Your House Needs This is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

There are many standard themes in modern wall art, like certain word art pieces and pictures. While you probably want some standard wall decorations to create a modern farmhouse look, you'll also need something that'll make your room feel different from others. We found some unusual Modern Farmhouse Wall Decor Ideas to help you out, along with some staples that'll help you create an unmistakable theme.


1) Black and White Animals

Animals are one of the most vital aspects of farmhouse styles, but how can you create a more modern look with them? One of the best ways to use animals in contemporary farmhouse wall art is to get black and white pieces like this one from Amazon. This piece has the classic farmyard images of a pig, cow, and chicken, but they're in black and white to give them a more modern look, and each animal has the word "oink", "moo", or "cluck" on it.

2) You, Me, and the Dogs

Dogs are man's best friend, and almost any farm is going to have at least one dog in it, so dogs are going to be prominent in farmhouse decorations just like farm animals are. If you and your significant other are just starting out and setting up your farmhouse-themed home or room, a sign like this that says, "you, me & the dogs" could be a neat addition to your wall decor. The artwork has a wood frame and black print on a white background, so it has a suitable color scheme for a modern farmhouse room.

3) DIY Sign From a Placemat

If you're trying to create something unique, you don't have to just buy premade signs. You can make your own signs from sources you might not have thought of with minimal effort. Have you ever looked at something and thought it'd make an excellent decoration, even though it wasn't designed as one? You can make all kinds of things into wall art, like records, placemats, or even old window frames. Try finding a placemat with roosters, inspiring messages, or other modern farmhouse imagery, and use the guide in this video to turn it into wall art.

4) Blue, Black, and Brown Wood Pattern

The color scheme can be a significant part of your decorating choices, just like your choice of images and words in the art can be. Wood patterns are always a good texture for farmhouse decor, and for a modern farmhouse, you'll want smoother wood with unchipped paint. You can get patterned pieces like this one from Amazon with blue, black, and brown to give it a modern look. The pattern has straight, smooth lines, unlike many vintage pieces, and the color scheme fits a modern farmhouse theme.

5) Scrabble Letters

When we talk about scrabble letters, we don't just mean taking the letters out of an old board game and attaching them to the wall, though you can definitely make a sign with them by buying a set from a garage sale and gluing them onto a wood board. There are scrabble letters that you can buy to make inspirational or homey messages with, and unlike the actual board game pieces, they're designed to hang on a wall. We'd suggest getting this set from Amazon since you can customize your message and only order the letters you need.

6) DIY Welcome Sign

Farmhouse homes are welcoming places, whether they're modern or vintage, so you'll want to have something on your wall that tells people they're welcome here. To keep with a modern farmhouse style, you'll want something with flowing text that looks like it's handwritten, but you'll want it in contemporary colors like black and white or blue and gray. You can learn how to make a sizeable welcome sign with black lettering in this modern farmhouse style using the directions in this article.

7) Laundry Jokes

Jokes are a fun thing to have around, and they're popular in modern farmhouse homes, particularly ones with a bit of a bawdy side. The nice thing about jokes is that you can choose one that suits you or make up your own, and chances are nobody else you know has the same joke in their house. Try getting something designed for a specific room, like these laundry room signs from Amazon that say "laundry today or naked tomorrow" and the laundry is looking at me dirty again."

8) Blue, Gray, and Rust

You probably thought about your color scheme when it came to choosing furniture and wall colors, but it's an essential part of your wall decoration choice, too. Blue, gray, and rust-colored items fit a farmhouse theme, giving the impression of older things left around the farm for a long time. Taking elements of farmhouse style and adding them to modern decorations is a trademark part of modern farmhouse style, so adding rust colors will create that style in a less typical way. Try getting rust, gray, and blue paintings like these that bring to mind galvanized metal.

9) DIY Black Paint

Often, modern farmhouse decorations are like a cross between farmhouse and industrial decorations. One way to create this look is to take farmhouse decorations like ceramics in the shapes of leaves and paint them black. You can make decorations like the ones in this article, but most of them aren't designed to be wall decorations. To make them into wall decorations, you can paint them black and then attach hangers to put them on the wall. This'll add texture, and they'll be one-of-a-kind. You can also take premade farmhouse wall decorations and paint them black.

