Your fantasy: An antique farmhouse on several leafy acres. Your reality: An itty bitty apartment with views over the parking garage. Don’t despair: You can absolutely rock farmhouse style on a micro scale...and make your space more airy, bright and open as a result. Scroll on for the best tricks in the book.
9 Easy Ways to Give Your Tiny Apartment Major Farmhouse Vibes
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Published May 21, 2018
Courtesy of Sherwin Williams
Paint Your Walls In Matte, Neutral Tones
Farmhouse style abides by a light, neutral palette. And conveniently for your situation, small spaces favor them. Start by refreshing your walls with a white, cream or pale gray paint job. Pro tip: opt for a matte finish. It’s the softest, most timeless finish, and it creates the most even dispersion of light.
Get the look: Sherwin Williams paint in Alabaster
Courtesy of Displays2Go
Turn Farm Supplies Into Storage-savvy Furniture
Think: Turning a chicken coop into statement shelving (à la Joanna Gaines). Or flipping milk crates on their sides and using them as side tables. Rustic, innovative upcyling is the name of the farmhouse-style game.
Get the look: Displays2Go wooden crate dump bins ($65 for 15)
Courtesy of Cisco
Slipcover Your Furniture
We love the country-chic look of swingy, neutral slipcovers for sofas, loungers, dining chairs, you name it. But what makes them an especially clever tool in a small space is that they lighten the palette (making the room appear bigger) and totally streamline the decor scheme without costing a fortune.
Cisco slipcovered sofa (upon inquiry)
Courtesy of Crate & Barrel
Use Storage Baskets For Absolutely Everything
With their easy-access qualities and warm, casual look, storage baskets are a primary fixture in a farmhouse scheme. Place them alongside your non-working fireplace to store pretty birch logs or house cozy blankets. Or add one to the bathroom to display your toilet paper. There are no rules, people.
Crate & Barrel Zuzu baskets (from $50)
Courtesy of Bed, Bath & Beyond
Add Open Shelving Features
Like to the living room as artful book display. Or to the bathroom as breezy towel storage. And landlord willing, rock ‘em in your kitchen. This airy shelving option lends itself especially well to small spaces. Plus, what better opportunity to create vignettes with your stoneware pottery, mason jars and potted greens?
Get the look: Bed, Bath & Beyond industrial pipe wall shelf ($69)
Courtesy of Parachute
Whitewash Your Bedroom
Farmhouse style’s favorite color is a mega-powerful design tool, guys. It can blast open even the tiniest of bedrooms with light and airiness. Opt for solid, neutral bedding in earthy textures to reduce visual noise and add fuss-free charm. (Bring on the perfectly imperfect linen bedding.)
Get the look: Parachute linen bedding (from $59)
Courtesy of Pier 1
Work Your Groceries Into Your Kitchen Decor
No farmhouse kitchen is complete without perky produce and baked goods artfully left out on display. Use this opportunity to mount a few veggie baskets to the wall…or treat yourself to a decorative countertop storage vessel. Bonus points: Extra fridge and pantry space.
Get the look: Pier 1 galvanized counter storage ($40)
Courtesy of
Distress, Strip Or Paint Wood Pieces
No room for glossy or polished woods in this bucolic hideaway. Give your investment pieces (like your bedroom dresser or dining bench) an antiqued, farmhouse-friendly quality by DIY distressing, stripping bare or transforming with chalk paint.
Get the look: Target bench ($127)
Courtesy of Magnolia Home
Use Greenery As Your Primary Decor
In a small space, you need to prioritize accents or things will start to look real cluttered, real fast. Luckily, farmhouse style doesn’t care about the fancy or precious when it comes to art. Instead use potted greens, cut branches and otherwise unpretentious plants and you’re pretty much covered. And if you must add a giant clock, too, we guess we’ll allow it.
Get the look: Magnolia Home faux sedum plant ($16)
