How to Embrace a Cottagecore Lifestyle

What is Cottagecore?

The cottagecore lifestyle evokes a nostalgic longing for a simpler, pastoral life. Inspired by rural living, it centres around cozy homes, homemade meals, natural fabrics, and a deep connection to nature. However, embracing this aesthetic and lifestyle doesn’t mean you need to move to the countryside. Even in an urban environment, you can cultivate the charm of cottagecore through small, thoughtful changes to your daily routine. Here’s how to embrace a cottagecore lifestyle in an urban environment.

In this post, we’ll explore how you can embrace a cottagecore lifestyle in an urban environment. You can adopt key elements of the cottagecore lifestyle. Cooking from scratch, thrift store shopping, home gardening, and slow living—while still enjoying city life. This combination suits my desired new lifestyle perfectly.

1. Cooking from Scratch: Bringing Country Comforts to Your Kitchen to embrace a cottagecore lifestyle

One of the cornerstones of cottagecore is traditional, home cooked food made with simple ingredients. In an urban environment, you might not have access to a farm. However, you can still make food that feels wholesome and nurturing.

Start with Seasonal Produce: Visit farmers’ markets or local grocery stores that stock organic, seasonal produce. Buying in season ingredients not only supports local farmers but also brings fresh flavours to your dishes. You can even try a farm box delivery service to bring a bit of the countryside to your doorstep.

Learn the Art of Preserving: Preserving fruits, vegetables, or making homemade jams can help you feel closer to nature. These skills were vital in rural settings, and they bring a wonderful sense of accomplishment. Urban dwellers can easily learn canning, pickling, or fermenting in a small kitchen.

Bake Bread or Make Simple Pastries: Even if you’re new to baking, starting with simple recipes like rustic bread, scones, or pies can turn your kitchen into a haven of comforting smells and homemade delights. The process itself is meditative, allowing you to slow down and enjoy the moment. This is definitely something I would love to embrace more, particularly for health reasons. Commercial bread just does not agree with me but I can eat as much as I like when travelling Europe with no issues.

Create Cozy Meal Rituals: Make meals an occasion. Set the table with candles, cloth napkins, and perhaps a bouquet of wildflowers (or faux flowers). The goal is to transform mealtime into a mindful, nurturing experience.

2. Thrift Store and Secondhand Shopping: Curate Your Cottagecore Home

Cottagecore home décor is all about creating a cozy, lived in space filled with unique, vintage inspired pieces. Thrift stores, flea markets, and secondhand shops are treasure troves for finding charming furniture and homeware items that fit this aesthetic.

Look for Timeless, Vintage Furniture: Thrift stores often carry sturdy, well made furniture that has stood the test of time. Look for wooden pieces like farmhouse tables, rustic chairs, or distressed cabinets. These items will give your home that quaint, cottage like charm. A simple coat of paint or some light refurbishing can transform these secondhand finds into treasured items that suit your style.

Focus on Natural and Handmade Materials: When selecting homeware, prioritize items made from natural materials. For example timber, wicker, linen, or ceramic. A wicker basket for storage, a wooden tray for your coffee table, or linen curtains can all add a touch of rustic elegance to your space. In this respect I love wearing natural fabrics too.

Find Unique, Vintage Home Décor: Thrift stores are also great for discovering unique items like vintage crockery, ceramic mugs, or embroidered linens. Look for delicate glass vases, old fashioned picture frames, or even lace doilies that can add character to your home. Incorporating these small, thoughtful pieces will make your space feel cozy and personalised.

Repurpose and Upcycle: Don’t be afraid to get creative with your thrifted finds. An old wooden ladder can become a shelf for plants. Part of the charm of cottagecore is reimagining and giving new life to old objects, creating a space filled with history and charm.

3. Gardening in Small Spaces: Bringing Nature Into the City

While urban living often comes with limited outdoor space, you can still incorporate greenery into your life. Whether you have a small backyard, a balcony, a windowsill, or just a small corner in your apartment, you can grow plants and embrace the beauty of nature.

Start a Container Garden: Even a small balcony or windowsill can host a charming container garden. Herbs like basil, mint, and thyme grow well indoors and add fresh, fragrant flavour to your cooking. You can also grow small vegetables like cherry tomatoes, peppers, or lettuces in containers.

