9 Cottagecore-Inspired Pieces to Transform Your Home into a Tranquil Hideaway

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Published Mar 31, 2020

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Even before COVID-19 caused us all to keep six feet away from each other, while working from home while schooling our children while scavenging for toilet paper, we were yearning for simpler times. Home decor was no exception, with design aesthetics like shabby chic and grandma chic making serious comebacks. The latest way to escape the stressors of modern life? Cottagecore, a pastoral-perfect way of living that’s making waves on Tumblr, TikTok and Instagram.

Allow us to paint a picture: A thatched cottage sits under sun-dappled trees, a few hens putter around the yard, while a freshly baked apple pie cools on the window ledge. One can imagine spending the day here tending to the vegetable garden out back, embroidering something for your friend down the lane and sipping Earl Grey from your vintage teapot. Sounds nice, right? It’s a mood somewhere between Beatrix Potter and The Secret Garden, where quotidian concerns (like bug bites or paying the bills) are seemingly nonexistent. (Check out TikTok user @sorablu and Instagrammer @withy.windle to get a better idea of what this trend is all about.)

Cottagecore has particularly resonated with the LGBTQ+ community. Nancee Craft, the 19-year-old behind the Instagram account @cottagecore_faerie, told the New York Times, “Queer people are so sexualized in media, and this is something where where we can just be ourselves.”

While cottagecore is about living a simpler life that eschews technology and online shopping (an interesting paradox, since it mainly lives on social media platforms), we’re not all fortunate enough to get rustic hand-me-downs from our grandparents. And look, these are strange and uncertain times we’re currently living in. Meaning we could all use a little tranquility to soothe our souls right now. In that spirit, here are nine items that will transport you from the stresses of the day and to a pastoral fantasy where your biggest worry is how many ceramic frogs are too many. (Trick question: You can never have too many.)

cottagecore wildwood lumbar embroidered pillow

Rifle Paper Co

1. Wildwood Embroidered Lumbar Pillow

Something pretty to rest your head against after a day of picking blueberries in the woods.

Buy It ($80)

Nordstrom

2. Stoneware Pie Dish

Tumble said berries into this sweet dish and top with an oat crumble for a simple yet tasty dessert. Bonus points if you serve it with homemade ice cream.

Buy It ($42)

Amazon

3. Wicker Picnic Basket

You’re going to want something to carry all those wildflowers you’ve picked during your leisurely afternoon stroll in the forest (until you can get back home to press them, of course).

$33 at Amazon

Rifle Paper Co

4. Recipe Tin

Don’t even think about printing out your favorite bread recipe from the internet to put in here—handwritten notes only, please.

Buy It ($34)

Amazon

5. ‘findus And The Fox’ Book

Per the Wiki cottagecore fandom page, this series of children’s books by the Swedish author Sven Nordqvist about a retired farmer and his talking cat embodies the countryside-chic aesthetic. (It’s also super cute.)

$18 at Amazon