7 Rustic Furniture Ideas for Your Lounge

Thinking of re-decorating your lounge but aren't sure where to start? 

Hiring an interior decorator can cost you a pretty penny, with hourly rates averaging £100 or more.

Fortunately, if you're into rustic interior decorating styles, you don't have to spend a fortune on design services to achieve a cohesive look for your lounge. 

With a few key pieces of rustic furniture, you can quickly pull your lounge together and give it an effortlessly authentic feel.

Furniture choice is vital if you're trying to achieve a well-designed sitting room. Instead of rushing out and buying the first "rustic" pieces you see, save yourself some furniture buyers' regret and keep reading. 

In this guide, we'll go over 7 rustic furnishing ideas that can transform your lounge into a beautifully designed space. 

1. Mix and Match Your Side Tables

If you're shopping for lounge furnishings, one of our best tips is to avoid matching side tables.

There are some situations where matching side tables can work. For instance, if you have a very formal, parlour-like sitting room, matching side tables can help make a statement. 

However, for most lounges, matching side tables look boring, predictable, and mass-produced. If you want your lounge to look like anybody else's, go for matching side tables. 

If you want to create a designed feel, we'd go with mismatched side tables. This will add interest and create a curated feel. 

For instance, you could pair something like this schoolhouse side table with a more traditional side table.

Do you really want to up the style ante? If so, don't be afraid to use unexpected pieces as side tables. Something like a wooden stool can make for a quirky side table option while being able to do double duty as an extra seat when sitting space is at a premium. 

Also, don't be afraid to borrow from the bedroom section when looking for the perfect side table. Bedside tables can often work just as well as sitting-room side tables. 

For example, if you're looking for character, sleek lines, and extra storage, you could opt for something like this saw-cut bedside table of ours. 

Alternatively, if you want a matching look, but want to bring in a little asymmetry, you can get creative by taking a pair of nesting tables, and splitting them up into two "matching" side tables for your lounge.

Looking for a pair of nesting side tables that will fit with a rustic theme? take a look at this gorgeous set of circular mango wood tray tables. 

2. Think About a Sideboard

Sideboards are traditionally meant for the dining room, but this doesn't mean you can't use them in your lounge. If you have a section of empty wall space, a rustic sideboard could be the perfect piece to place there. 

You can use a sideboard to create extra surface area for arranging interior decor. You can also prop a piece of art on its top, and use the interior for additional storage. 

Alternatively, maybe you don't have empty wall space, and the free wall you do have is the area of the room where you want to put your TV? If so, this is the perfect opportunity to leverage a sideboard as a stylish TV stand. 

If you want to create a rustic theme in your lounge, an ultra-modern TV cabinet made of chipboard isn't going to look the part. Instead, it will probably throw off your whole design, and make your TV stick out like a sore thumb. 

Mass-produced pieces like these also won't stand the test of time. Instead of looking better with age, they'll start to show signs of wear and tear and before you know it, you'll be forced to replace the piece. 

Why not try using a Sideboard as a TV Stand. If you want to keep things stylish, a sideboard can be a great alternative for a TV stand. If you want to use a sideboard as your telly stand, we'd recommend something like our haberdashery sideboard. At just over 65cm in height, this sideboard is low enough to pass as a TV stand, while still being a thing of rustic beauty. 

Not only will a sideboard look much better than just about any run-of-the-mill TV stand, but it will also be able to last you for years to come. 

According to research from 2019, 22 million pieces of furniture were thrown away per year in the UK. Unfortunately, things haven't changed much in the last few years. Fast homeware has become just as much of an epidemic as fast fashion.

If you want to move away from the endless throw-away cycle of mass-produced, overly trendy furniture, the best thing to do is invest in well-crafted pieces that can last for a lifetime and look better the longer you have them. 

Choosing something like one of our handcrafted sideboards over a mass-produced TV stand that will look dated in 3 years time is the perfect way to opt-out of £2.2 billion worth of homeware that ends up in the dump each year.

