Is “Urban Homesteading” the Better Version of a Cottagecore Lifestyle?
Photo: Kristen Faye Photography
These three families don’t just look the part, they live the real rustic life from Detroit to Indiana and Atlanta
By Michelle Mastro
Architectural Digest
April 4, 2024
Excerpt:
Out of all the trending lifestyle aesthetics, urban homesteading just might be the most valuable. Think of it as the results-driven cousin to cottagecore, but instead of emphasizing surface details (like donning a provincial-looking prairie dress to wander in a flower field), homesteaders want to get their hands dirty and really live the farm life. This often translates to homesteaders growing their own vegetables in a home garden, raising chickens in a coop, canning their own food, and tending to the land. For them, this lifestyle change has nothing to do with modern farmhouses or party barns.
Just a decade ago or so, urban homesteading was the providence of doomsday preppers and earlier versions of today’s controversial “trad wife.” But according to Homesteaders of America, 16% of homesteaders were doing so on three acres of land or less in 2022. Since then, many homesteaders have reported that they rent their homes. “The typical homesteader of today is quite different from those of years past. They come from various backgrounds, lifestyles, and motivations,” says Annette Thurmon, author of Simple Country Living and host of the Happy Farmily podcast.
