How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style

Don’t miss this classic, white modern farmhouse style home from A Burst of Beautiful.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

Hi, sweet friends! My name is Alicia and my blog, A Burst of Beautiful, is a place where my husband and I share our home as we renovate, remodel or simply redecorate. I am so happy to be joining my dear friend, Rachel, today to welcome you into our home. If you’ve never visited us before, I hope you’ll take some time to come over and say hello – we would love to hear from you!

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

Our home is designed in a decidedly modern farmhouse style.

But it’s more than just a style…it’s a feeling. It encompasses a sense of nostalgia of a time long ago. When days were spent sipping iced tea on the front porch while the freshly washed laundry hangs from the clothesline, gently fluttering in the breeze. When children spent dawn to dusk running barefoot through the yard with not a care in the world. And when life was more about the simple pleasures than the latest and the greatest.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

Now, I know it’s not plausible to live as we used to, after all, we have more responsibilities and in general, are simply busier. But that doesn’t mean we can’t capture that feeling in our homes.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

It’s about creating a space that feels relaxed and simple, where nothing is too formal or off-limits. It’s combining the best of both worlds – the charm and character of an old way of life mixed with a modern sensibility. This is really what modern farmhouse style is all about.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

And it’s quite an easy style to master…

Define a Color Palette

Farmhouses are notorious for their neutral color palettes, typically consisting of white, gray or beige. These neutrals are almost always warm tones that despite their assumed starkness feel inviting and cozy.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

I took a similar path while choosing the paint colors for our home, picking shades that have a touch of color to them but are still neutral at heart (see our Modern Farmhouse Paint Colors here). These colors flow well together throughout the rooms of our home and look beautiful paired with the many white furniture pieces we have and natural wood tones.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

To keep things feeling young and fresh and bring in that modern sensibility I was talking about earlier, we’ve incorporated touches of blue in varying shades to each room. A textured blue rug in our kitchen, a window bench made from practical denim fabric in our dining room and various blue pillows and throws in our living room (oh, and I can’t forget about the newest addition…our beautiful indigo rug).

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

So begin by choosing a neutral palette that works well with your home and it’s layout, then add a favorite accent color as a common thread throughout each room. When you’re picking an accent color think of traditional colors, like navy blue, deep green or buttery yellow, these are colors that translate well with that farmhouse feeling.

Casual Design

Farmhouse style is all about comfort. It’s not fussy, formal or elaborate. It’s a place where family and friends alike feel unhurried and relaxed. It’s all about creating the feeling of a well-lived-in and loved home.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

Again, this is more than just about furniture and paint colors, but for the sake of design that is what I am going to talk about.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

To create that sense of comfort and easy-going way of life in our home, I stuck to pieces that felt informal and that weren’t matchy-matchy. The white slipcovered sofa and armchair in our living room are perfect for mid-day naps and the slipcovers lend to that no-fuss attitude.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

Our dining room is decorated in different pieces – an inexpensive painted hutch, handmade sideboard and farmhouse table (built by my husband!) and dining chairs we found for a steal on an online classified site.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

And even though none of these pieces exactly match, they work well to create a cohesive and comfortable look. So when you are outfitting your own home avoid matching sets, mix high with low and new with salvaged – it’s the perfect farmhouse look.

Add Character

If you don’t live in a true farmhouse, adding character with millwork is a sure-fire way to enhance or add farmhouse style.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

Our home was built in the late 80’s and it’s in the middle of our little town, it’s definitely not a true farmhouse. But over the years we have incorporated crown molding, shiplap, wainscotting and board and batten which has helped to add interest and charm to each room in our home and make it feel a little more like that true farmhouse we one day hope to build.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

Natural Wood is Key

As we know, the color white is typically the star in farmhouse style, but natural wood tones come in at a close second. Incorporating wood elements and natural textures is such an easy way to add warmth to these all-white spaces.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

In our home, we brought in a lot of different pieces to achieve this look. Large furniture items like our floating desks and island in our kitchen and our hand-built printmaker’s coffee table, harvest dining table and fireplace mantle all highlight the beauty of natural wood through their warm tones and natural textures.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

