Lakehouse Aesthetic: How to Get the Look in Your Living Room This Weekend (No Shopping Required)

 

Lakehouse Aesthetic: How to Get the Look in Your Living Room This Weekend (No Shopping Required)

You don't need a new place to achieve the look of a lake house. You need 5 easy switches, 10 minutes, and stuff you already have.

"Lakehouse aesthetic" is the latest Pinterest sensation, characterized by linen, driftwood, a certain amount of bareness, and a touch of sun-bleached ease. It's all about the contrast to the matchy-matchy of furniture stores, the feeling of having spent twenty summers in the same cabin, despite potentially only ever living in the city.

Let's look at some ways you can accomplish this warm, lake-like vibe for your home this weekend, using only the things you own.

What "Lakehouse Aesthetic" Really Means

Before jumping into rearranging your whole living room, it helps to know what you're actually going for. Luckily, the look is very easy to describe. The key features are as follows:

More texture than pattern, especially with linen, cotton, or baskets

A warm monochrome palette, in the tone of sea glass, driftwood, and cream

An avoidance of anything too new or shiny in favor of something well-loved and soft

An emphasis on light and space, both literal and visual

Having this mental image of the look you want to achieve will make the following tips much easier to follow.

5 No-Shopping Changes for an Instant Lakehouse Upgrade

1. Trade Pillow Covers Between Rooms

You almost certainly have a few plain linen or cotton pillow covers lying around in other rooms in your house, or maybe tucked away in a closet. Swap out any patterned or bright pillows for these utilitarian pieces. Textured plain pillow covers will do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to achieving this particular look.


  

2. Clear Your Coffee Table to 3 Objects At Most

The look favors minimalism, so clear off anything that isn't a single basket, tray, candle, or stack of books. If you're only going to do one thing on this list, this should be the one.

3. Bring Some Greenery Indoors With You

Snip a few stems off of whatever is growing outside, and put them in a few of your nicest, plainest glass jars. Anything that looks a little picked over will do the trick

4. Roll Your Blankets Instead of Folding Them

When arranging blankets, roll them up instead of laying them out on the couch's back or bedspread. It's a subtle change, but rolled-up textiles look much warmer and inviting in any room.

5. Turn Off Your Overhead Lights

In favor of lamps or candles. Any sort of warm, ambient lighting will do much more to enhance the feel of a space than harsh overhead bulbs.

Why This Look is Perfect to Try Right Now

Pinterest lists several "trending aesthetics" at any given time, and right now, that coveted spot is occupied by the lakehouse aesthetic. This matters for two reasons, whether you're making content or simply redecorating to your own tastes:

The timing of a post or video can massively impact its reach on social media. Something posted when a certain aesthetic is trending has an exponentially better chance of going viral than the same content posted later.

Home decor is Pinterest's most popular content vertical, meaning that anything even vaguely related has a four-digit reach potential. Even if your post doesn't go completely viral, you'll certainly see an increase in saves and shares due to the timing and the topic.

So If You've Been Meaning to Redecorate Your Living Room

Here is your sign to jump into it this weekend, after first trying out the 5 changes mentioned above. You'll be surprised that simply clearing off your coffee table and rolling up your favorite blanket makes all the difference in the world

Before You Go Out and Buy New Throw Pillows or Whatever

Remember you can get most of the look simply by rearranging what you already have. In most cases, you will be able to achieve 90% of the look by decluttering your space and using what you have a little more creatively. If you truly want something new after seeing what you have, you'll have a much clearer idea of what you actually need.

Quick Recap

Here is a swift summary of everything mentioned above.

Trade out any patterned or colorful pillow covers for some plain linen or cotton

Clear your coffee table to 3 objects max

Bring some greenery indoors with you, in a plain glass jar

Roll up any blankets instead of folding them

Turn off your overhead lights and use a lamp or a candle instead

That's it! Five easy changes to your space with no spending required, and you'll have a much cozier living room to show for it. Bookmark this post to come back to whenever your space feels like it needs an upgrade, since you'll undoubtedly need it often.