10) Wreaths

Wreaths are typical Christmas decorations, but they're used year-round in farmhouse decorating. You can find wreaths of evergreens, flowers, faux plants, and even odd items like bandanas or flip flops. For a modern farmhouse style, you'll want a wreath made from a natural material like this leafy green one. You can also look for faux plant wreaths that are painted another color for a more modern look. Add a wreath like this to a gallery wall with flat picture frames to make the wall seem more three-dimensional and create variety.

11) Galvanized Wall Shelf

Galvanized metal is ideal for modern farmhouse decorating, because it represents the industrial side of farming, and modern farmhouse decorating is generally a cross between industrial and farmhouse styles. You can buy galvanized metal decorations like this shelf to add some variety and texture to your wall, and the shelf will be useful. You can add more decorations to it, so if you find a lot of table decorations and don't have room for them, this'll give you an extra place to put stuff.

12) Wooden Letters

As with most gallery walls, you'll want to have a variety of shapes, textures, and sizes. This'' l include large and small pictures and both horizontal and vertical frames. It's easy to find a variety of pictures for any theme, but finding a variety of textures can be difficult when each textured object needs to be theme-specific. We found this gallery wall from Where the Smiles Have Been and loved the texture the wooden letters added, in particular.

13) Meaningful Statements and Prayers

Religion is a vital part of life in a lot of rural areas, and prayer and religion are woven into the decorating scheme of a lot of farmhouses and farmhouse-style homes. Even if you're not religious, you can express prayer and thankfulness through your decorations. We found one from Amazon in a modern black and white style with a lovely script and farmhouse wood frame that says, "I still remember the days I prayed for the things I have now."

14) Honeycomb Metal Shelves

Farmhouses have a lot of metal and wood, and since you're creating a modern farmhouse look, you'll want to focus on some metal pieces that remind you of things you'd find on a farm. These honeycomb-shaped metal shelves would make perfect decorations, and you can put more decorations on them, too. The honeycomb shape, black metal, and wood shelf bottom make it look both modern and like a farmhouse decoration. You can use the set of three shelves as part of a gallery wall or place them around the room to make a coordinated theme.

15) DIY Farmhouse-Style Wood Framed Mirror

Wood frames are a good idea for any farmhouse decoration, modern or otherwise. For vintage decorations, you'll probably want chipped paint or worn looks, but for a modern farmhouse, you'll want a smooth finish. You can create a farmhouse-style wood-framed mirror by building a wood frame, staining it a dark color, and adding black metal brackets to intensify the contemporary impression. We found a tutorial on making a mirror like this, but you can do the same with any picture frame of any size.

16) Barn Door Wall Clock

Barn doors are an iconic farmhouse symbol, and that doesn't go away because you're creating a modern look. Modern farmhouse decorations are typically made specifically to be decorations but designed to look like they were reclaimed or to imitate things you see on farms. This wall clock is designed to look like a barn door hanging on a track, but it comes in white with black metal to match a modern color scheme. You can also get it in gray or black.

17) Barnwood

Barnwood decorations are fairly common, but it's all about how you use them. One way to get a unique wall decoration that still matches your style is to buy some barnwood like this from Amazon and turn it into a decoration. You can paint it white and put black lettering on it or add lettering without painting it first. We'd suggest a flowing or handwritten script with a customized message about home, family, or your personal values. Then, add a wire to the back with some screws or a kit and hang it up as wall art.

18) Choose the Right Palette

Your color palette is going to have a significant effect on your room, so if your room already has a color scheme, you'll want to match it. If you don't have a coordinated color scheme, you can create your own theme for the decor you hang up. A lot of people don't realize that the color palette for a given style will differ based on what room you're in, so if you're not sure what colors fit a modern farmhouse look for your room, you can look through this guide to pick the ones that are right for you.

19) Painting on Wood

Wood is a staple of farmhouse decorating, as are plants and other natural things. While word art on white painted wood is common, you can also get something that looks like white painted wood with an image on it. The idea is to get an image that seems like somebody glued some boards together, painted them white, then painted a natural image like a farmhouse or tree on it. This canvas from Amazon with lavender on it would fit the bill and make a lovely addition to a gallery wall.

