I discovered Minimalism a few years ago when my son suddenly started piling things in the hallway.
When the pile got so big that I couldn’t get to our only toilet, I asked him what he was doing. ‘’All this junk makes me feel stressed!’’ he replied. ‘’I only want to have things in my room that I need or love. It feels much better without all the clutter in my room. I don’t notice my ADHD as much!’’
Researching Minimalism brought up hundreds of nearly all-white images on Pinterest! Yuck, Why does everyone seem to think being a minimalist means moving into a white box?
I like colors and patterns. As much as I wanted to help my son with his ADHD I was not prepared to live in an all-white, sterile, hospital-like environment!
We live in a 200-year-old hay barn! Turning that into a white minimalistic box would be like taking all the personality out of a person!
I don’t believe that to be a minimalist (to live with less in a decluttered home) means that you can’t have the colors, patterns, and things around you that make you feel at home!
What is Rustic Minimalism?
Rustic; Part of the definition in Websters is ‘’Relating to, or suitable for the country’’. One thing that is not suitable for the country is an all-white interior! Muddy boots would ruin it within a matter of minutes!
Minimalism needs to be flexible if more people are going to embrace it. The point of Minimalism is to cut down on excess and live a more sustainable life. This can be done in the country without repainting, becoming unpractical, or changing design styles!
Just adding bits of leather and wood to a white box does not give a Rustic impression! The pictures and suggestions I found for combining Rustic and Minimalist aesthetics looked anything, but Rustic!
I am here to tell you, that you can be a Minimalist and still be YOU! There is no need to remodel your home after a typical minimalist aesthetic!
If you are doing to remodel after decluttering do it because it makes you happy and reflects your personality!
How To Get the Rustic Minimalist Aesthetic!
A Rustic Aesthetic is hard to fake. You’ll need some DIY and elbow grease.
The Minimalist aesthetic can only be achieved by decluttering!
How you go about decluttering may depend on what stage of life you find yourself in.
- When you are single or married without kids. I suggest setting aside a whole weekend to declutter. Send as much stuff to the second-hand store as you can! If you have items that you are not sure about, put them in storage for three months and see if you miss them. Remember to save hard to declutter items (sentimental items) for last! Saving these things for last seems to be the consensus among decluttering gurus like Marie Kondo and Joshua Becker.
- If you are Married with kids this process may take more time! You will have more items to go through and you may need a babysitter! If you can get a babysitter, so you and your spouse can go through the majority of your items in one weekend, go for it!
If not, do a little every day even if it’s only 15 min. If you have an extra room you can use for your ‘’Decluttering Central’’ then you can bring everything you need to go through in that room and leave the items that need to be donated there until you can drive them to the donation center.
- If you have special needs kids and you’re already overwhelmed you may need to declutter in tiny increments!
If you have friends or family who understand your children and you are comfortable with them babysitting then try to tackle the shared spaces when you have childcare. Declutter the Family room, Living room, kitchen, and bathrooms first. This will give you the most impact for the time invested!
If you can’t get a babysitter, walk around the house each day with two trash bags. One for trash and one for items to donate.
This way you can do a little each day without making a bigger mess in your home! You can read more about my spiral method here How to Start Living Minimally With an ADHD Family
- When you are entering retirement and need to downsize you may need to set aside several weeks to wade through your things.
How much time you need will depend on how big your home is and if you have children who can help you.
I suggest that you pick what will fit nicely into your new living space and let the rest go! It takes less time to decide what you want to keep if you are prepared to let what’s left go to charity in bulk. Deciding what to discard item by item will take considerably more time.
How to add Rustic Charm
Photo Wallpaper
In the last few years, wallpaper printing has evolved from traditional prints to 3D or photo wallpapers, that can trick the eye!
If you have a chance to take some pictures of rustic details you can make your unique pictures into wallpaper that no one else has!
Wood shims art
Check out the videos below for lots of inspiration!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnN2NfwY-FY
If you buy pre-cut pieces of wood or wood shims and stain them with Gothic Patina you can make a rustic headboard or wall art without any power tools!
Age your Furniture!
Wooden doors, wooden furniture, and wooden cabinetry can be made to look old, by throwing rocks!
- You will need to take the items you want to age outside. Lay them on the ground.
- Drop bigger rocks on the items (don’t throw too hard or they might break!)
- Sprinkle them with smaller rocks or gravel and walk on the items.
- This combination of making bigger and smaller dents in the wood usually gives an authentic aged look.
- Stain with a dark stain or paint
When you’re done making the items look old you will need to paint or stain them.
What you choose will depend on what kind of look you are going for. Gothic Patina or other dark stains are great if you have items that are still raw wood. If you have painted items you may want to sand off most of the paint or repaint.
Buy Antiques.
Often Antiques are cheapest at auctions or estate sales.
If you can’t find anyone selling near you, you can always post a picture of what you are looking for on social media and ask others to contact you.
Make sure that you know what you are looking for before you go shopping! It’s easy to fall in love with antiques that don’t suit your design. Look for items that would have been in a farmhouse, not extremely fancy items.
Install fake beams with a dark stain.
If you are a carpenter, have carpentry skills, or have the budget to hire a carpenter.
Installing fake beams is a great way to instantly add rustic character to a room!
Make your own sliding rustic barn doors
Check out the tutorial in the link below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUcRm1vp8UA
Use Natural materials
Wooden and leather details are usually the first things that come to mind when thinking about rustic aesthetics.
