We know well that at Manuel Torres Design, one of the most complicated decisions people face when they want to renovate a house is choosing the style that will predominate. If you have it clear and what you are looking for is a modern rustic style, you’re in luck. This is one of the most popular and widespread types of decoration since it provides that homey touch that is so sought after without giving up the modernities that have appeared in recent years in design and interior design. Today, we want to explain everything we know about this trend and the keys to recreating it. Let’s get started!
What does “modern rustic” mean?
From the outside, they may seem like two completely opposite styles, yet they work surprisingly well together, more than you might think, since one addresses the ‘problems’ of the other and vice versa. The clearest example is that the rustic style is warm, charming, very family-oriented, and a bit more chaotic, while the modern style is colder, more distant, and features more luxurious and clean finishes. Modern incorporates the latest design trends, much more current materials, and neutral colors. This opposition is precisely what makes them go so well together, as they intertwine and feed off each other.
If the rustic style can fall into being ‘old’ or outdated, the modern style takes it down a different path. Similarly, when the modern becomes too cold and isolated, the rustic part will rescue that characteristic warmth thanks to its materials, its colors, and its fabrics and textures, reminiscent of a family home full of people and a cozy atmosphere.
If you fully immerse yourself in this style and choose it for your home, you’ll find elements with a natural look, such as reclaimed wood or furniture with a distressed finish, combined with simpler lines that reflect modern design. Spaces will integrate rustic elements like wooden beams or natural stone, but they will be balanced with more neutral colors to achieve a more contemporary and fresh look.
The Keys
Are you interested in applying the modern rustic style to your space? It is undoubtedly one of the best decorative options, as you have, so to speak, the best of both worlds: warmth without giving up modernity. If you want your living room to be pleasant, but not fall into the cliché of an outdated dining room, note the following tips that will ensure you succeed:
White
Unlike a more classic rustic style, whose protagonist is always dark wood, creating more sober and less welcoming environments, the modern rustic style seeks to generate bright spaces using the color white (characteristic of a more modern interior design) to add light to an environment reminiscent of that Nordic style decoration. Hence, when we encounter this style, we see walls painted white or in a similar tone, to ‘open’ the rustic space up to light.
Wood
However, the interesting contrast with white is provided by the use of wood, the quintessential material of the rustic style. Architectural elements of cabins, such as pillars, roofs, and exposed beams, are made of wood, but whitewashing them becomes one of the preferred options for rejuvenating the rural aesthetic. If, in addition to this, we combine oak furniture or other noble woods with simpler designs and without ornamental elements, we achieve the perfect fusion of both styles. As you can see, in this case, it’s all about balance.
Refined Contours
The overly ornate decoration, a bit more characteristic of the rustic style, gives way to simpler lines and natural furniture with simple designs, influenced by the modern style. The curvy shapes of contemporary design take center stage, replacing more ‘pompous’ or outdated details. The combination of designer furniture is always complemented with natural fabrics and wood, as well as strategic lighting that adds warmth and modernity to the room’s decor, thus playing with both styles.
The Key is in the Color
The color palette expands to incorporate more vibrant hues that bring focal points to specific areas of the spaces, always following color combination guidelines. The melancholy of dark and traditional rustic style tones (browns, blacks…) in wood is left behind; now, bold touches in colors like fuchsia and mustard are added, infusing a more youthful air and providing that modern touch we seek to balance a more traditional style. Light gray, bright and elegant, finds its place in sofas, bed textiles, and decorative details in bathrooms and kitchens.
Revalue Furniture
When we talk about rustic style, we often refer also to a vintage part of this design, where pieces are recycled and given new life, making them fit into this new fusion style. Thus, handcrafted pieces made of fiber or ceramic can be renewed with a change of appearance. For example, period armchairs or benches with new upholstery in geometric fabrics or shiny velvets, seeking that modern touch as well, will bring vitality to the space, which is ultimately what is sought.
Contemporary Art
To refresh more classic or rural spaces and give them a twist, a very popular option is to incorporate contemporary art alongside traditional-style furniture. Large abstract paintings with striking colors, moving away from the brown scale, can be an ideal complement to create impact. They constitute one of the most outstanding ideas for decorating the typical walls of mountain homes. Similarly, sculptures, especially large ones, can be placed in unexpected places to surprise and break the monotony of the wooden environment.
Open Rustic Kitchen to the Living Room
If you can tell your home renovation consultants to integrate the kitchen with the living room, you can give it a complete renovation touch, modernizing a predominantly rustic dwelling. One of the most practical ways to add modernity to the kitchen is to put an island with straight lines and contemporary materials like steel or stone. Open spaces not only provide a modern look but also increase the entry of natural light.
Design Elements
Incorporating elements of contemporary design is one of the best and fastest ways to achieve that coveted modern rustic style and generate a contrast between new materials and the more traditional furniture in the rest of the house. If you don’t want paintings, an equally good option is lamps, especially if they combine classic materials like wood with more contemporary shapes.
Many Styles
If you want to go a bit further, you can play by combining elements that at first glance may not match, but together add freshness and a special touch to your country house. You might try incorporating a Moroccan-style rug, for example, and combine it with furniture that follows a more Nordic style, while still maintaining the characteristic rural charm. The key is to dare to try combinations and see how they work.
More Materials
The fusion of 2 styles leads to an increase in the variety of materials we can opt for, since we can take from 2 types of decoration. Even though wood, stone, or textiles are characteristic of the rustic style, it’s not necessary to stick only to these. Now, plastic, glass, ceramic, or metal elements can be incorporated without fear, especially if touches of black are added. All this together will give a distinctive nuance to the dwelling, elevating the interior to a more sophisticated and refined level, while at the same time maintaining its warmth and cozy charm.
