Cottagecore Is Back, and It's Cropping Up in the Most Stylish Homes
For the longest time, minimal aesthetics have dominated the world of interiors—think marble kitchen worktops, polished concrete floors, streamline sofas, and a host of grey accessories. However, as we discovered our love of wholesome pastimes, including bread baking, knitting, painting, and gardening over the past year, a new interiors trend began to emerge: cottagecore.
Cottagecore draws inspiration from the countryside and its quintessential charm; flowers, ruffles, and gingham checks should come to mind. Last summer, if you curated a cute picnic scene or decorated your dining table with wildflowers foraged on your daily walk, you were indulging in cottagecore, perhaps without even knowing it. It even cropped up in the beauty scene, too, as sales of pink blush, freckle pencils, and lash-lengthening mascara soared. But now, many are choosing to decorate their homes in homage to cottagecore, shifting the focus from austere Scandi looks to more nostalgic pieces that ooze charm. Why? Well, let's ask the experts.
"Given the instability that we are living through at the moment, there seems to be a real desire to be surrounded by intensely familiar things in the search for more stability," explain Sophie Elliott and Cloe Bueso, co-founders of lifestyle and dining brand The Sette. "Themes of domestic life, celebrating the everyday and making ordinary things, which we are so familiar with we almost stop seeing them, feel extraordinary definitely makes one feel more grounded and at home. This is, essentially, what cottagecore is all about."
You need only scroll through Instagram to see how the cottagecore interiors trend is starting to influence, well, influencers. Scroll below to see how some of our favourite tastemakers are introducing cottagecore into their homes, then shop beautiful pieces that'll help you make your space feel cottage-like, cosy, and incredibly stylish.
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Maxine Eggenberger is Who What Wear UK’s deputy editor and has over thirteen years of experience in fashion journalism. She been creating engaging and elevated style content specifically for Who What Wear UK since 2018, covering runway reports, emerging trends, long-form features, self-styled shopping stories and columns, including her edit of the best new-in buys. She ensures the highest editorial standards are met across the site, leads the editorial team in their SEO strategy and keyword planning, works closely with the beauty team on content initiatives, represents the brand at industry events, and regularly contributes to social media, including her own Who What Wear UK TikTok franchise, French Style Fridays. Previously, Maxine appeared on ITV's This Morning in her own fashion segment and has interviewed countless celebrities—everyone from Victoria Beckham to Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o.
Prior to Who What Wear UK, Maxine’s career began when, after completing her first-ever internship at Look magazine, she was offered a position on the brand's fashion desk. She accepted, leaving university a year early in the process. Her passion and natural talent for writing and styling meant she swiftly rose through the ranks to become the title's fashion news and commercial content editor, with a stint as InStyle.co.uk’s fashion and beauty writer along the way. She later served as Look’s acting Editor in Chief, overseeing both print and digital, before embarking on a successful freelance career, working with Grazia, The Pool, and Marie Claire amongst others.
Maxine is based remotely from her countryside home near Edinburgh where she spends her downtime renovating her house, walking her dogs, hosting friends and trying to master the art of making Old Fashioned cocktails.
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