15 Ways to Get the English Cottage Look

Love the idea of bringing warm, cozy English cottage style home, but don’t want to break the bank to do it? While you may dream of splurging on a claw-foot bathtub and roll-arm sofa, thankfully (for your wallet) that’s really not necessary. English cottage style is more about creating a mood than about checking off a list of must-have furniture. Here are 15 ways to revamp and refresh your home’s interiors with paint, vintage finds and creativity.

1. Change the mood with paint. Muted, drab tones like mouse’s back, wheat and duck-egg green are ideally suited to English cottage style. Try painting your kitchen cupboards and trim to match, and paint the walls one shade lighter.

2. Swap hardware for sturdy bin pulls and wooden knobs. Changing out the hardware on kitchen cupboards or a dining room built-in can make it feel like you have new cupboards. Channel an English country cottage with classic bin pulls or smooth wooden knobs.


3. Embrace workhorse textiles. Every fabric shop carries a wide assortment of solid fabrics in airy voile and gauze (perfect for floaty window treatments), checkered and ticking stripe cotton, and sturdy canvas at a low price per yard. If you don’t sew, you can use iron-on hem tape to make quick no-sew curtains and tablecloths; if you do sew, it’s not too hard to turn out your own pillowcases and duvet covers. Get creative with other easy-to-find, cheap fabrics as well — burlap can cover bulletin boards, and muslin, typically used in pattern making, can be used for curtains and for pillow covers primed for embellishing.

4. Roll out a rag rug. Rag rugs came about as a creative way to reuse scraps of fabric too small to sew into garments, and to put old, worn-out clothes and home textiles to work again. Today rag rugs are widely available and are quite inexpensive. But if you really want to save, try looking up a tutorial online for a DIY rag rug and craft your own using soft old T-shirts.


5. Use a rich color on walls and trim. Vibrant yet slightly grayed hues, like this lovely spring green, call to mind old and well-loved cottages tucked into the British countryside. Paint the trim, walls and cabinetry the same hue for a seamless look.


6. Try colorful trim. White walls and floors create a freshly scrubbed setting, allowing the pale duck-egg green trim to take center stage in this serene bedroom. A simple wooden bed, a pitcher of wildflowers and a white crocheted bedspread enhance the country cottage charm. Pale spring green, butter yellow or lavender would also work well.


7. Paint the floors. A floor painted a solid color adds style and freshness to a room for less than the cost of a new rug. Try painting the floors of a guest room, study or sunporch a cheerful spring green or pale sky blue.


8. Trace on a checkerboard pattern. Painting older, worn wooden floor can be a cost-effective way to create a new look. A checkerboard pattern is fairly straightforward to accomplish and looks right at home in a kitchen, sunroom or child’s bedroom. Black and white, blue and white, and yellow and white are foolproof combos to try. Don’t want to paint your floors? Try out the pattern on a basic natural-fiber rug instead.

9. Cover plumbing with a café curtain. Not so fond of your lower cabinets? Replace a few of the doors with cute café curtains. They are not expensive, but if you can whip them up yourself, so much the better!


10. Bring in small treasures from nature. A bird’s nest, a pile of pretty stones, shells from the seaside — reminders of the natural world are an essential ingredient in any cozy cottage home. See what you can find in the natural areas near your own home … treasure hunting should be part of the fun.


11. Set up a table on the porch. On a pleasant day, it can be so lovely to bring your breakfast or lunch out to a covered porch. Any old table and chairs will do. Cover the table with a homespun cloth like a ticking stripe or feed sack material, set out a vase of cut flowers or interesting foliage, and use any mismatched china you like.

12. Hang simple barn lights. Barn-style lights can be found at every price point, and they work just about anywhere. Try them on a covered porch and in the kitchen, bathroom and mudroom, for starters.


13. Create windowsill vignettes. Sometimes the tiniest details can make a huge difference in the way a room looks and feels. In the bathroom try swapping out your standard washcloth for a hand-knit version, plunk a garden rose in a water glass and display pretty little vases or bottles where they can catch the light. Line up seashells in a kitchen window; prop a tiny painting and a jelly jar of flowers in a study window.


14. Keep bedding simple. A neat, well-tucked bed with white sheets and wool blankets is refreshingly simple. Include just a hint of romance with crochet-edged pillowcases and a posy of roses on the nightstand.


15. Embrace cottage garden romance. Fragrant plants like roses, lavender, jasmine and honeysuckle will lift your spirits every time you come home … even if they are in pots on your patio and not running free in a vast English garden. The mood is the important thing.

Tell us: Do you love cozy cottage style?

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