Inspiration: European Cottage Inspired Home Design

Today we’re exploring European Cottage inspired home design ideas, and how you can add pieces of this beautiful style into your own home.

Imagine a totally romanticized view of a cozy home – you don’t have to make it realistic! For me? It looks a whole lot like a rustic European cottage filled with texture, character, and warmth.

While living in a cozy European cottage on a country hillside probably won’t actually happen in my lifetime (but hey, maybe it will in yours!), I can still be super inspired by this design. Today, I want to show you how you can take this beautiful style and feeling and bring it into your own home. No rolling hillside required.

Character filled walls and ceilings:

To contribute to a “collected over time” look, statement walls and ceilings really help to cozy up these beautiful interiors.

Image source

 

 

Moody colors:

Don’t shy away from dark cozy colors in your home. They add depth, interest, warmth and charm. Here’s some beautiful examples:

Love the colors in this kitchen from designer John McCall

 

Stunning room – Heckfield Place

 

Incredible restoration and design by Ken Fulk – you can see more of this home in Elle Decor here

 

Beautiful Millhouse Kitchen via DeVol Kitchens

 

Mix metal finishes:

I personally love the look of mixing metal finishes. The mix of aged copper and brass gets me the most! Don’t be afraid to add multiple metal finishes to your home, it can help add to that collected feel:

This beautiful kitchen is courtesy of Millennium – you can see more of the gorgeous home here.

 

Use natural materials:

Using natural materials for backsplashes, flooring, fireplaces, countertops etc – helps to add to that beautiful cozy earthy feel. Here’s some beautiful examples:

Beautiful kitchen from Amber Interiors

 

Kitchen design by Jake Alexander Arnold (4C Design Group)

Stone & plaster:

This is probably my favorite element of rustic European cottage design – and one I’m planning on adding into our home once we build our electric fireplace! We used (faux) brick and shiplap in our last house, and I loved it. We were originally thinking about doing it again in this house until I started thinking about using over-grouted stone instead – and now I can’t get that idea out of my head! Here’s some of the images that are inspiring me the most with this beautiful style:

 

Beautiful design by Joanna Gaines – Fixer Upper “Club Room” house 

 

Stunning image from deVol kitchens found here

 

Of course this is Joanna Gaines’ new set kitchen for her new cooking show – it’s so gorgeous!

 

I cannot find an image source for this beautiful room – if you know who it belongs to, please leave a source in the comments!

 

Brick walls:

You don’t need to have an old home to have the look of uncovered brick in your home! We had an old home and everyone assumed we had uncovered the brick in our bathroom and dining room, but we actually added it to the home! You can easily do this too – here’s how we did it. (PS stay tuned … we’ll be doing it in our new house too!)

Beautiful image from “At Home with Plants”

 

While our last home wasn’t exactly rustic European, I love how we combined wood finishes, metals, and added the warm brick to that end wall too. If you haven’t seen that makeover yet, you’ll need to check it out here!

 

I hope you’re inspired by these designs! Even if you don’t live in a cozy English cottage on a rolling hillside, you can still incorporate pieces from these inspiring designs into your own home. It will help add character, charm, and that ultimate cozy feel.

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