Home Tree Atlas

Rustic Window Treatments and Curtain Ideas

Rustic Window Treatments and Curtain Ideas

Visually a window and it’s curtains takes up a lot of space in a room. This means that they play an important role in styling the space. When it comes to transforming a room into a rustic space, I believe the more simple you do it the better. Just focus one or two key statement pieces in the room, like having exposed beams or a wooden furniture piece that is the focal point in the space. Below are some simple curtain ideas and rustic window treatments.

The Simple Way

My favourite rustic window treatment design is to go with traditional white wooden window frames. This way, if you have any wooden features in the room, and a neutral color scheme, these wooden features are able to stand out. Picture (1) gives you an example of that.

Or if you have little or no wooden features in the room, use wooden barn shutters. Have the rest of the room neutral, as in white walls, and these rustic window shutters will stand out – just like the ones in the bedroom in picture (2).

Looking Out

Here are some rustic window design ideas:

  • Use reclaimed wood to create imbedded valances just like in picture (3)
  • Or use reclaimed wood to create rustic window trim (4)
  • Simply use reclaimed windows
  • Create your own stylized sliding window barn door (5)

Curtain Treatment Ideas

With the curtains I would keep the window treatment as simple as possible. One idea is to use a wooden curtain rod as seen in picture (6), along with a decorative white curtain. Another idea is to use a cast iron curtain rod and or hook brackets.

Picture (7) shows plain white, light weight fabric being used as a curtain. Nothing rustic there. But they just casually hang from the rustic makeshift curtain beam above.

Curtain Fabric: Go with a neutral color like white or off white, and use a heavy thick fabric such as a heavy linen.

Rustic Curtain Tie Backs: Use leather strips (8)

More rustic mood board posts:

image credits: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8


February 18, 2016 in Design Styles, Windows

Style Guide: Rustic Lighting Fixtures and Ideas

Style Guide: Rustic Lighting Fixtures and Ideas

Rustic Style Lighting

The general style for rustic lighting fixtures, indoor or outdoor, would be wrought iron lights with cream/tan glass work just like in pictures (1) and (2).

You could go with the general rustic wrought iron lights, or there is the more stylized Mission lighting design. Mission lighting uses rustic dark woods blended with patterned colored glass. You’ll know it from the clean lines and angles – the kitchen in picture (3) is using Mission pendant lights over the kitchen island. One name brand for Mission style lighting is Franklin Iron Works – you can see some of their lights below along with some other rustic lighting ideas.


Putting the Rustic Charm on Display

Recessed light or downlights can be pointed towards and highlight any textured walls you have (stone wall, wooden walls) – this is called accent lighting (4).

You can even get uplights that point up towards the ceiling, highlighting any woodwork going on up there. Check out the cove lighting in picture (5), that creates a soft glow on the ceiling and in the room (The Beauty of Using Cove Lighting: Design and Ideas).

Blazing Beauty

A rustic home is a cozy home. You have the warmth of the wood and stone surrounding you. Then there are the crackling fireplaces. Other ways of adding some soft glowing flames include using table lanterns to protect candles. You could also fill up a bowl with water and use floating candles. You can also find flameless battery powered candles – some of them will even flicker, and can be turned on by a remote – get them here.

Lighting For Different Ceiling Heights

Since most rustic homes have heigh ceilings, you’ll find a lot of long hanging lights that bring the light closer down to the living area. You’ll see long rustic pendant lighting and chandeliers. You can also make use of wall lights to mix up the rustic light fixtures.

Mixing it Up: To create great lighting design in a room, you will want to mix up the type of rustic light fixtures used in the space. For example you don’t want to just have pendant lights everywhere in a room. Mix pendant lights along with table and wall lights. By mixing up the type of light fixtures you have in a room, you create different effects and layers – making the space look better.

More modern rustic homes will have recessed lights mixed in with the lighting of a room – just like in the bedroom in picture (6). These recessed lights would also work well in a bathroom.

More rustic mood board posts:

Image Credits: 1/2/3/4/5/6

February 18, 2016 in Design Styles, Lighting

Rustic Living Room Ideas, Decor, and Furniture Designs

Rustic Living Room Ideas, Decor and Furniture Designs

The general feel in a rustic living room is a cozy vibe, with earth tones decorating the space. Here are the rustic living room ideas that will help transform your space.

Paint Colors and Wall Design Ideas

If you take a look at the pictures in the mood board, most of the rustic living rooms combine stone walls with more simple white/off white walls – just like the living room in picture (1). In my rustic paint post I talked about how white/off white walls are a modern choice for a rustic style room. This is because it is a great contrast and really shows off the the rustic pieces in the room, like exposed beams or a stone feature wall.

One way to create a well designed rustic space, is to make use of a feature wall. This is one wall in the room that has a rustic touch to it, say covered in stone, while all of the other walls are simply plastered and painted. This lets you create a rustic style, but it is toned down. In the living room, this feature wall could be the fire place chimney – as seen in picture (3).

For more ideas on paint colors and textured wall designs have a look at my mood board post here: Rustic Paint Colors and Textured Wall Designs.