Try Indoor Plants for a Green Retreat: Houseplants are a beautiful way to bring nature indoors. Easy care plants like snake plants, or peace lilies thrive in small spaces and add a touch of the natural world to your home. Create a cozy, plant filled nook with a comfortable chair and soft lighting, where you can unwind and reconnect with nature.

Grow Flowers and Wild Blooms: If space allows, consider growing flowers or even wildflower seeds in pots. Flowers like lavender, daisies, or marigolds can thrive in containers and add a burst of colour and joy to your urban setting. You can also forage for wildflowers in nearby parks to add to your bouquet collection.

Create a Nature-Inspired DIY: If you don’t have the space or time to maintain a garden, try smaller projects like pressing flowers, making floral wreaths, or creating herb sachets for your home. These crafts bring a touch of the outdoors inside and evoke the calm, grounded feel of cottagecore.

4. Embracing Slow Living in the City

At its core, cottagecore is about slowing down and finding joy in simple pleasures. In a fast paced city environment, adopting a slower pace might seem challenging, but it’s entirely possible with a few intentional changes.

Limit Screen Time and Embrace Analog: Instead of scrolling through social media, consider activities that engage your hands and mind, like journaling, knitting, or reading a physical book. These small shifts help you embrace a more mindful, unplugged life.

Create Rituals of Rest: Incorporate slow moments into your day, whether it’s taking a leisurely walk through a local park, sipping tea on your balcony, or drawing a long, relaxing bath. These moments of rest can ground you amidst the city’s bustle.

Surround Yourself with Natural Elements: Incorporate natural textures and soft lighting in your home. Items like wooden furniture, linen tablecloths, and candles can create a cozy, cottage like atmosphere even in the heart of the city.

Practice Mindfulness: Whether it’s through meditation, yoga, or simply savouring your meals, finding moments to be present can help cultivate a slower, more intentional way of living. Try to engage all your senses, smell the fresh herbs, taste the homemade bread, feel the softness of your thrifted linen tablecloth, and enjoy life in the moment.

5. Embracing Old-Fashioned Crafts: Needlework and More

One of the most charming aspects of the cottagecore lifestyle is the revival of old fashioned, hands on crafts that bring a sense of accomplishment and creativity into your daily life. Needlework such as embroidery, knitting, and crocheting is a perfect way to embrace this slower, intentional approach to living. These crafts not only allow you to create beautiful, one of a kind pieces but also help you unwind and practice mindfulness.

Start with Simple Projects: Whether you’re new to needlework or returning after a long break (like me). Begin with small projects like embroidered napkins, knitted scarves, or crocheted dishcloths. These simple tasks are a relaxing way to ease into the craft and create useful, charming items for your home or to gift to others.

Create Personalised, Handmade Items: Needlework allows you to add a personal touch to your space. You could embroider floral designs onto pillowcases, knit a cozy throw blanket, or crochet delicate lace edges for your tablecloth. Each stitch is a small way of adding a bit of old world charm to your urban home.

Join a Crafting Community: Many cities have crafting groups or meetups. These can offer a sense of community and shared passion. Engaging in these crafts with others connects you to a long tradition of handmade goods while encouraging skill sharing and conversation. My bestie and I have been meeting every two weeks to do our needlework. Its been such a wonderful bonding experience.

By taking up needlework or other old fashioned crafts, you’ll infuse your everyday life with creativity, patience, and a deeper appreciation for the beauty of handmade, thoughtfully created pieces.

Wherever You Are, embrace a Cottagecore Lifestyle

You don’t need to live in a countryside cottage to embrace the cottagecore lifestyle. By cooking from scratch, shopping secondhand, growing a small garden, and prioritising slow living, you can cultivate the essence of cottagecore. It’s all about finding beauty in simplicity, connecting with nature, and creating a home that feels like a cozy retreat from the world. Whether you have a tiny apartment or a city rooftop, cottagecore can be yours to enjoy, no matter where you live. I hope you enjoy my guide on how to embrace the cottage core lifestyle in an urban environment. See my blog post on finding great vintage pieces.