3. Double Down on Storage and Style in Your Coffee Table

If you want to create a rustic aesthetic in your lounge, definitely give some thought to your coffee table. Coffee tables are an automatic focal point and can play a big role in setting the mood of your space. 

Incorporating the right coffee table can allow you to make a lot of visual impact with just one rustic furniture piece.

Make sure you pick a coffee table that looks authentic and try to avoid cheaply made imitations. Cheap, "rustic" furniture that's made with imitation materials might fool the eye in product photos, but once it's in your sitting room it can drag down your entire design. 

Instead of looking bespoke and handpicked, it'll look phoney.

Therefore, pick your coffee table with care. If there's ever a time to splash out, it's probably on a centrepiece furniture item like this.

At the same time, why not get double value for your money and go for a coffee table that also sports ample storage? If this sounds like the perfect type of coffee table for your needs, we'd recommend the Saw Cut Storage Coffee Table - Distressed. Inside its lightly stained mango wood exterior, this beauty offers trunk-like storage space that's easily reached through a large drawer. 

Solid coffee tables like this not only give you extra storage, but they can also help break up the "leggy" feeling sitting rooms can have when there are too many thin-legged furniture pieces. 

4. Maximise Vertical Space With a Multi-Purpose Bookcase

If you're cramped for space in your sitting room, consider adding in a multi-purpose bookcase in a rustic style. Something like Rustic Saw Cut Ladder Desk won't take up much floor area, but it will give you lots of shelving space for stacking books and styling ornaments. 

The generous drawers also yield lots of concealed storage for all those loose items you want to pack away out of sight, such as board games, electronics, and miscellaneous odds and ends. 

At 2 meters tall, this bookcase will also add visual height, drawing the eye upwards and adding a sense of presence. 

5. Add Pops of Colour Through Smaller Items

Rustic furniture can add stacks of character and cosiness to any room. But, by nature, most rustic pieces feature neutral tones and finishes. 

Utilizing mostly neutral furnishings is a great way to make your space feel cohesive and calming. However, depending on your unique taste, you might want to inject some energy here and there through a pop of colour. This will surprise the eye, and add an element of the unexpected. 

The best way to add colour to neutral-themed design styles is by incorporating it through smaller items. Small-scale items offer a less permanent way to experiment with colour. You can easily move them around and swap them in and out. 

Looking for some inspiration? Imagine this dipped yellow stool inserted into a rustic-style, neutral sitting room. All you have to do is add a warm-toned blanket or a colourful painting, and your lounge will enjoy an instant wow factor. 

6. Create a Home Office Nook With an Industrial Bookcase Desk

Are you WFH-ing? Not all of us have the space to dedicate an entire room to a study. If you usually end up working from your lap in the lounge, now might be the time to consider creating a small office nook for yourself. 

Not sure how to incorporate this without turning your lounge into an office? Take a look at our rustic saw cut ladder desk. 

This desk doubles as a bookcase and display shelf unit that you can use to style your favourite ornaments, books, house plants, etc. 

At the same time, the desk area gives ample headroom for even the loftiest of monitors. Underneath there is room to the side for a crate or maybe a small set of drawers that can yield enough space for all those random office items you want to keep out of sight. 

7. Get the Party Started With a Drinks Trolley

Last but not least, why not liven things up with a drinks trolley? Drinks trolleys are the perfect retro furniture piece to make you feel like an equipped host when guests come over. 

Alternatively, if you don't want to display bottles of booze and tumblers, you can use a drinks trolley to house items like magazines, books, etc. 

Are You Looking for Authentic Rustic Furniture?

If you ask us, rustic furniture is one of the easiest styles to decorate with. Its simple, unfussy lines make it effortless to pair together, and its natural palette means you can mix in pops of colour with ease. 

That said—if you want to enjoy the effortlessness of rustic design, you have to invest in authentic pieces. 

Here at Vincent and Barn, we celebrate the authenticity of natural, genuine materials. All of our pieces are artisan crafted and use solid wood and metal that will last. 

Browse our range of handmade furniture today.