12 Original Cottage & Cabin Interior Design Ideas (With Pictures)
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Adam Mann
- Last updated:
If you have a cottage or a cabin, finding a way to decorate it that matches your style can be overwhelming. There are tons of different choices out there, and the best way to come up with what would work best for your cabin is to get some inspiration from what other people have done.
Below, we’ve highlighted different cottage and cabin interior design ideas you can use for inspiration to help you decorate the perfect space for you!
The 12 Cottage & Cabin Interior Design Ideas
1. Open Shelving
| Materials: | Shelving |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
If you’re looking for ways to decorate the walls in your cabin or cottage, open shelves are a phenomenal choice. You can put up regular cabin décor on the walls, or you can put functional items on the shelves.
Consider open shelves throughout the cabin or only put them in the main living areas. Either way, it’s a great classic décor option. Just remember that the more shelves you put up, the more you’ll need to dust to keep everything clean!
2. Light & Bright
| Materials: | Linens, windows, mirrors, lights, and more |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
If you want to go with a more modern and open-feeling cabin or cottage, going with a light and bright décor is an outstanding choice. Open windows help with this, but you can also brighten up the room with white linens, add mirrors to the right spaces, add some additional lights, and other similar things.
You don’t want to simply add lights everywhere to make the room shine, but you need to tactfully add light and brightness to the room to open it up a bit and make it feel more inviting.
3. Hides & Leather
| Materials: | Hides, leathers, and more |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
Does anything scream “cabin” more than hides and leather? It’s a classic hunting cabin look that’s relatively easy to perfect if your cabin already has some classic elements. However, it is worth noting that while this is a classic look, it doesn’t appeal to everyone, and getting enough hides and leather if you don’t hunt can get expensive.
Still, it’s a great look, and as long as you don’t go overboard with it, most everyone will enjoy the feeling, and you can even opt for faux leather and hides if you don’t want any animal products in your home.
4. Repurposed Home
| Materials: | Anything you already have! |
| Difficulty Level: | Challenging |
Creating a completely, or almost completely, repurposed home can be quite challenging, but it can also be extremely rewarding. Not only does repurposing things go with modern décor, but it’s also sustainable and low-cost compared to going out and purchasing all new décor.
However, it is worth noting that using repurposed things often requires quite a bit of work, so while you might be saving some money, you’re going to pay for it with your time! Finally, it can also be challenging to create an elegant repurposed home without making it feel like a hand-me-down home.
5. Bare Wood Floors
| Materials: | Wooden floors |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate to challenging |
Few buildings can benefit from bare wood floors, quite like a cottage or cabin. Even if you don’t stain the floors, you should always seal them. That way, they’re less susceptible to damage.
Of course, the ease of completing this project comes down to whether the cabin or cottage already has wooden floors, and if they don’t, installing wood floors can be quite challenging and expensive. But if the floors are already in place, sometimes the best thing you can do is work with what you have already.
6. Modern Rustic
| Materials: | Classic and modern décor |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
Modern rustic can be a challenging final look to pull off, but when you do it right, it looks phenomenal. Modern rustic means combining modern décor items with classic elements, and when you pair them together, they can look great.
If you’re going with a modern rustic look, we highly recommend getting some inspiration from multiple sources so that you have an idea of what works well together and what doesn’t!
7. Stonework
| Materials: | Stones |
| Difficulty Level: | Challenging |
Adding some stonework to your cabin or cottage can be an outstanding way to completely transform the look of your cabin or cottage. It’s not a simple project to complete, but it’s transformational. You can use stonework as an ascent or as a centerpiece, it all comes down to the look you want and your budget.
Some of our favorite pieces are stone walls or fireplaces, but we also know that these are beyond many budgets. Still, they look great and elevate the final appearance of any cabin or cottage!
8. Use Natural Elements
| Materials: | Plants, wood, windows, and natural colors |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Cabins work great with a natural look and feel, and adding natural elements throughout the room is a great way to do this. One of the easiest ways is to add various plants throughout the room, but adding plenty of wood elements and natural colors helps too.
You can also achieve this look by adding some windows or bringing natural light into the room, but this all depends on the elements outside and if you can even open up spaces like this in your cabin or cottage.
9. Go Dark
| Materials: | Furniture, curtains, paint, and décor |
| Difficulty Level: | Challenging |
This is a tough look to pull off, but when you do it right, it can be a completely transformational look for a cabin. It can create a warm and cozy feeling throughout the entire cabin if you pull it off successfully. However, it’s not an easy look to master, and if you do it wrong, it can make the cabin or cottage feel small, cramped, and uncomfortable.
10. Open Floor Plans
| Materials: | The right cabin or cottage! |
| Difficulty Level: | Challenging |
If your cabin or cottage can have an open floor plan, this is the way to go. Open floor plans create an airy feeling throughout the entire cabin, and it helps connect one room to the next. This helps with connecting everyone in the building, and it’s a classic cabin look.
However, whether this décor style is even possible depends on the cabin or cottage itself, and if it doesn’t already have an open floor plan, it can take quite a bit of work and money to open up the building.
11. Minimalistic
| Materials: | None |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Sometimes, less is more; at least, that’s the case with a minimalistic look. It’s important to note that a minimalistic look doesn’t mean that everything is empty; it just means you don’t fill every nook and cranny, and you ensure the décor you do have works with the room.
A minimalistic look is an excellent choice for many cabins and cottages, but ensure you still have the essentials, and it’s perfectly fine to have a signature décor piece or two in the room!
12. Leather & Antlers
| Materials: | Antlers, leathers, and other natural cabin décor |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
We’ve already highlighted leather and hides, but another classic décor style for a cabin is leather and antlers. While you can combine the two décor ideas, we only recommend this if the room has plenty of space; otherwise, adding leather, antlers, and hides all into one room can be a bit overwhelming.
Overall, leather and antlers are a pretty easy cabin look to pull off, but you might want to go with faux décor if you don’t want to have any animal parts in the cabin.
Final Thoughts
Now that you have a few ideas to draw inspiration from, all that’s left is for you to start designing the interior of your cottage or cabin! You can’t go with everything on our list, but now that you’ve seen a few different options, you can pick your favorites and design something that you and everyone else will love!
Other interior design ideas:
- 10 Luxury Interior Design Ideas
- 15 Bauhaus Interior Design Ideas (with Pictures)
- 19 Southwest Interior Design Ideas
Featured Image Credit: Psnoonan, Shutterstock
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