5 expert steps to organizing a cottagecore bedroom – to help embrace the rustic charm

If you’re looking to create the ultimate relaxing sleep space, you need not look further than the cottagecore aesthetic. This slow-living-inspired trend is more than just a fad – it is a wistful decorating scheme that is perfect for encouraging rest and relaxation. 

But how do you organize a cottagecore bedroom without disrupting the cozy look? 

These five aesthetic organizing tricks are essential for organizing a cottage bedroom, helping to create a serene and organized space that is perfectly in keeping with the homey, cottagecore feel.

How to organize a cottagecore bedroom

As you might expect, many of the usual rules for organizing a bedroom apply: reduce clutter, keep walkways clear, and ensure all your essentials are easy to grab. To make it cottagecore, however, you need to focus on your storage products, and how you keep things hidden. 

This is what professional organizers and designers suggest. 

1. Stay away from plastics

Unlike organizing a modern bedroom, you will generally want to stay away from sleek and polished bedroom organizers – such as those made from plastic, metal, or plain glass, begins Jennifer Bell, professional organizer and owner of Bell Home Organizing. Instead, you’ll want more rustic options, such as woven baskets and wood, she continues:

‘Cottagecore focuses on sustainability and items made by artisans. To organize your bedroom using this design style, stay away from plastic bins and storage containers and instead opt for materials like water hyacinth bins or cotton rope baskets to keep a natural and calming vibe that many people love about cottagecore. 

‘I personally love these water hyacinth baskets from The Container Store. They come in two colors (natural and mocha brown), and a variety of shapes and sizes so they can easily adapt to your space.’

2. Use visible storage, such as walls

How you choose to use and display your bedroom storage is also important in the cottagecore trend. 

'The aesthetic prides itself on displaying all of your knick-knacks and collectibles to help make your space feel more lived-in and homey. For this reason, using visible storage, such as hanging things on walls or using open shelving, feels right at home for this design style', says Devin Shaffer, lead interior designer at Decorilla:

‘Use your walls as much as possible (without making the space feel cluttered). Depending on the size, you can add wooden shelves and decorative boxes or baskets, and even potted plants, your favorite books, or decor items to them.

‘While this style has a curated and collected look, having too many things around will make it overwhelming,’ he warns. ‘To avoid this, you can group things, for example organizing a bookshelf by color.’

3. Keep electronics hidden

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that, for a design style so heavily anchored in rustic, old-world charm, it is advisable to hide away all your electronics. And yes, that includes bedroom TVs, advises Jennifer Bell, professional organizer. 

‘Bedrooms need to store a variety of items from clothing to TV remotes, phone chargers, and even children’s toys. It is important for bedrooms to conceal clutter and visual noise. It has been shown that clutter-free bedrooms help you have a more restful sleep, after all. 

‘Water Hyacinth and rope bins, such as these at Amazon, provide attractive concealed storage and will help keep your bedroom calming and clutter-free. ‘Choose soft natural colors to provide a clean and airy look in line with the cottagecore style,’ Jennifer adds. 

As for your bedroom TV ideas, consider clever ways to hide a TV, such as covering it with art, integrating it into a cabinet, or picking a framed TV that you can blend into a gallery wall with some nice cottagecore-style art on display.  

4. Swap closet doors for curtains

While there are several ways to aesthetically organize a closet, when it comes to organizing a cottage bedroom, it is about how you hide your clothes away. Opting for natural wood or a painted closet door is a good place to start for a whimsical look, but if you really want to lean into the style, consider curtain closet ideas instead. 

When picking out some fabric for curtained closets or cabinets, opt for traditional, small-scale country patterns, suggests Marie Goodwin, head designer at Prestigious Textiles. ‘This trend lends itself well to floral designs, but we’ll also see small-scale gingham and stripes which aren’t going anywhere, mixed with leaf and tile designs. Traditional shades of powder blue and mid-greens will work well.’ 

5. Recycle old containers for rustic charm

Another cornerstone of the cottagecore style is repurposing and recycling – meaning it is very easy to organize without spending any money. When organizing a cottagecore bedroom, interior designer Devin Shaffer suggests keeping hold of old wooden crates and vintage-looking boxes and tins for repurposing. 

‘You can take a vintage old wooden crate can and turn it into your nightstand or a vintage box or suitcase as a side table, get creative with it.’

Overall, cottagecore bedrooms are a great aesthetic trend to consider if you are often trying to organize a bedroom with too much stuff. With an emphasis on corralling your most treasured items and displaying your collections and trinkets, there are few home organizing schemes as cozy and welcoming as this one.