If you’ve ever had the courage to walk into a Pottery Barn, you’ve noticed how nice and cozy everything looks. Many of us would love to have our dining room look like that, but most of us cannot afford to have a dining room like that. So we’re stuck with telling the salesperson “thanks a lot, I’m just browsing.” What if you could actually decorate your house like Pottery Barn and still stick to your budget? While it might require some more work, I do believe you can do it.
For starters, what is the main decorating style at Pottery Barn? Overall, Pottery Barn displays a traditional style of interior design, also influenced by other styles like English Country, Farmhouse, French Country, Industrial, Cabin, Hamptons, and Country styles. These styles are mixed with some more modern features and furniture to create the cozy looks you can find at their stores.
If you’re looking to furnish and decorate your house based on Pottery Barn styles, these are some of the things you should be looking for when purchasing new items:
Wood
One of the main things you’ll notice when you go to Pottery Barn is the overwhelming amount of wooden items. Preferably, you should look for items that are made of natural wood rather than imitations, but the later will do as well if you’re tighter on your budget. While this will match perfectly with homes that have wood already incorporated on them (walls, ceilings), we know that a lot of us are renting homes and can’t do much about that. So when you’re looking for main items like coffee tables, dining tables and chairs, and tv stands, try to find wooden ones that have virtually the same tones.
Vivid Whites
Overwhelmingly, the main color you will notice is white. This allows for all the details, patterns, and colors to come together and look extremely cozy. If you can, paint walls white in living and dining areas. This is something that won’t be extremely expensive yet it will allow you to get closer to the style you’re looking for. You will have that sense of clarity and freshness that is very desirable these days. Additionally, white goes extremely well with any sort of wooden tones.
Natural Fibers
When it comes to rugs, pillows, armchairs, sofas, and blankets, aim for natural fibers. The most common ones are probably silk, wool, cashmere, cotton, and linen. Cotton is most likely the most affordable of them. Sisal and jute are very popular for rugs as they are stronger and more durable than the others.
When it comes to the colors of those, stick to neutral ones. The idea is that they shouldn’t be the main focus, but complement the rest. Sand, whites, light browns, or light grey will be some of the best calls.
Pillow Overload
When you think you have finally purchased enough pillows, go ahead and buy 3 more. Pillows are VERY present in every Pottery Barn design, and they are used to add some life to the rooms. This is where you can be a little more dramatic and choose brighter colors and patterns that you like. It all comes down to what you prefer then, but checked and striped patterns are the most popular ones if you’re not 100% sure. They are usually either 16×16 or 20×20. IKEA has a lot of options of pillow cases ranging anywhere from $3.99 to $39.99. They also sell the inner cushions for about $5. You can get actually get 6 throw pillows for about $60.
You can also find pretty cheap options at Walmart and Wayfair. Although they are a little more expensive, the quality will also be higher.
Accessories and Details
Besides pillows, accessories are the thing that will turn a house into your home. This is where Pottery Barn does an excellent job, and where you can actually save a lot of money if you purchase it somewhere else. Purchasing accessories can be the most fun part of furnishing a home, but it can also be the most stressful. Why? So. Many. Options.
When looking at most Pottery Barn pictures, you’ll notice that they focus on items of the following categories: vases, trays, candles, plants/flowers, books, and lamps. The colors are usually a little bit more vivid than the rest of the room, but they still need to go with the overall color scheme. Plants and flowers will obviously stand out more due to their natural colors.
When it comes to candles and lamps, try to stick to the same color pattern but diversify when it comes to shapes. Choose trays that have a different color than the surface you’re planning to put them on, but keep it discrete. And fill your house with books – they will bring the cozyness, color, and details all at the same time.
If you do feel inspired by Pottery Barn, I hope this gave you an idea of how to decorate like the store but keep it within your budget. At the end of the day, these are just brief guidelines and you should really make your home exactly how you like it!