20) DIY Monogram

Monograms are excellent centerpieces for gallery walls or stand-alone decorations since you can get them in very large or small sizes. Instead of just getting cut-out letters, you can make a complete monogram sign using these directions. These signs are amazing for a modern farmhouse because they're made of wood, and you can see some of the wood textures, but there's a white background and black lettering that matches a modern style. They're large enough to stand alone or be part of a gallery wall.

21) DIY Photography

One way to design your gallery wall or create wall art is to take your own photographs just for the wall, then frame them and hang them up. You can use a white painted wood backdrop like this from Amazon to stage photographs and make it seem like the images are on painted wood, or you can stage photos to make it seem like they were taken in a modern farmhouse setting. Then, build a wood frame for them or get a cheap black frame to put them in.

22) Stencils

If you can't find just the right wall art, there are various ways to make your own art, even if you don't have a lot of experience making your own decor. One way to make lettered signs with customized messages is to get stencils with a farmhouse font and spray paint them on a wood sign. We'd suggest a white sign with black letters and a homey message about family, farming, or love. You can also print these free stencils out and use them to write a message on the wall.

23) Homey Prayers or Poems

Word art is a major theme in modern farmhouse decorating, but there are so many ways to make it or to present premade stuff that you might still be searching for the perfect piece. The most important thing to remember is that farmhouses tend to have down-to-earth people, modern or not. You can get a farmhouse-style piece or word art with a prayer or poem like this that has old-fashioned, down-to-earth wisdom but with a more modern design.

24) Arched Window Mirror

Faux windows are typical in farmhouse-style rooms, but there are ways to make them less standard and more modern. For example, instead of just getting a window frame decoration to hang up, you can get a mirror like this that's designed to look like a window. The mirror is arched like the window of a church or some older buildings, but the black frame makes it look more modern. Unlike an empty frame, it has panes that reflect light and objects so that it'll look more like a real window.

25) Upcycle

Upcycling is a part of farmhouse decorating, but in most cases, modern farm decor isn't uncycled from farm implements or old appliances the way other decorations are. Instead, modern pieces are generally made to look like they were upcycled. This DIY project is an exception. With this project, you can make a modern farmhouse wall hanging by painting and decorating an old cabinet door. You can salvage one from a cabinet you're getting rid of or from a local dump. The neat thing about this DIY is that you can also hang things from the cabinet handle.

26) Candle Holders

Candles are a farmhouse decoration, through and through. They used to be the only visible decoration at night, and they've carried over as a farmhouse decoration in the years since. That said, you're looking for modern decorations, so you'll want to find a battery-powered candle with a more modern design like these. Look for black and white or wood holders like these and place the candles in a decorative manner. You can make them part of a gallery wall, but they'll probably look best on their own in a smaller section of the wall.

27) Pot Head

If you're a coffee drinker, your kitchen might need some coffee drinkers' art! Gone are the days when it was typical to put a coffee pot on and keep it filled all day, but you can still pay homage to those days with your decorations. This pot head sign is both hilarious and coffee-themed, and it's black and white in a wood frame to match a modern farmhouse style. You can look for other food- and drink-themed black and white decorations for your kitchen, too.

28) DIY Light-Up Sign

Cut-out signs are a neat decoration that you don't see every day, but they're fairly common in farmhouse decorating. To make them stand out and add a personal touch, you can make a sign yourself using these instructions and a jigsaw. Then, add lights to create a modern farmhouse light-up sign that says anything you want. If you're unaccustomed to jigsaws, don't worry; the video was designed for beginners, and you should be able to make the sign successfully.

29) Barn Door Faux Window

Barn door decorations are somewhat common in farmhouse decorating, as are barn doors themselves, but this piece from Amazon has a little twist to it that we think you'll like. This wall hanging looks like a white barn door on black hinges, which fits a modern color palette, but instead of just a decoration, it's a mirror, too. This combines the barn door and faux window mirror trends together into something modern and unique that'll light up your room - literally.

30) Cathedral Window Frame

Cathedrals and churches are well-known for having beautiful and ornate windows that are unrivaled elsewhere, so if you're looking to get in on the faux window trend, these are spectacular ways to do it. We're not suggesting you build or buy a full-sized one since they're typically gigantic, but you can use this tutorial to make a smaller one. The smaller imitation of a farmhouse or old-fashioned piece of decor fits squarely into modern farmhouse style, and you can paint it solid white to match a modern color scheme.

