English Cottage Living Room

Come, grab a cup of tea and learn how to thrift and make an english cottage living room that’s cozy and inspiring! With hunter greens, old books and worn leather chairs this look is traditional and classic. Whether you live in an area with a similar climate to England or if you live in the humid south, this look is simple to achieve with these Nine elements. Next time you are out thrifting, be sure to look for these essential pieces to achieve that English Cottage style.

My husband and I have always loved old libraries with floor to ceiling books and well worn leather chairs. You know like in beauty and the beast? These rooms are so inviting and they welcome you in to grab a comfy seat and stay for awhile.

Cozy and Timeless

We’ve always loved our home to feel warm and cozy but collected and timeless. Therefore each piece of furniture and wall decor in our living room has a story to tell. Its that collected look that gives a space the english style.

I picture CS Lewis sitting in the leather chair with a pipe in his hand reading a book. I love the English cottage look and we’ve been working to achieve that look for some time. It can take a lot of time to collect and search for unique pieces. My hope is that after reading, you can create a look that seems like it took years to create but in reality when you have an eye for the right pieces, you can create a collected look very easily. When you have meaningful pieces, old and new, you can cultivate a beautiful room.

Nine Elements to thrift for this month

Bring the english cottage look into your home and give it that old world, english, cozy cottage style.

First, Books. Lots of books.

You can easily find these at thrift stores or garage sales. You can take off the dust covers to unveil the beautiful covers. Some people like to find all different colors and mix and match while other people may like a more basic look and go for whites and creams. You can also recover books or turn them around so only the pages show. Either way, that old library will come alive as you gather books to use in your room.

English Fox hunt.

In England, this sport started as early as the 15th century. This activity was led by a master on horseback followed by trained foxhounds looking to chase and kill red fox. When you find this print, it instantly brings in an english, equestrian, country elegance with its rich colors of reds and greens. You can find this print in pictures, fabric, plates, mugs, and so many other things. I can usually spot several at one trip to an antique store.

Collage walls.

Now, what to do with the walls you may ask? Start a collage wall and fill them with unique and thrifted pieces. You can look for Fox hunt paintings, floral prints, or anything that brings in the english flair for you. Either way, grab different sizes and shapes to create a truly timeless and story-filled wall.

Leather chairs.

We’ve dreamed of leather chairs for quite some time but they are quite expensive so for years we just brought the leather look into this room just by using throw pillows.

Storytime: How we got our leather chairs

One Saturday, we took a trip to our local Salvation Army and from across the room Dan and I both saw these chairs. We were in different sections of the store but we both had the eye for them. I was sure they would have a “sold” sign on them because how could anyone pass up two leather chairs?? They were perfectly worn with matching ottomans and gorgeous gold nailhead trim.

As we both walked closer to the chairs not only were they still available but they were 25% off!! I figured there must be an issue with them because this was too good of a deal! We scanned them over and could not believe how well taken care of they were. I told Dan to stay with them so we could have an employee mark them sold. While I was away, an older gentleman was examining the chairs and he explained to us that he used to be a furniture guy and he knows exactly what to look for in furniture and he could not believe the quality of these chairs. I was worried he wanted them, but he actually just wanted to check them over as he had a passion for the job he once did. This gave me even more confirmation to buy them. This set of worn leather chairs are one of those pieces that are timeless and we will treasure forever, they are the type of piece that we hope to pass down to our kids and well worth the investment. 

If you are not patient enough and would rather buy new leather chairs but still want that old, worn look…please head over to my friend Sarah from She Holds Dearly and check out her tutorial on how to make new leather chairs look old.

Hunter green.

This is my favorite color and I couldn’t see an English living room without it. A warm, creamy and elegant green, it’s the color of the dresser I redid. It’s in the fox hunt picture and it’s in the beautiful rug we got from amazon. When you think of the english countryside, green is a prominent color in the lush landscapes.

English Storage Trunks

This chest serves as our coffee table and is actually filled with workout equipment.

English Cottage Florals.

In pictures and pillow covers, I’m not sure you can have an english cottage without showing some mismatched florals.

Antiques.

Gold and brass antiques just screams English country to me. If you truly want to bring in an old word, collected room, you must have antiques and special treasures to display.

Clocks

Clocks. You can’t have an English Cottage Living room without clocks. From the wall pocket watch that hung in my grandparents living room to the clock above the mantel that my grandpa made and even the clock above our entryway that you can see from the living room, there is something about clocks that brings in a cozy elegance to a room.

An English Cottage Living room library is so cozy and collected. It’s timeless and filled with treasures and stories. This room invites you in to grab a book and stay for awhile. I hope you can take some time this month to find some treasures as you go thrifting and make your home a beautiful place to rest.

Sincerely,
   Katy

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