Decorate Your Farmhouse Living Room For $1500 or Less

Do you find yourself drawn to farmhouse decor? There are so many beautiful images of farmhouse living rooms all over Pinterest. The good news is that the farmhouse look is not necessarily an expensive look to achieve.

Target and Walmart have both leaped on board the farmhouse train with tons of affordable and adorable options.

See how you can furnish a farmhouse living room from scratch for less than $1500.

What is farmhouse style?

Farmhouse style is all about worn, comfortable looking furnishings. Rooms have a lot of distressed wood and vintage style pieces. There’s also an element of quirkiness to farmhouse decor. You might see something being repurposed in an unusual way. For example, an old card catalog used as an entry table or galvanized metal bucket converted into a stool.

Farmhouse decor is all about using what’s available in unconventional ways. Old quilts work well because they add lots of texture and character. Rugs are also full of texture, but not always color. Natural fiber rugs, which are also inexpensive, are everywhere in farmhouse decor. Colors are muted and there are lots of whites and neutrals.

Components of a farmhouse living room

Seating

The cornerstone of most living rooms is the seating, and most importantly the sofa. When you think sofa, think white denim. Many people are scared of owning a white sofa if they have a children or pets, but white can be the easiest color to clean because you can bleach it. I am especially partial to white sofas that are slip covered because you can wash them like new.

Accent chairs are also important in a living room because not everyone can fit on the sofa. Accent chairs are a good place to add a pattern, or something more unusual because these pieces are less expensive to replace down the road. In farmhouse living rooms the furniture is comfortable and mismatched.

Rugs

Once you have the seating you can buy a rug. Getting the furniture first helps you decide the right size rug. You want a rug at least large enough for the sofa and chairs to sit at least partially on the rug. There are lots of natural fiber rugs in farmhouse style, think seagrass, jute and sisal. These rugs can last for years with no signs of wear.

Window Coverings

In a farmhouse you often see rooms that have very little color, mostly neutrals. Drapes are no exception. Many farmhouse living rooms have drop cloth curtains or grain sack curtains to get that cozy, worn look. You also see lots of ticking (small stripes) and linen.

There are special rules to follow that are slightly different if you are NOT going to use a colorful pallet. Read the Six Tips for an Amazing Neutral Room. I’ve incorporated the elements that are required for a neutral room, something black, lots of textures, plants, wood elements and multiple neutral fabrics.

Lighting

The lighting in the living room below is black metal. You will see lots of black metal light fixtures or galvanized steel in a farmhouse room. This is an easy place to get in a touch of black. Wood fixtures also give that farmhouse feel. Every room needs lots of light and floor lamps can really deliver more light than a table lamp.

Art and Accessories

The wood clock in this room fits because it is reclaimed wood and it has a touch of black. Any extra money in your budget can go to accessories you find on the way that bring that personal touch to your space. I like to add a throw blanket, more plants and picture frames.

• Gronlid Sofa from Ikea – This comes in other colors if you can’t fathom a white sofa, but once you try it you might not go back. The Ektorp line is less expensive and has a similar look, but this one is $599. It has a removable slip cover. The back to this one is a bunch of loose pillows. This makes it look comfy but doesn’t work well if you have small children. I’ve had experience with this myself. The pillows turned into toys that never seemed to be on the back of the sofa.
• Bashir Blue and white striped chair from Joss and Main – This chair comes in tan stripe, blue stripe or black stripe. It’s $225 so I only have one in the budget.
• Nuloom Natural Jute Rug from Overstock. This rug comes in two sizes but this one is an 8×10 for $188.
• Weathered Wood TV Stand from Target for $179 – The TV stand comes in several different finishes including grey, white and black. I like the weathered wood finish because it has the reclaimed look.
• Black Schoolhouse floor lamp from Target for $107. Target has great deals on lighting.
• Potted Cat Palm from Ikea for $18 – Real plants are less expensive, but they take more effort to keep alive. If you have a black thumb you may prefer a faux plant.
• Bed Bath and Beyond Linen off-white drapes for $30. These curtains come in many different colors. The linen fabric allows lots of light to come through so they have a more airy feel.
• Oversized wood clock from Etsy – This clock is made by Thewoodlandstoreco. They have all 5 star reviews. It’s 24″ wide so it could work as art over the sofa.
• Blue and White pillows from Target – $14 each
• Blue and Cream Throw Blanket from Etsy by Cottonmood- $49. I have this exact throw in my living room. It’s so soft and light that I can even use it during the summer.

You could swap out colors for many of these items and still get a farmhouse look for less than $1500.

What’s next for your farmhouse living room

Once you get the foundations of your room, then the real fun begins. You can start to build on your look gradually. You might see a pillow, picture frame or a planter and all of those things add depth to your room. Adding baskets for storage is another great way to bring more texture in a neutral space.

You might be asking if you should paint your room. It sounds backwards to think about paint last. I do this because paint is an easy thing to change and isn’t always required for a room to look pulled together. Finding furniture, drapes and a rug that work together are more difficult. I like to paint after I have everything so I can see what color works with all my stuff. Often I find I don’t need to paint at all.

Before you go, if you enjoyed this post you might like How To Decorate a French Country Living Room on a Budget or Modern Minimalist Living Room or Farmhouse Dining Room Decor.