31) DIY Cotton Wall Wreath

Wreaths are popular decorations on farms, but you can create a wreath for almost any theme, from a beach wreath made of shells to a tye-dye wreath made of t-shirts. Since this is a farmhouse-themed area, you'll want a wreath made from a plant or pieces of farm equipment. Black and white are two of our favorite modern colors that make any farmhouse decorations look modern, so we'd suggest picking something like cotton that's naturally white. You can even use these instructions to make a modern farmhouse cotton wreath.

32) Home

Home is one of the most popular themes in farmhouse decorating. Whether you're setting up a modern or vintage space, home leaves its mark, and you'll want to include it in your decorating, but how can you do something unique with it? We found a set of black letter signs that spell the word "home" using a wreath as the "o." This would be a neat way to hang a three-dimensional sign that adds texture with a modern farmhouse impression.

33) Galvanized Envelopes

Galvanized metal is an excellent modern farmhouse material since it bridges the gap between modern and farmhouse. The galvanized metal creates an industrial look, and it also gives off a farmhouse vibe because galvanized metal is used a lot on farms. We saw these creative galvanized metal envelopes that'd make appropriate places to put mail when you bring it in, and they'd double as lovely modern farmhouse decorations. They come in a set of two, but you can get as many as you need and organize your family's mail into them whenever you check the mail.

34) Board and Batten

Board and batten trim is an unusual way to create a farmhouse look. It's a popular trim style nowadays, and if you use stained wood or paint it white, it'll create a modern farmhouse look. While typically, board and batten trim covers an entire wall or half wall, you can cover as much or as little as you want, or even create a board and batten-like design on a wall hanging. We found these instructions so that you can learn to do board and batten, then modify it however you want to.

35) Realistic Black and White Animals

Animals are, of course, a staple of farm life and farmhouse decorating, whether it's modern, vintage, or something in between. The question is, how do you make animals look more modern to match the rest of your decor? One solution is to make them black and white or grayscale like this bovine canvas art from Amazon. You can hang up your favorite farm animals in grayscale like this on canvas or get wood frames to put them in. Black or white frames would also be appropriate.

36) Gallery Wall

A gallery wall is perhaps the most popular way to decorate a large space, but what's the difference between a gallery wall and a regular wall with decorations on it? The most important difference is that the gallery wall will be coordinated instead of just a collection of modern farmhouse things you've found. You can take that collection and create a coordinated gallery wall or use a kit like this that's designed with a variety of colors and both horizontal and vertical frames in modern farmhouse style and colors.

37) Pressed Plants

Plants and crops are a significant part of farm living, and they should feature significantly in your decorating, too, but what makes them modern? We'd suggest getting some simple black frames and pressing plants in them using the directions in this article. While flowers are the most common plants to press, crops and herbs could be a better match for a farmhouse. A black or white frame would create a more modern look, but you can also use a wood frame.

38) Black and White

Black and white are some of the best modern colors for a farmhouse-style room. They instantly transform any decorations into something modern or industrial, and modern farmhouse decor is generally a cross between industrial and farm styles. You can get almost anything with black lettering or imagery on a white background and use it as wall decor. You can even get things with raised letters like those on this bath sign to add texture to the room.

39) Metal Flowers

Flowers are a typical farmhouse decoration, but placing wildflowers around would look more vintage than modern, so you'll have to find a way to add flowers that fits your style. We'd suggest getting fake metal or ceramic flowers like these from Amazon since they add a more clean-cut and modern look to traditional floral decorating. You can get white ones like these, or black, blue, or other painted ones. Look for similar pieces that imitate other crops or plants, too.

40) Blush Board and Batten Half Wall

We've already talked about board and batten trim and all the modern farmhouse-themed things you can do with it, but we didn't talk about color. We found this article about a lovely blush board and batten half wall in an entryway, and we love the color choice and decor combination they used. The farmhouse-style pegs and basket hanging were beautiful accents to the blush color and created a gorgeous farmhouse look that was still clean and contemporary.

