
Bringing Rustic, Reclaimed Charm To The Modern Home
The great thing about your home is that it’s up to you to make it yours. The little touches you add are what turn it from a house into a home. The moment you get hold of the keys and walk through the door your mind is already milling with ideas on how to personalize it. You can do this however you want. You might be looking to make it hyper-modern with clean edges and tasteful lighting. Or maybe you’re looking for the serene, perfect homestead.
Although much of the last couple of decades has been about making the look fit the millennium, we’re seeing a return to retro. There is a move back to making things pretty and homespun. Not that there isn’t a place for modernity, but a place will feel more like home if it’s got a little rustic up in there. This has included a tendency to use more reclaimed and found objects. It is a sure way of making your home cozy.
Of course, the other advantage to this is that it means things aren’t wasted. Although there are a lot of good things to be said for easy-build furniture, it’s common to see people having to replace it sooner. It’s pretty much impossible to upcycle a desk that wasn’t built to last in the first place. For both the environment and the bank balance, the retro approach with reclaimed materials is a big win.
- Ornaments
While not essential around the home, people do like to have ornaments around the place to add a touch of personality. You can buy these from any chain store, and they’ll look fine. But increasingly, people are looking at ornaments made from reclaimed material. Wood that would otherwise go to waste can be turned into hanging ornaments, frames and even be the base for a lamp. All of which fits the “home and hearth” brief to a T.
- Occasional Furniture
As wonderful as reclaimed and rustic furniture can look, it’s obvious that some of the key items such as sofas and armchairs are better bought new. New ones can still fit the brief of looking rustic. But it’s the more occasional items that can really give your home redo a shot in the arm. Benches, breakfast bars and more are among the pallet furniture ideas by Pallet West that can inspire you.
- Flooring
A little more ambitious than the previous steps, perhaps, but it is possible to reclaim the materials for reflooring your home. This could be done with reclaimed tiles – which may be a big saving – or with old wood. Spruced up for its new purpose, this can then give that nostalgic look to a new home and make it a homestead to be proud of.
As a project, giving your home this bucolic charm may well give you the bug for reclaiming and upcycling old items. Once you’ve got your eye in, there are countless opportunities to put this old-world stamp around your home and beyond.

