Elevate Your Home With Equestrian Style

Equestrian style is both comfortable and sophisticated — layering textures, bringing in the vintage and creating a warm aesthetic.

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October 11, 2022

By: Chelsey Bowen

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Equestrian Style Explained

Horse lovers unite! Equestrian interior design is classic and comfy, warm and inviting, elegant yet lived-in. We’re not looking for a themed room, but an understated look that brings in elements of the sport and its fashions. Even those who don’t spend their every waking moment at the barn will find inspiration for their home in the style of the equine.

From: Blackband Design

Step Foot Into the Barn

Let’s start at the barns. Known for their rustic charm, barns are the perfect inspiration for a cozy home design. No sheet rock to surround the walls of this bedroom. Board and chinking envelop the space in warm texture, while also providing the just-right backdrop for a quilt-covered bed, pinstriped window treatments and traditional furnishings.

From: Musso Design Group

Build Out Your Mudroom

One thing that’s essential for every home — from a working farmhouse to a modern abode — is a functional mudroom. Everyone needs a place to drop and grab their daily necessities, as well as a spot to store mucky or wet boots, weather-drenched jackets and hobby gear. The L-shaped cubbies in this home are painted an earthy green and come equipped with multiple hooks and a drawer under each opening.

From: Harry Norman, REALTORS and Luxury Portfolio International®

Incorporate Antiques

Though you can achieve equestrian style with all-new elements, there’s a certain time-honored stability that comes with integrating antiques into your design. Repurposed French doors find a new home in this chic mudroom, which has major style underfoot with black-and-white graphic tile.

From: Design 4 Corners

Decorate With Your Essentials

Look for accessories that amplify the style and function of your room design. Hanging plush throws add softness to the board-and-chinking walls and are also ready to pile onto beds during chilly winter nights. Nailhead-trimmed headboards nod to the tack room of a horse barn.

From: Musso Design Group

Take a Cue From Luxury

Equestrian style runs the gamut from casual to extremely posh. Tweed wallcovering detailed with brads pair with classic wainscoting in this intimate salon. The orange bursts of color are inspired by Hermes’ signature hue. (Hermes, after all, started as a harness maker and continues to make saddles and equestrian clothing today.)

From: Kerrie Kelly

Use Gear as Decor

Little nooks are often the hardest spots to design in our homes, but designer Kerrie Kelly makes the most of this spot hidden behind the entryway door. A built-in bench allows you to slip shoes on before heading out the door, and under the cushion, the bench lifts up for extra storage. For a touch of equestrian, she hangs horse bridles as a decoration.

From: Kerrie Kelly

Use Your Collection to the Max

Whether it’s horseshoes, bridles, saddlebags, or like this homeowner, vintage Bracero hats, highlighting a collection as decoration not only makes use of items you already own, but they also bring a personal touch to your home. In this two-story stairwell, the display of cowboy hats establishes a sculptural statement.

From: Bells & Whistles

Don’t Box Yourself In

Just because you want an equine moment in your home doesn’t mean you have to lean all the way into a rustic, farmhouse look. This contemporary living room is chic, stark white with accents of matte black and natural wood. Above the fireplace is a jumbo diptych portraying a close-up shot of our beloved animal.

From: Cornerstone Architects

Take a Look Into the Past

A little bit Old World, a little bit equestrian, wood plank doors with iron detailing instantly give your home a historic atmosphere. Paired with the stacked stone wall of this living space, it gives the impression of stepping into an English countryside manor.

From: Harry Norman, REALTORS and Luxury Portfolio International®

Start Small

If you’re not ready to jump full into equestrian style or hang a massive portrait over your fireplace, begin with a beautiful piece of artwork in your bedroom. A simple pitcher full of flowers is all you need for sweet vignette.

From: Vernich Interiors

Find Your Inspiration

We’re going to go out on a limb and assume most of you don’t need an entire room to store bridles, saddles and your horse show ribbons. However, we can still gather major style inspiration from this tack room: wood beadboard walls with beautiful moldings, inlaid wood flooring and comfy, never-goes-out-of-style leather chairs.

From: The Carruthers

Be Authentic

When you have the real deal, embrace it. Originally a horse barn, this 18th-century building was transformed into charming guest quarters. The homeowners keep as much of the original materials they could, including the cobblestone floor, and created a home away from home with living room, kitchen, bedrooms and spa-like bathroom.

From: Brown Harris Stevens - NYC

Opt for Wallpaper

Wallpaper is an easy way to bring design and pattern into your home. Whether you choose the traditional pre-pasted version or peel-and-stick option, there’s a wide array of wallpaper options in any motif, including showing off your love of horses.

From: Design 4 Corners

Use Artwork to Show Off

Horses are beautiful creatures in and of themselves, and make for gorgeous art subjects, whether through photography, paintings or sketches. Transform a blank wall with artwork inspired by the equine. An oversized portrait delivers movement and drama to this farmhouse living room.

From: Kelly and Co. Design

Reclaim The Past

Provincial comfort is the name of the game in this rustic living room. Reclaimed barnwood abounds, both for the ceiling beams and the one-of-a-kind artwork. Shades of blue brighten up the tone-on-tone backdrop.

From: Carter Kay

A Horse of All Styles

Florals and equestrian? We say it works. This dining room may be bursting with blooms, but it’s balanced by the classic wood table and cane back chairs. The drawing of horses over the fireplaces adds movement and simplicity to the room.

From: Isabel Ladd Interiors

Find a Local Watering Hole

Industrial barstools pull up the roughhewn wet bar in this basement hangout. Behind the bar is a backdrop of texture stone, where artwork of a horse blends seamlessly into the design.

From: Studio Thomas

Get a Little Kitschy

Though ultimately, we shy away from theming-out our homes, it certainly doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun with your design. For this mudroom, the homeowners get to hang their hats on adorable horseshoe hooks.

From: Casabella Interiors

All in the Details

Lean into the country aspect of the style with statement-making pieces, such as a stunning antler chandelier, animal-hide rug and sliding barn doors. To add to the look, bring in vintage leather pieces, like a saddle bag and holster.