Living Cottage Core In A Concrete Jungle

What is Cottagecore? 

Cottage Core culture is a set of aesthetics and behaviors, that draws from a romanticized ideal of farm life. It offers a sense of escapism to those that indulge in it. Cottage Core culture also emphasizes the role of natural beauty in our lives, seemingly reconnecting us with nature and its roots. 

This aesthetic is characterized by the use of natural colors, such as greens, yellows and pinks, complemented with light woods and warm tones. It is further illustrated with historical fantasy dresses, featuring empire waistlines, light fabrics, frills and ruffles, lace details and so on. Cottage core values vintage fashions, sustainable fabrics, and handmade items. It blends the historical and modern, the minimal and the plenty, the simple and the fun.

The surge in popularity for cottagecore aesthetics stems from growing fatigue toward urban hustle culture. Cottagecore romanticizes rural living as a solution to urban booms and crowds. It longs for a simpler time. Cottagecore culture goes hand in hand with the growing sustainability movement, and the LGBTQ rights movement. 

Cottagecore symbolizes a lot of beloved ideas, however, executing an aesthetic that relies on open spaces, nature gazing and frolicking, can be difficult when you live in a cramped apartment, in a loud city, while working a 9 to 5. 

How can you be cottagecore in a city?

Here are a few tips to help you bring the cottagecore aesthetic into your life, despite living in an urban landscape, without giving up any of your modern comforts. 

1. Use your mornings

Waking up early, before the hustle and bustle of traffic starts, will let you bask in the early morning sunlight, get some fresh air and even hear some birds (probably pigeons, but still cute). This can make you feel more relaxed, and grounded. It will give you a while before having to rush into your worldly duties. Thus, offering the escapism that cottagecore achieves. Pair your early morning with some tea in a tiny ceramic cup and you are good to go! 

2. Adopt Some Plants

Plants instantly add some life to your room and make you feel closer to nature. Their green and yellow tones also largely define the aesthetic. However, plants can be hard to maintain in small spaces, if you don't get a lot of natural light. To counter this, you can adopt plant species like the English Ivy or the Maidenhair Fern, among other plants, that don't need much light. 

Additionally, try growing a little kitchen garden with herbs like coriander, mint, and lemongrass, to name some. Being able to pluck your own herbs while cooking truly adds to the cottagecore experience. 

Lastly, lack of space can make plants a hassle. You can counter this with hanging pot holders, mounted pots, and vertical gardens. 

3. Cut technology where you can 

Modern technology offers many simple benefits, and no one is expected to give them up. Wanting to cut out technology is not very realistic. However, you can modify a few habits to decrease your use of technology. These habits include letting your hair naturally dry instead of a hairdryer, opting to chop vegetables by hand instead of a food processor, sun drying clothes and other small modifications to your daily routine. 

These modifications may be more time consuming but they are quieter, make you feel more productive for longer, and are said to be more beneficial. 

4. Stimulate Your other senses

Our current urban lives put a lot of emphasis on visual stimuli, with screens being our main interface. While screen time has become a necessity, try to balance it out by stimulating your other senses. 

You can use light acoustic music, or even bardcore covers of pop songs to feel more cottagecore. You can choose to wear light, natural fabrics and surround yourself with wooden, clay or ceramic items to make your aesthetic more tangible.

To further surround your senses, you can burn incense or candles, with natural mossy or floral scents, to make your room smell more fresh and outdoorsy. Lastly, you can taste the simpler life by altering your diet to include more natural ingredients, more fruits and vegetables, hearty comfort foods ,and homemade breads and pastries. 

5. Cook Your own food

Preparing your own meals is the most natural activity you could pick. Cut out fast food or processed food as much as you can, and opt to make your own dishes. Try and make soul food that involves a lot of veggies and herbs. There something deeply satisfying about throwing ingredients into a pot and stirring it. Cooking can often be therapeutic. If you do not have a lot of time, try meal prepping in advance or cook large quantities at a time, to last for a few days. 

Your meals can be to your liking, but definitely dabble in baking your own bread, making your own jam, trying out different soups and gravy recipes and so on. Feel free to plate up your food with care to elevate your dish. 

You can heighten your cottagecore cooking experience by using utensils with wooden touches, using vintage looking serving dishes and cutlery, wearing a fun printed apron and adding soft furnishings to the kitchen area, such as lace mats, flannel oven mitts and more. 

6. Pick up small analog hobbies 

A huge reason behind turning to a cottage core aesthetic is getting away from the never-ending hustle, and the constant screen time. Most of what we do is through a screen, productive, and is done for a living or for other people. 

To embrace a cottagecore lifestyle, pick up small hobbies for yourself. This should be analog in nature, and you should enjoy doing this for yourself. Your overarching goal cannot be to someday capitalize on this hobby. 

Examples of such hobbies include sewing, cooking, drawing and painting, learning an acoustic instrument, pottery, writing and so on. 

So you can add a bit of cottagecore beauty to your life by integrating some of these habits into your life. 

To take things a step forward you could decorate your room with fairy lights, books and plants, wooden furniture and soft natural colored furnishings. Top things off with printed wallpapers and crocheted blankets. 

Let the cottagecore aesthetic bring some calming simplicity into your life.