches. This style is great if you love to scour yard sales and flea markets because you want to use those old interesting items that might have a little bit of chippy paint. Plus these flea market finds will fill your home with unique items that you won't see everywhere else.
The first thing you want to consider is the color scheme. A cottage style needs to be light and airy so don't choose dark colors. While white is usually quite boring, you might want to use a chalk white for the walls in this style since you will be filling the room with great paintings and accessories that will hold your interest. If you don't like white, you could use a pale yellow, very light blue, light sage green or even tan.
Furniture for the cottage decorating style should be overstuffed and comfortable. Consider buying a couch that comes with slipcovers. These have a great look and it will allow you to change the look of your room simply by buying new covers. Again, chalk white can be a good decision for the couch, but you want to offset that with plenty of floral print pillows. You could also use a floral print on the couch, but nothing to bright - a muted print with vintage tones is best.
Flooring is important in any decorating scheme and the chic cottage style looks great with pastel colored oriental style rugs. Window treatments could be long flowing sheers, or you can shop for vintage barkcloth drapes to give your home vintage style. If you can get extra drapes that's even better because you can use the excess to make pillows for the sofa and chairs that will tie the whole room together.
To add the "chic" to your cottage style, you want to use some accessories that have a bit of old world elegance. Old lamps with dangling crystals are perfect for this and don't forget to add crystal chandeliers where needed. You also want to use some architectural pieces in chippy white paint around the room.
The chippy paint is key to the cottage look and it also allows you to salvage old items with worn finishes by painting them white and then sanding on the corners and edges to give it a worn appearance. You wouldn't believe how great an old end table or bedroom set can look with new white paint - it can literally turn an ugly old piece into a great new piece! Of course, you have to pick something that has "good bones" and a bit of style but you can really save a bundle if you shop at yard sales for these items.
The cottage decorating style can add warmth and charm to any home and it can really be fun to shop for those perfect items to complete your look. If you don't mind doing a little bit of work and hitting those yard sales, you can have this look for a bargain price!
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