Modern farmhouse interior design: how to get the look in every room, without the clichés
Long tables, open shelves, beams and a stove on a cold evening. Here’s modern farmhouse room by room, made warmer and calmer for a British home.
Rachel Hannah
Modern farmhouse has become one of the best-loved looks of recent years, and it’s easy to see why. It’s practical, sociable and welcoming: a big table everyone can gather round, a kitchen you can actually cook in, and a home that doesn’t mind muddy boots.
I’ve written about how it differs from its cousins in Modern farmhouse, modern rustic or rustic luxury? 4 key differences, and about kitchens in 7 modern farmhouse kitchen ideas that feel warm, not stark. This guide goes through the rest of the house, room by room.
The modern farmhouse essentials
Whatever the room, a few things carry the look. Soft off-white walls, ideally limewash. Natural wood, oiled rather than varnished. Simple, sturdy furniture. Linen, wool and cotton. A little metal, and in the studio’s version, aged brass rather than lots of matt black.
And just as important is what to leave out. Printed fake wood, sliding barn doors in a house that never had a barn, and signs on the wall telling you to gather. A room that’s truly welcoming doesn’t need to say so.
The hallway and boot room
A farmhouse is built around coming in from outside, so start at the door. A sturdy bench to sit on, a row of simple wooden pegs, a basket for each person’s shoes and a hard-wearing floor of stone, tile or a thick jute mat.
Keep it practical and keep it clear. A hallway that works makes the whole house calmer.
The kitchen
The heart of any farmhouse. Simple shaker-style or plain painted cupboards, a deep sink, a worktop of wood or honed stone, and open shelves for the plates and bowls you actually use. There’s much more in 7 modern farmhouse kitchen ideas that feel warm, not stark.
The dining room
The long table is the best thing modern farmhouse ever gave us. Choose solid, oiled wood that can take marks, with benches or simple chairs around it. Hang a pendant low over the table, so the light gathers everyone in, and keep the walls calm so the table is the focus.
The living room or snug
This is where modern farmhouse can feel too bright and too stark, so soften it. A deep linen sofa you can sink into, a wool rug underfoot, an oiled wood coffee table and lamps at different heights with warm bulbs.
If you have a fireplace, make it the centre of the room. A wood-burning stove in a plain plastered surround is the most farmhouse thing of all. Swap the bright white for a chalky off-white, and the room will feel warm even on a grey February afternoon.
The bedroom
Keep it simple and restful. A wooden or upholstered bed, crisp cotton or washed linen bedding in white and oat, a wool blanket at the foot, and a plain wooden chair or stool beside it. A rag rug or a wool runner warms the floorboards.
Leave the walls almost bare. One piece of art or a mirror is plenty.
The bathroom
Think country hotel rather than show home. A freestanding bath if there’s room, simple white sanitaryware, tongue and groove panelling painted a soft colour, a wooden stool and linen towels. Brass taps that will soften with age suit the look far better than shiny chrome.
The garden
A farmhouse was never only a house. Gravel paths, loose planting with grasses and herbs, a weathered bench, an old-fashioned washing line and generous terracotta pots. Let timber turn silver, and keep the planting peat-free. I’ve written about how the studio designs outdoor spaces in Online garden design: can it really work from a few photos?.
Modern farmhouse in a newer home
You don’t need a real farmhouse. In a newer home, borrow the materials and the feeling rather than the architecture. Limewash and oiled wood, a long table, a proper boot bench by the door and a few good lamps will do far more than fake beams ever could.
If this is the home you’d like
Sunday Ambience designs in one style, rustic luxury, and modern farmhouse is one of the directions a design can lean towards within it. Tell me you love it and it becomes part of the brief.
The Sunday Signature package is £1,495 for one room, designed in real depth, with photorealistic visuals and a concept walk-through with Rachel, live or pre-recorded. If you’d prefer to begin more gently, Room Ambience is the lighter option at £495, with one photorealistic visual of your finished room. For a whole house, Home Ambience starts from £6,950 for four rooms.
Or simply send me a few photographs and tell me what isn’t quite working. I read every message myself, and there’s no obligation of any kind.