Lovely Lake Style

Summertime means summer living. For some of us that’s a retreat to our cabin at the lakeside, in the woods or at the shore. But even if you spend your leisure weekends in town, you can enjoy that summery sensation all year round with a living room full of homey lodge furniture. A few touches of rustic furniture and décor, such as lodge furniture, can transform any house to a home that feels like a vacation getaway.

Living Room

There are many ways to achieve the look and feel of a picturesque country home. Start with your living room. How big are the windows? What kind of lighting do they afford? Do they face out on a pine forest or a lake full of boats, or can you only see the house across the street? If the room is bright and the outdoor view inviting, you might use an open floor plan with light curtains or even no curtains at all. Many color schemes, including whites and off-whites, are attractive in this kind of environment. If your view is less inspiring, it might be best to try for a style that emphasizes coziness, sticking more to browns and tans, and maybe just a few color accents. Use patterns and plaids, particularly in throw blankets and pillows, to add that bit of hominess that that makes you want to settle in with a few friends and cups of coffee.

While sofas and chairs with exposed legs are often thought of as lake cottage furniture, many kinds can integrate into a homespun living room, especially if the room is filled out with log furniture such as quaint and outdoorsy coffee tables and end tables. Some roughhewn floating shelves (link to floating shelf post) do wonders toward achieving the vacation home look. Even ordinary bookcases and entertainment centers can fit in if they’re filled with nature-themed artwork and other items of cabin decor. Also, area rugs can transform an otherwise ordinary room into one that says rural getaway. And a handsome, yet unpolished wall clock brings in more of that cottage style.

And what about overhead lighting? Investigate what’s available in chandeliers. There are surprisingly countrified choices; a fixture made of wood can be an eye-catching accent to your theme.

Dining Room

The right dining set establishes the tone for a folksy meal. Distressed woods such as acacia are good choices, but any table that’s not too formal can work. Pair the table with rustic chairs, such as reclaimed barnwood or twig style arm chairs, and you’ll have the perfect place to host a family meal. A country themed table cloth or similar place settings can further transform a generic table into the centerpiece of a rustic dining room. A rustic buffet adds a to farmhouse motif, particularly one with some open shelves. Consider a sideboard, which you can pile with food at dinnertime and decorate with displayable dishes and other curios the rest of the time. As in the living room, a well-chosen chandelier lends a homespun tone.

Kitchen

Nothing says “cabin” like an uncovered, exposed look in the kitchen. Pots and pans hanging on the walls, plates and mugs on shelves, open or windowed cabinets, all create the ambiance of a woodland retreat. Cabin furniture such as a picnic-style table can be effective here. What about benches instead of chairs? Low and open storage tables contribute to the down-to-earth effect.

Bedroom

This is where you can really “head for the lake” with log cabin furniture or lodge furniture. Beds, dressers and nightstands are all available in styles that put you in that vacation frame of mind. You have a lot to choose from in materials, colors and finishes. Both bunk beds and individual beds come in countrified versions. Instead of a solid headboard and footboard, consider one with horizontal slats. A reclaimed barnwood theme can resonate throughout your bedroom suite, bringing rustic charm with its one-of-a-kind pieces. Most likely, you will choose browns for your furniture, but the bedroom is another place where off-whites can strike a chord that hails back to the childhood cottage you remember.

An unpretentious desk might fit delightfully into a corner. Pieces that don’t work in citified bedrooms could fit the bill here. For example, a standing wardrobe. Another example, a foot-of-the-bed cedar blanket chest.

Den

Just because your den or rec room has a large flat-screen TV, doesn’t mean the vibe has to seem like 2019. Even a contemporary entertainment center can be decorated with rustic decor. Bring the outdoors inside with flowerpots and vases that contain fresh cuts when they’re in bloom and dried arrangements the other seasons. As in the living room, coffee and end tables, couches, chairs and loveseats, especially if their wood shows age and imperfection, serve to increase the cabin-like appeal. A well-chosen rocking chair, maybe even one with a cane seat, can bring in one more touch of vacation living.

This is another space where the right artwork makes all the difference. Paintings, prints and photos of lake, woods, clouds and sky reinforce the natural surroundings of a woodland hideaway, whether you’re in an actual retreat or your remodeled home in town.

Hallway and Entry

Here’s the place to top off your lodge decorating by adding an unassuming wooden coatrack, either standing or wall-mounted, and maybe including a hall tree. Finish it all off with a wooden shoe storage bench and you’ll have a redecorated home that feels like a trip to the country every day.