41) Faux Window

Faux windows are popular parts of farmhouse decorating; farms have different window styles than most buildings, so their windows create a distinctive look that people want to emulate in their homes. You can build or buy faux windows like this to copy farm looks in a typical modern farmhouse style. These pieces from Amazon are built specifically to be used as decoration, and they come with arrows that look like traditional weathervanes for a different twist.

42) DIY $50 Modern Farmhouse Mirror Wall

Mirrors are truly wonderful wall decorations because they bring light into a room and add an extra dimension to decorating by reflecting the images around the room. You can create farmhouse-style mirrors, but large mirrors are expensive, so you might not have as many as you want. In this video, you can learn to make a modern farmhouse-style mirror wall for much less than you'd normally have to pay for it. You can even add plants around it to intensify the modern farmhouse impression.

43) Ladder Shelves

Blanket ladders are popular on farms and in old houses, and a lot of modern farmhouse decorations are imitations of old farmhouse things made into decorative pieces. One way to get wall decorations that imitate old-fashioned farmhouse blanket ladders is to buy ladder shelves like this one. It has room on it to add more decorations, and you can paint the wood parts black or white to make it look more modern if you want.

44) Industrial with Farmhouse Accents

What makes a farmhouse look "modern?" While there are all kinds of things that can create that modern look, a good rule of thumb is to find industrial decor and add a few farmhouse accents. This keeps it from being too old-fashioned without losing the farmhouse theme. Decorations like these hooks with a wood base and black metal industrial hooks make excellent choices since black metal is used in both farm and industrial settings, and you can hang decorations or other things on them.

45) Basket Accent Wall

Farms typically have a lot of baskets around them, and baskets create a homey look that makes people think of a farm. Since modern farmhouse decorations are often farmhouse items or decorations that look similar to farm stuff, you can use baskets to create an accent wall like the one in this article. This isn't a typical way to use baskets since you can't store things in them once you hang them up, but it creates a farmhouse imitation look that matches modern farmhouse style. You can also hang individual baskets amongst other decorations.

46) Farmhouse Patterned Mirror

Mirrors make excellent decorations for any room style because they bring in light and create variety since they reflect any other decorations you have in the room. Instead of just getting a simple mirror, though, you can get one that reflects the care and effort that once went into designing windows. Faux window mirrors like these imitate those old windows in the form of art, making perfect modern farmhouse decorations. You can use these as part of a decor wall or place the two on opposite sides of the room to reflect light around the room.

47) Wood Background Canvas Prints

Wood backgrounds are ideal for any farmhouse wall art but for modern farmhouse art pieces in particular. The wood background makes one think of barns and old wood on farms, and modern farmhouse art is generally designed as an homage to old farms. White paint is used a lot on farms, so we'd suggest getting something like these canvas prints that look like they have white-painted wood backgrounds and a dandelion in the foreground. You can also get things with barns and similar farm imagery in the foreground.

48) Windmills

Windmills used to be popular on farms, and since modern farmhouse decor is typically designed to look like images and imitations of old farm items turned into art, windmills are the perfect art for a modern farmhouse. You can even create your own fake windmill just for the purpose of decorating. Follow the directions in this article to make a neat half windmill decoration that'd make an amazing centerpiece for a wall of art or a central piece to hang over a mantel or table.

49) Heart-Shaped

Black metal and wood are often used in modern farmhouse decorating since they're a good cross between industrial and farmhouse, but there are ways to display them that aren't as tired and overused. We fell in love with this heart-shaped shelf because it's an unusual shape that conveys the themes of happiness, family, and love. It's made from black metal and dark wood, which is popular for modern farmhouse decorating, so it'll match other modern farmhouse decorations, too.

50) Farmhouse Metal Wall Art

While you can always decorate by taking things from around a farm and putting them on the walls, such as creating an accent wall with old baskets, modern farmhouse decorations are usually things that are designed to imitate farmhouse stuff, not actual recycled farm equipment and furnishings. In light of this, we found these wall art pieces that look a lot like baskets, but they're actually metal sculptures that are designed as wall art pieces.


Which room are you decorating? Are you leaning towards the industrial side of the modern farmhouse, or do you want a lot of black and white farm decor? There's so much variety to this style of decorating, and we can't wait to hear what you're planning. Tell us all about it in the comments below!


You May Also Like


{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

Not Finding What You Want?