But smaller objects can have the same impact, wicker or woven baskets make perfect planters for potted plants or look beautiful stored in hutches or open shelving. Hand-carved wood trays make simple centerpieces in dining rooms or living rooms. And blanket ladders are perfect for filling a bare corner.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

And I can’t forget to mention that adding these beautiful woven wood shades to our living room and bedroom was one of our best decisions yet. Not only are they much safer (cordless for our daughter and pets), but they are made from a beautiful natural material that adds so much texture and color to our windows.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

So whether you’re incorporating natural wood beams or a simple jute rug, texture is an important element in creating that warm and inviting feeling that is ever present in modern farmhouse style.

Play with Pattern

There are certain patterns that just scream modern farmhouse and stripes are on the top of that list. Conveniently stripes are also a favorite of mine. They certainly embody that casual, relaxed energy we are going for. I like to add them subtly throughout our home, you’ll see them in our living room with simple ticking stripe pillow covers, in our bedroom on our downy duvet and even in our dining room with simple white and blue striped napkins.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

And coming in at a close second is buffalo check…our kitchen valance was so simple to make but I love the impact it has.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

Pattern is a fun way to add personality, so if your home is feeling a little stale, try adding a dose of stripes, buffalo check, plaid or even paisley. Keeping patterns simple and classic will ensure they have no problem fitting into your modern farmhouse style.

Embrace Nature

When I think of modern farmhouse style, I think of farms and being with one at nature. Again, if you don’t live on a true farm that’s ok. There are so many simple ways to embrace nature and bring it into your home. And it’s especially easy when you can turn to Mother Nature throughout the seasons.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

During the spring and summer, I love clipping beautiful blooms from our backyard or wildflowers from our cottage. Simple branches cut from a tree make stunning centerpieces too. During the fall I scatter our home with plump heirloom pumpkins and bowls full of freshly picked apples. As winter rolls around I fill baskets with cut birch logs and deck our home with fresh greenery for the holidays.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

Filling your home with bits and pieces of the great outdoors not only adds color and beauty, but it helps you to feel connected to nature. It’s a win-win.

Think Outside of the Box & Have Fun

Lastly, I want to say…just have fun! Don’t ever let yourself get caught up in what’s right or what’s wrong. Decorating your home is about embracing your style and filling it with the pieces that make you happy. Don’t play by all of the rules.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

Our layered gallery wall is definitely a statement piece in our home. And when we hung it in our living room I had no idea the amount of attention it would receive. It’s certainly not a concept I came up with, it’s been done many times before, but I think the reason it’s so popular is that I didn’t spend a lot of time fretting over the details. I put my creativity to work painting the large abstract, and simply hung favorite prints of mine in a very simple layout.

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

Because we hung the gallery wall over our sofa I knew I didn’t want to hang more prints above our armchair, but that wall definitely needed something to fill it with. So on a whim, I hung these simple woven trays. They came from both big box stores and thrift shops and are nothing special. But they add a beautiful vignette that ties together interest, color and texture, not to mention our toddler thinks it’s hilarious that mom hung baskets on the wall! 🙂 These are just two examples of “thinking outside of the box”, I trusted my gut and just went with my vision. This is an important concept no matter what style your home is!

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

So there you have it…my thoughts and tips on creating a home that encompasses modern farmhouse style. If you have any suggestions to add I would love to hear from you, please pop over to our blog and let us know! And if you want to see more of our home and what we’re working on (we’ve got a big room reveal coming up…) make sure you follow us on Instagram or sign up for our newsletter!

How to Capture a Modern Farmhouse Style: tips for decorating your home with that modern farmhouse feel and charm

Similar Posts

11 Comments

  1. Your home is beautiful! Needed an idea for a wall in my dining room, love the woven baskets! Thank you for sharing..

  2. I thoroughly enjoyed every word of this post! It is so helpful and full of wonderful photos and information. TFS

  3. Absolutely stunning,I could curl up on the sofa with a good book & feel very comfortable.Thanks for the tour.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *