7 X-Factors for Your Farmhouse Home

Most farmhouse design involves light airy colors, light wood, and a whole host of comforting textures. You’ll see occasional splashes of bright colors here and there, with plants scattered around the room.

However, in this article, we’re talking about x-factors – things that will bring your farmhouse design to the next level. Some of these x-factors are common, but, when used in a specific area of your home, they have the potential to really showcase the farmhouse look.

Chevron Walls

Yeah, so the gas station with the same name is named after a shape. It’s like calling your gas station ‘Circle’ or ‘Square’ or ’Rhombus’... you get the idea.

Petrol aside, chevron design looks great on walls. Normal shiplap walls are a foundational element in traditional farmhouse design, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative. Install some chevron style walls as pictured below – or just include the chevron design in the form of a large decorative piece.

You can use similar colors in the chevron or mix it up!

Check out the pin above showing the chevron wall in the bedroom. Here, the wood pieces are similar colors but they are mismatched to accentuate the chevron design. This is taken to the extreme in the second pin, where the colors are very different – going from nearly white to dark forest brown.

In the design above, the chevron is used in a bathroom and all other elements are the same color. They’re divided by dark lines that show the design. But there’s no reason color can’t be thrown in.

Feel free to add some muted browns or greens into your chevron design, too! It’ll give the room some character. You can also go with a bold color if the chevron doesn’t take up too much space in the room.

Sliding Doors...Sliding Barn Doors!

Sliding doors are most commonly used for outdoor patios and porches, but they can be great in other areas of your home too.

In the above photo, the sliding barn door connects the family room to an adjoining room (probably the kitchen). It adds some rustic charm to this home, giving it an old-fashioned look.

As seen in this photo, the sliding door complements the other wood elements in the room. Also, the door color matches the sofa, which creates a nice balance.

Sliding pantry doors are a neat way to incorporate some flair into your kitchen. They require a lot of space, so they will work best in larger kitchens.

These can work great in bedrooms too! Consider overlapping doors – when one door is further out than the other. Then, when one door opens, it either slides in the front or back of the other door. Also, consider adding an ‘X’ detail to the face of the door to further the farmhouse feel.

If you’ve got a larger laundry room tucked in the back of your home, a barn door could make an excellent addition here. Plus, now that the entry is secured with a sliding barn door, the rest of your laundry room can be decorated or renovated to fit the barn door. It will truly feel like you’re living in the country westward movement, with all the benefits of heat and air conditioning!

Wooden Beams

Sure, these look great in your kitchen and family room, but why not add them to your bathroom, too, or other cozy space? If you’ve got a spacious bathroom, you might as well go big to capitalize on the style.

Add in some wooden beams, crossed or not. The example below is a simple application of this design. Here you can see two intersecting wooden beams above the bathtub.

Wooden beams will add some uniqueness to your bathroom. Make sure to keep the weathered and unfinished look on your beams – that wear-and-tear truly drives home the farmhouse feel.

Another nontraditional place to add beams is your bedroom. But, be careful here. It works best with high ceilings (as do beams of any sort), but bedroom ceilings are often smaller than kitchen or family room ceilings.

Check out the look below. This bedroom has high vaulted ceilings and is on the top floor, so this look works well here. Or, the beams can travel along a flatter ceiling, as illustrated in the pin on the right.

Either style can work with your home, depending on what kind of ceilings your rocking! Let’s raise the roof, shall we? Do people even say that anymore...?

Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

Yeah, we’re not turning this blog into a musical, but hey, old wagon wheels are a thing of beauty to include in your farmhouse design. They’re accent pieces for sure, but often they can be pretty large, spanning up to three feet long. Even with the larger wheels, they are powerful statements.

Some places they are commonly placed are in family rooms next to larger objects, such as side tables, sofas, a TV stand, or cabinet.

Another fun place to include wagon wheels is on your front porch if you have one. This way, they’re on the outside of your home and can even be seasonal decorations during autumn. It’s a glorious addition to your porch and evokes a rustic feeling and a connection to nature – perfect for around Thanksgiving!

Also, take a look at this wagon wheel mounted on a wall. A little greenery makes this design unique and colorful. It surely gives the room a homey feeling.

Apple Picking Ladders?

We’ve discussed apple picking ladders as excellent additions to your bathroom for towels, hand towels, and decorative elements. But, they can serve a purpose in your family room too! Most people will use them as hanging storage for blankets.

An apple-picking ladder is exceptionally unique – and also versatile! See the picture above; there’s one towel draped along the top rung, but a few more can be added to the other rungs.

Ladder storage is a great option to hold things that are easily foldable like blankets and towels. Paired with that very fluffy rug, you’ve got yourself a lovely farmhouse style family room.

Almost Ladders

Here are a couple of ideas very similar to traditional ladder storage. This first one features two supports with shelves instead of rungs. However, these need to be mounted into the wall to ensure they don’t topple over.

Two screws each in the top of the two supports will mount it to the wall and keep it secure.

This second design is quite different. Here, the ladder doesn’t need to be mounted into the wall. Instead of two supports, these ladder shelves have four supports and shelves instead of rungs.

‘Almost’ ladders are freestanding pieces that can be utilized virtually anywhere in your home. Generally, family rooms and bedrooms are popular choices, mainly because they are bigger and take up more space than a traditional ladder.

Hang ‘Em High, Clint!

Unfortunately, Clint Eastwood won’t be in to help hang basket storage for you. But that doesn’t mean you can't get inspiration from him.

Baskets don’t have to be restricted to the ground, although they do look wonderful there. They can also be hung on walls. Where you place them is key, since this dictates what you’ll put in them.

There are a couple of different kinds of baskets, but we’ll focus on two: wicker baskets and metal wire baskets.

Front room hanging baskets can include necessities like your keys, wallet, and sunglasses. Also add some decorative elements to the outside. Or, you could try using different baskets. Keep in mind that the sizes of these baskets will vary depending on what you want to store in your front room.

Bathroom baskets could be bigger and hold extra towels, soap, toiletries, makeup, and much more. In fact, some can hold up to six rolls of toilet paper. All of these bigger baskets should be mounted with nails or screws so they can hold heavier items.

Check out this pin below. It may not be the best design for your own home, so be sure to customize your baskets to your needs.

Big Ben? Wooden Clocks!

We used this photo already, but it’s a two-in-one! Large wooden clocks like this are a beautiful addition to a family room or a kitchen. They don’t necessarily have to function, either. It’ll still be the correct time twice a day anyway, right?

This can be a fun DIY project. Walmart, Target and other stores in this category sell many varying sizes.

Find an old wooden wheel at an antique store (or make one yourself!), and paint it or stain it to the color you want. Do the same with the numbers and fix them to the wheel, attach some arrows and BAM! You’ve got yourself a lovely homemade wooden clock.

Another addition is smaller than these large wooden clocks but still provides an impact. Find an old alarm clock for your bedside nightstand or for the top of your dresser. It’s a small accent piece, but it helps transport your room back to the late 1800s.

And there you have it!

These x-factor ideas can provide a lot of depth to your farmhouse home. It shows you’re committed to the design. Some of these are easier than others, and some won’t even apply to your home!

So, decide what kind of look you want and where you want to put your furniture, then see where these ideas can fit best. We hope this article helped you out! Happy designing!