What Is Rustic Style?

At its core, rustic style is all about honoring beautiful basics.

How to Identify This Style

Most people tend to visualize this style best when they imagine a cabin in the woods. What would you see in this cabin? Common details might include leather chairs, dark-stained wood, beams, stonework and plenty of natural fibers. Of course, rustic style is not limited to the cabin. From family treasures passed down through generations to warm and homey modern finds, the details in rustic design ensure you're comfortable and content from the moment you step indoors.

A Few Common Details of the Rustic Style

Rustic style house | Wooden floors, either original or reclaimed

Rustic warmth style | Leather or soft textured sofas and armchairs

More trademark rustic features: you'll find homes in both urban and rural settings decorated in rustic design, all of them displaying, in some way or another, the following:

Fabrics like wool, cotton and linen
Wooden furniture, typically chunkier and weathered with unfinished edges
Stonework or stone veneer

Rustic home | Indoor plants and decorative foliage

Rustic home | Color schemes that "keep it natural" – think brown, taupe, deep red, dark yellow, grey, white and black

Rustic style living room | Lighter shades of red, blue, green and yellow in accent decor

Rustic apartment decor | Plenty of animal hide rugs or patterned area rugs

Rustic furniture ideas | Blankets and throws with geometric or striped prints

Match Your Walls to the Design

Can you have rustic style without addressing your walls? Not really. It would look a bit silly to have a gorgeous rustic living room paired with '70s-style floral wallpaper. With that said, there's no one way to dress up your walls for a rustic style home. Some rustic rooms could have dark wall paneling, while others might have cream-colored walls with contrasting baseboards and trim. Others still might have painted paneling, reclaimed wood walls or even a stone feature wall.

Bring Outside Inside

What does the natural world look like outside your windows? If you're in a wooded area, incorporate woodsy decor such as branches, logs or flowers into your rustic design.

And what if you're more urban and are more likely to see an apartment building, skyscraper or a trolley line than a lush park, riverbed or wooded trail? Even in an urban landscape you'll find hints of natural beauty perfect for the rustic style.

Start by taking inspiration from neighborhood window box planters or small urban gardens, because styling your home in the rustic style will give you a welcoming retreat that pays perfect homage to all things natural and down to earth.

Rustic in the city could also mean artisan-made. Visit a local artisan shop selling handmade pottery or woven blankets, or find a used bookstore with rare or vintage hardcover books, all of which make great rustic house decor.