Updating the Farmhouse Living Room with Country Charm

We are lucky here in the farmhouse to have an open plan living area with double aspect windows. To the north, the sun streams into the farmhouse living room for most of the day. On the west, we have a view of all of our land. For this reason, I try not to add a lot of decoration to our space but I do love to bring in natural elements each season. Read on to discover I elevated the vintage country style in our living room this Spring with a few simple additions to our collected look.

The Farmhouse Country Living Room

Our home is blessed with a number of authentic features that require little embellishment. A huge double mantel in our farmhouse living room is one of those features that adds character to our home, especially when the fire is lit and the wood is stacked in the second fireplace.

Easy, casual charm characterises the country home. A country home evolves over time, things are not too precious. A mix of patterns and textures fill these homes. The farmhouse country living room is a place where vintage chairs sit easily next to their modern counterparts and handmade items make the home cosy.

A Solid Foundation

Every good vintage interior scheme begins with a solid foundation that can be layered upon to create that collected homey feel. This is especially true with country and farmhouse styles. They give the illusion of being curated over time (even if they’re not). Our farmhouse living room has been waiting for its ‘foundation’ for two years. Until my recent rug purchase arrived in the form of this traditional navy rug from Miss Amara we had a cowhide from Ikea. It graced many floors in a number of homes. While I love that rug, it brought too much brown to our living room. The new rug has blue tones with hints of colour I can use as accents around the room.

The Collected Feel of the Country Living Room

This Spring, I added to the collected feel in our home by changing the cushions. Having blue as the dominant accent colour means I can easily add a floral that coordinates. I chose a linen-cotton blend from Spotlight and made two new envelope style cushions to replace the darker navy cushions I used this winter. I love the fresh look it brings to the room. The dainty floral pattern ties in well with the new rug. To add to this collected feel on the sofa, I have layered the room with a selection of my favourite decorating books, a jug of pear blossoms collected from the garden and a stack of new firewood in the fireplace. I filled vintage bottles with white flowers and lined them along one half of the mantel too.

The Spring Theme Continues

My Spring theme continues in our kitchen, which is part of the open plan living zone. I added a simple vignette on the island bench. My aim with this is to look as if the dishes have been placed ready for use. A birds nest comes straight from the garden. A soy candle from Miss Arthur fills the room with a delicious spring scent. Some old wooden pegs add a textured dimension. The vignette tells a story of country life, as it should. It adds layers to our living space and can easily be changed around.

I also placed a wreath above the Mason and Cash crock that I recently purchased to hold our utensils. Our keys are easily accessible from a vintage floral dish that adds to the Spring theme. I love displaying everyday items as decoration around our living area. It adds to the country charm of our home.

Adding Green Everywhere

The last of the simple updates this Spring is to add green in every place I can. I’ve already spoken about the blossoms collected from the garden and the rows of carnations. A faux olive tree from Kmart has made a gorgeous addition to the corner near the window. It look so real Gavin could not tell the difference until he saw the pot. I also put a collection of herbs next to the stove that I use regularly for cooking. The living herbs cost the same as purchasing a bunch from the supermarket and will last much longer. I can snip as I cook. It won’t be long until our herb garden outside is sprouting again!