A Comprehensive Guide To Always Have A Cottagecore Decor (Even In Your City Apartment)

Aesthetics are an escape from your daily mundane (sometimes toxic) reality and fall into a much-romanticized mindset. Although romanticizing your life at all times can give rise to unrealistic expectations, it is okay to do so once in a while!

Especially if you are a home decor fanatic and want your house to look like a paradise to rest in every time you return from work or a long day to your humble abort, it is the home that will embrace you into its cozy nest.

Speaking of cozy, there is no aesthetic more coziest than Cottagecore!

The feeling of returning to your home, which so perfectly resembles a small English cottage. The soft hue of candlelight or the sound of you baking a pie late at night and letting it rest on your wooden kitchen table.

Just giving you a glimpse of what cottage-core decor could look like!

You have reached the right place if you are currently in the hustle of city life, but the simple life of the countryside tugs at your heartstrings.

Yes, even in the tiny studio apartment, you can bring some cottage-core elements to bring rural within your four walls!

Finally, you do not have to pick.

Table of Contents

Enter Your Safe Haven!

Before we get straight into the home decor section of the excerpt, let’s first understand what the Cottagecore aesthetic means.

What started as an internet aesthetic is now becoming one of the sensational aesthetic inspirations. Gathering fans worldwide, it is now being featured in top-tier magazines like The Architectural Digest.

The cottage-core theme is a hyper-romanticized version of rural living, mostly alone in a remote place. There is always a picturesque cottage and many decor elements which resemble the rural heavily. Mostly thrifted items with a story to tell, rustic wood theme, brass, copper like the old times, and flowers (most importantly).

Getting all these items could be a little difficult, but we have the perfect guide for you to get the cottage core going on in your house.

Getting the CottageCore Home Decor Mastered!

We will be covering each room to cover most of the ground! Starting with your beautiful living room.

CottageCore – Living Room Decor Ideas

Here is your list of ideas to corporate for a very cottage-core living room. We don’t know about you, but every Potterhead will relate to this sentence. Whenever we hear this word, the first thing that comes to mind is the beautifully chaotic living room of “The Burrow.”

Now, cottage-core in this theme exudes a little chaotic beauty. A few copper flower vases here and there or a random quilt mismatched with the couch color. However, it is not necessary to make changes according to what we say; you can certainly make your own decisions.

1. A Cottagecore Color Palette

When it comes to this aesthetic, the mood is cozy and comfortable. Therefore, plain white furniture with commercially sharp edges is not the way. In order to understand this matter better, here is a simple color palette for the aesthetic.

Do not go for too much vibrancy. Since the entire air is more soothing than the vibrant city lights, go for muted tones for the walls. Tea stain, coffee, beige, brown, and ivory white are some of the popular choices.

However, if you are a fan of dark colors, do not worry. We have got it covered. You cannot have cottage-core without a green color palette. For your living room, go for a dark mute tone like dark sage green, pewter (a shade of green), or navy blue. Coincidently wood being one of the common elements for cottage-core decors, looks the best when accentuated with these dark tones.

2. Must Have Elements To Add

Here are some of the must-haves for your living room that you cannot miss.

  • A comfy sofa that exudes the same muted tone. Probably a mustard yellow or sage green.
  • A wooden center table. Try to get a coffee table that has curved edges and light unpolished wood. Too much-polished rood does not match the theme.
  • White lightweight mesh curtains for the sun to creep in the morning.
  • Vintage lamps (and yes, you can thrift them), try to look for old ivory-clothed lamps, or best! Church window lamp shades.
  • Huge cushions to make the sofa extra cozy.
  • A crochet rug (if you can find one). Choose the color wisely upon understanding the theory.

3. Miscellaneous Items For Your Living Room

Want to amplify the cottage core theme of your living room? Then there are the miscellaneous items you can add to the mix.

  • Copper or glass flower vases in different corners of the room. Ensure you have fresh flowers in them at all times. To get the fresh blooms of roses, peonies, and sunflowers for your living room, do subscribe to the best flower delivery maryland here.
  • Windchime in the window sill for some natural music.
  • A random crochet quilt on the sofa for when it gets extra chilly.
  • A fireplace can amplify the theme like nothing else. However, if your apartment doesn’t have the facility, you can always opt for an electric one.
  • A wall full of pictures with rustic wooden frames.
  • A floral centerpiece with wildflowers for the coffee table.
  • A tea-stained accent wall with vintage floral prints.

Cottagecore- Bedroom Ideas

Coming to the coziest part of the house, your bedroom will require the most cottage-core blast for you to fall into that deep slumber!

1. Bed

  • First of all, you need to make your bed the most comfortable oasis out there. Do not shy with your plush pillows and ultra plush mattress topper for your cocoon.
  • When you get a comforter, try for fluffy cottage-core-themed colored ones. Linen comforter covers with floral prints are the safest option if you do not wanna play around. Additionally, you can add a monochromatic bed skirt around your bed.
  • If possible, get a four-poster bed!

2. Important Elements To Add

Just like your living room, your cottage-core bedroom also requires thematic elements to bring out the aesthetic.