Gathering Around the Coffee Table

The coffee table is one of the focal points in the living room (the other one is the seating area). Everything is usually centered around it, so the eye is drawn there first. The coffee table will really help create the style of the whole room.

Most of the living rooms in the mood board have pretty simple coffee tables, usually made out of wood, or are upholstered (with a dark fabric or with leather) and use a wooden tray as a flat surface.

If you need to create a more rustic style here are some other ideas for coffee tables:

  • Log tables
  • Reclaimed wood, or wooden chest

All of these ideas can also be used as side tables next to the couch. For more ideas check out my coffee table ideas mood board.

The Seating Area

Seats take up a lot of space in a living room. So the kind and style you get, will play a big role in the look of the room. For rustic living room furniture, the go to choice for seats are upholstered tan or brown ones, or leather sets (5).

The Windows and Ceiling

One good looking rustic design idea, ideal for a living room with white walls, is to use a wooden pole as a curtain rod with black iron brackets. The wooden pole will really stand out from the white walls. For curtain ideas, have a look at my post here: Rustic Window Treatments and Curtain Ideas.

There is not much to say about the ceiling, except that having exposed beams are the best design feature to have in a rustic living space.

Rustic Style Lighting

A rustic living room will have cozy warm lighting. Make use of fire with a fire pit or table lanterns and candles. Ceiling spot lights can be used to point down on any stone walls to highlight them. The style for most rustic light fixtures will be wrought iron. So use wrought iron chandeliers, wall lights, and side table lamps in the living room. For photos, ideas and a mood board, have a look here: Style Guide: Rustic Lighting Fixtures and Ideas.

Rustic Decor and Storage Items

Store firewood out in the open as the wood also acts as rustic living room decor. Some ways to do that include putting them in wicker baskets, wooden crates, or have a recessed wall in the living room where the wood can be stacked up (6).

Some ideas from my rustic storage ideas mood board included:

  • Wooden or metal ladders can lean against the wall and be used to hang up blankets or magazines
  • Wicker baskets make for great looking storage

For more rustic living room inspiration, check out my Tuscan Living Room Ideas

More rustic decor and design mood boards:

image credits: 1/2/3/4/5/6


February 18, 2016 in Design Styles, Living Room

Style Guide: Modern Basement Ideas and Designs

Style Guide: Modern Basement Ideas and Designs

From the colors you use on the walls to the types of light fixtures you hang up, here are some modern basement ideas to help you design your space.

Color Scheme and Design Ideas

Wall paint colors for a modern basement would be in the range of neutral colors, which include: white as seen in picture (1), off white, light tan, or grey. For more examples of basement color schemes, have a look at my mood board here: A Palette Guide To Basement Paint Colors.

What to Avoid: Avoid using stone for the walls, and also using stone or dark woods/browns for the countertop bases, countertops, and furniture pieces. They look great, but these finishes will create a more rustic style in a basement.

Furniture Design Tips

Built in furniture is really the only way to go when it comes to a designing a modern basement (vs. free standing units). This is because built ins are designed to fit seamlessly into a room, making the space feel uniformed. Also, no space is wasted – you can build all the way up to the ceiling, or build into strange layouts. They also allow you to customise the look of the cabinet doors, and what hardware is used.

Cabinets take up a lot of visual space. So the design of the cabinets will really add to the style of the room. Modern cabinets will have doors that are glossy and flat. To create a really minimalist and modern look, they won’t have handles – you push them and they spring open – just like in picture (2). Or they would have simple metal handles.

When it comes to the seating, avoid dark brown and leather furniture. Instead go with grey (3), tan, or black.

Lighting up the Space

For any basement design, you’ll want to have a lot of lighting so it doesn’t feel like a dark and cramped space. In a modern basement you are going to see a generous layout of recessed lights. Recessed lights are fitted into the ceiling, so that all of the parts are hidden away. You are left with a clean, minimalist, and modern room design. All of the basements in mood board pictures above use recessed lights.

Since you want to have a lot of lighting in the basement, to compensate for the lack of natural lighting, put your lights on a bunch of light switches and dimmer switches so you can really control which areas to light up.

Mix in some table and floor or wall lamps with your recessed ceiling lights. This creates different layers and lighting effects, making for a better designed room. If you have high ceilings, then some pendant lights can hang over countertops or a dining table – just like in picture (4). Contemporary and modern light fixtures will usually have a brush nickel/steel or chrome finish.

A New Room a New Home

A space with it’s own function is a major upgrade to a house. Here are some modern ideas for a basement upgrade:

A Media Center: If you have a large basement space, then how about turning it or a part of it into a media center or home theater. A modern home would have the surround sound wired and built into the ceiling and into the walls. Have a look at this post Designs and Ideas For a Basement Home Theater for more ideas on creating a basement home theater.

Modern living spaces (living room, kitchen, bar, dining area, entertainment area) are open planned. So if you are planning on combining a kitchen or dry bar with a living room or entertainment space – see if you can create an open layout – just like in pictures (6) and (7).

image credits: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7

For more basement mood boards have a look at my collection page here.

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February 18, 2016 in Basement