We are currently finishing our basement after living in our new home for three years. We are adding a guest bedroom attached to a guest bathroom with a steam shower, rec room that we are also using as a home theater, and a gym with legit rubber gym flooring. While my husband and I kept trying decide on a general theme we kept gravitating towards more masculine items. Think exposed pipes, galvanized metal, oiled rubbed bronze lamps and hardware, and natural woods. So BAM! Farmhouse theme it became! The farmhouse trend has gotten very popular in recent years and is nostalgic for me because it reminds me of my Great Grandmother and Grandma Larren and her farm in Checotah, OK. The thought of this theme is to have your items be sturdy yet practical. For a more modern farmhouse look though, you still need to add some sophistication to it. Especially if you aren’t on an actual farm and are like us living in suburbia!

5 General rules of farmhouse decor:

1. Keep it sturdy. Nothing too precious, dainty, or fragile. The farmhouse theme comes from just that – farmhouses!! Farms are practical. Farmers use items wisely that will last forever and area also handy. They don’t have time for tiny porcelain dolls or some frilly bullshit.

2. Combine old and new items. We are using some Alder wood dressers and night stands we had from our old house in our guest room, and adding in a mirror that’s galvanized metal with oil rubbed bronze like the knobs and hardware we have throughout our basement. If it gets too matchy matchy or looks like you bought it all from one place, it loses the effect. Knock yourself out buying some new sheets and bedding from Pottery Barn, then pair it with some more rustic looking throw pillows and an afghan that your grandmother made. Hit up a flea market or antique shop and get an old fashioned butter dish or water pitcher and display it on a wooden tray from Pier 1 Imports. It shouldn’t be ALL vintage or ALL new.

3. It should feel cozy and homey. You don’t want to look like you’re living in a goddamn museum where the items are things people can’t touch or relax around. That was a big part of the reason I gravitated towards it – it is extremely kid-friendly.

4. Be mindful of textures and patterns: For textures and pieces that tie in the look, think: wicker, natural stained woods, barn doors, exposed beams or pipes, galvanized metals, oil rubbed bronze metals, butcher blocks, wooden decorative ladders you can use to toss throw blankets over, rattan, gingham print fabrics, and neutral tones like black, grey, white, tan, and navy. No hot pink or teal in this shit!

5. Don’t get fucking carried away. For instance, I found one vase that’s a large milk jug with a cow painted on it at Home Goods. I intend to put it on a shelf from Etsy made of natural wood and oil rubbed bronze pipes in our bathroom next to some washcloths and other guest items. That doesn’t mean there will be a million fucking cow items or farm animals scattered around the whole damn room. Love florals? Great! Wallpaper your guest bathroom with it and call it good. Don’t get floral wall paper, floral towels, floral bath mats, flower shaped soaps, floral toothbrush holders, etc. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Love chickens? A pitcher or cutting board and a dish towel is plenty for your kitchen – don’t go fucking bananas and bust out every rooster and chicken print item you find. You’ll look insane and then the whole look comes off cheap and tacky.

That’s all for my general rules for Farmhouse Style decorating. Below I have photos and links on exactly what Vince and I chose for our home if you are needing some more inspiration.

Guest Bathroom: Our guest bathroom is going to have white subway tiles in the shower, the floor of the shower is going to be black hexagon tiles, and the flooring is a black and white floral pattern that looks like a fleur-de-lis. We also are getting a niche cut out in the shower wall to put shampoo bottles on, and that will have the floral tile in it that is on our floor to tie it all in together. Our hardware is oil rubbed bronze including the shower head and handles, knobs, and shelving accents.

Here was the inspiration for our guest bathroom. Instead of having a soaking tub, we are doing a steam shower with two benches on either side and a rainfall shower head.

We got the mirror above from Overstock.com

Our vanity we got from Wayfair.com. For copyright issues it won’t let me just show you the image so you’ll have to click on their link. 🙂

Here is the milk jug I got at TJ Maxx to add as decor to the bathroom

We chose the top one since it matches our oil rubbed bronze accents.

We liked the caged lighting pictured above paired with Edison style light bulbs.

Guest bedroom: I bought this bedding below on sale from Macy’s when they had one of their many “one day sale” promos. Instead of going with navy accessories like they have pictured, I bought black and tan ones instead. I got a black and tan throw blanket for next to nothing at Amazon.com here.

We have a few storage areas that we are leaving unfinished and are hiding these storage areas behind barn doors that look similar to the one below. We are having them stained to match the bathroom vanity to tie it all in. And you guessed it, the hardware on the doors – mother fuckin’ oil rubbed bronze.

Rec room/Home Theater: We have yet to buy our sectional as that is the last piece of the puzzle. But we want one like the one pictured below where you can fold down the backs of the seats to have drink holders or space between you and your neighbor. (Especially good for our young kids!)

I also got our kids some fox bean bag chairs from Target. I realize foxes don’t quite work with our theme, but they fell in love with these damn beanbag chairs so I will incorporate them with our leather sectional and recliner.

We are going to have a mini fridge full of craft beers, an old fashion popcorn stand like this one, and a make-shift candy concession stand like the one pictured below that Vince is going to make using pegboard and an old book case. For wall decor, I am adding film reels to the walls that my mom got us from Hobby Lobby years ago for our old “man cave”. You can find similar ones here. I like them because they’re oil rubbed bronze like our hardware so it helps tie in our home theater with our farmhouse theme.

I hope these ideas helped if you’re looking to make an entire floor or area of your house a farmhouse theme. If you get stuck, start with one thing. We started with the photo of the black and white bathroom we loved and ran with it. Pick one decoration. I once used a glass bowl that was green and teal to get inspiration for decorating my old apartment back before Vince and I were engaged. Just start small, collect as you go, and have fun with it. And remember to use the fucking farm animals sparingly.