  • Flowers are common for every room since they not only match perfectly with the rural aesthetic but also bring freshness and life to the room.
  • Additionally, you can add plants near the window since you cannot have a conservatory.
  • Bamboo can bring out the rustic look. Add bamboo chairs or a chaise by your window to make a cozy reading nook.
  • A bookshelf with vintage books (a bonus if those books are on gardening) is a must. A small wooden bookshop will do. The furniture has to be wooden to align with the theme.
  • A vintage writing desk could do wonders for the decor, especially if you can afford a lamp and a quill for your letter-writing sessions.

For lighting purposes, generally go for warm lights unless you plan to study in the room. Then a white light lamp for concentration is a must. Other than that, you can also experiment with fairy lights.

3. Miscellaneous Bedroom Items

Even your dream bedroom with the best cottage core aesthetic requires some ‘beautiful mess’ here and there to amplify the mood!

  • Getting some bamboo work scattered here and there – a bamboo basket hanging on the door.
  • Aroma candles could bring an earthiness to your room and transport you to a different reality. Try cozy candle aromas like vanilla, apple, and cinnamon. Or, you can go for more earthy tones like lemongrass, lavender, and jasmine. Tapered candles could also act as an excellent accessory for your tables.
  • Crocheted bits here and there. For example, a crochet coaster for your flower vases.
  • An accent wall with cottage-core-themed photographs. To give all novice decorators an idea, thrift some gold and wood photo frames. Try to pick different shapes (circular, square, and rectangular). Place them in a random order behind your bed.
  • Long white curtains for the window and white lace valances.

CottageCore – Kitchen

If there is one part of the room which exudes the highest amount of Cottagecore energy, it is the kitchen!

The Cottage Core aesthetic is personalized by simple living and lots of baking!

Open any themed video; you will find someone in line apron baking a pie or cooking delicious delights in their “very shiny” copper pans. So, making the heart of your kitchen the most Cottagecory (if that is a term!) is the goal here.

1. Starting With Center Table/Island

  • Yes, wood is a flammable item. However, you won’t be doing any cooking on these counters. If you have a small kitchenette, try to set up a small coffee station right outside the kitchen. A place for you to start your day with a freshly brewed cup of tea/coffee.
  • If you do not have an island but have the space for it, invest in a good unpolished tan colored wooden table.

Tips on decorating this wooden table: add an ivory mesh table cloth, add copper flower vases adorned with fresh peonies or tulips, and tapered candle holders are a must for this decor.

2. Moving To The Cooking Counters & Cabinets

  • Giving your kitchen the vintage rustic look can be a little difficult now since every corner has an electronic kitchen appliance to make our work easier.
  • That being said, you can still bring in the rural living vibe through your decor. Start with buying many copper-finished utensils. Not only are they great for cooking, but copper keeps the dirty bacteria away.
  • You can hang the copper pots and pans from the top of your kitchen counter.
  • Having plants growing inside your kitchen in small saplings is the perfect opportunity to fulfill all your cottage-core dreams.
  • Mints, curry leaves, fenugreek leaves, and bay leaves hang in bunches from a cabinet on top of your cooking counter. A dash of basil growing on a small glass jar beside the toaster. Similarly, you can think of many scenarios to add as many greens as you want.
  • Adding fresh flower arrangements even on the kitchen counter adds a dash of vibrant color to your muted kitchen aesthetic.
  • For cabinets, you can go tan, unpolished light wood, or go all the way dark, like dark sage and navy.
  • This is optional, but you can create an accent wall of vintage floral print and have a hanging shelf filled with plates standing upright on the wall.
  • You can add white lace valances to add a more cottage-core dream look to your cabinets.

Cottagecore – Balcony Decorations

The tiresome city life does prevent us from having our dream greenhouse with a conservatory. However, as dreamers in the Cottagecore world will make the best of what we have got. So, let’s give your balcony a cottage core aesthetic wash!

The Greenhouse Dream

If you are worried about not having that greenhouse space, then here are some things you can do with your balcony.

  • Construct a glass wall around it. Yes, it will cost a little, but it would be so worth it watching the rain or even snow (if you are a New Yorker) from your “glass house.”
  • Plants at every corner (yes, you will need to learn a fair amount of gardening to keep them alive). If you are using fake plants, you have to clean them every week. So, we wouldn’t advise it!
  • Wines, creepers, and planting small flowers like morning glories and petunias can give that wilderness effect.
  • You can also experiment with small vegetables and fruits if gardening is a passion.
  • This is optional, but you can change the flooring into fake grass.
  • Have at least one cozy chair for you to relax at the day’s end.
  • You can also invest in a small cozy woolen swing to adorn a corner of the balcony.

Following The Cottagecore Dream

Now that you know most of the items you will need to fulfill the perfect aesthetic dream, rush to the thrift stores now.

No harm in making your house a cozy oasis to wind down after a long down!

Even if it is a one-bedroom apartment, you should have something to hope for or corners to buy the freshest flowers for.

Hopefully, creating this cottage-core dream house will give you the hope to strive for more.