Don’t forget that linen, handmade ceramics, stone (marble or granite), natural twines, driftwood, and copper are all great rustic materials!
Buy comfortable leather furniture that will add even more charm when well worn
If you can find worn leather furniture at estate sales or antique shops this is a quick way to add loads of character to your home.
Think of the kind of furniture you would find in a log cabin. Often cabins have oversized leather couches and chairs combined with raw wooden side tables that look homemade.
Buy practical household items that will age well
Remember, furniture or decor that is fit for the country is practical!
Pottery, stoneware, wooden bowls (or accessories), and metal items are all great hard-wearing options. (If the metal items look like they were made by a blacksmith it’s even better!)
Create a fake log wall
The wall above has some real logs, but the bottom half was in bad shape and logs were missing.
We had to add fake logs to complete the look. The ‘Fake’ logs were half logs that we pulled off the floor of an old barn, but you can buy new log paneling that has the same effect.
Make a reclaimed wood wall
A wooden accent wall can add warmth to a room If you don’t paint it. The Rustic aesthetic is a warm aesthetic.
You can make a wooden accent wall with wood shims, but it won’t be cheap.
Asking around for old wooden pallets or scrap wood may be a cheaper option. The pallets may need to be stained or cleaned depending on how old they are and where they come from.
Make an accent wall with rusty metal siding
Metal can cause an echo, so make sure to balance metal with lots of textiles. This can work well for smaller walls or in the bathroom.
Make an accent wall using tin ceiling squares
There is a wide range of tin ceiling tiles on Amazon. You can even find cheaper plastic ones that are painted white.
Some kinds of tin tiles even have a self-adhesive on the backside and all you have to do is stick them on the wall! The more expensive kinds require nailing up, but it’s not a hard install for a DIYer.
Use Aztech inspired art, rugs, and blankets
Don’t be afraid of warm colors, and bold patterns. Minimalism is about living with less stuff and how convenient that is.
Don’t confuse Minimalist architecture with Family Minimalism!
There is ‘NO RULE’ that says minimalists can’t have pattern and color in their homes!
Use country-inspired lighting
Thanks to lightbulbs that no longer get hot, you can make a light out of practically anything!
Try drilling a hole in an old camping lantern or kerosene barn light.
Make sure that it’s free from kerosene first! We drilled a hole in the top for an electric cord and made several of these lamps into electric lamps.
Paint an accent wall
If you can’t make a wooden one, paint is the next best thing. Choose warm dark colors.
I even know someone who painted thin lines on her wall to make it look like shiplap!
To make a fake shiplap wall you need to. . .
- First, paint the whole wall one color.
- Then buy a wooden board the same width that you want to have between your lines.
- Have a couple of friends help you hold it up while you paint black lines to simulate shadows between the shiplap boards.
- You can use a tiny paintbrush or buy hobby paint that comes in a pen.
Change your flooring
If you have the budget to buy reclaimed wood floors this is a great way to completely transform a home.
If you can’t afford reclaimed wood, buy new wood flooring and use the same aging trick with rocks and gravel that works on furniture. When you’ve dented your floor to your satisfaction you can use a warm dark stain.
Make your bathroom fixtures
It’s easy to buy fittings for sink drains if you want to make a sink out of an old bowl, a horse trough, or a metal bucket.
If you think it’s fun to play around with pipes try making a facet out of copper piping.
Use Farm items in the bathroom
Using a horse trough for a bathtub or metal siding to waterproof your shower will give you instant country charm.
You can crush country style plates and make a backsplash behind your sink or try using thick rope around your mirror if you don’t want to make any major changes!
Make the backsplash in the kitchen out of tin ceiling tiles
This will give even the plainest of kitchen cabinets some rustic charm! You can buy tin ceiling tiles on Amazon.
You can buy ceiling tiles made out of plastic that look like tin. These will probably fool your guests if you put them on the ceiling, but the fake version won’t hold up in the kitchen over time.
I suggest buying higher quality tin tiles that will withstand kitchen wear and tear and water.
Make a backsplash in the kitchen out of crushed plates!
I made the backsplash in the picture above for my kitchen.
I glued crushed plates on top of the old tiles with extra strong glue from the hardware store. Then I grouted between the plate pieces like they were tiles.
If your old tiles are falling off the wall you will need to remove them first.
Choose Rustic kitchen cupboards
If you are completely remodeling or just changing your cabinet doors choosing a rustic door will change the look of your entire kitchen.
Many cabins have handmade wooden doors. If this look is too rustic for you choose a shaker-style door.
These come in a variety of colors. I suggest a grey-blue or white door which you can accent with wood, leather, and metal details.
Installing a country kitchen sink will add instant charm to any kitchen.
My favorite country sinks are white porcelain, but you can find them in copper or rust-free.
Making your own unique sink out of a feeding trough is always a possibility.
Install a fireplace real or a high quality fake
If you already live in a house that has the rustic charm you don’t need to redecorate.
Just get rid of excess items and decorations that you’re not excited about, and you’re done!
Use Cactus or desert plants in your home
The cactus above was given to me on my birthday 7 years ago! It was only about 2 inches high (A mini plant) when I received it. It is now 2.5 feet tall!
I always thought cactus were hard to care for, but this cactus thrived when I put it in a window and forgot to water it for several weeks at a time! When I did water it, I gave it lots of water!
