he country style interior in a house can surprise you with many things. If you thought that this style was for simple folks, you will change your mind. Simplicity can also be skillful. The main principle of the country style is to avoid any contemporary materials that do not fit the concepts of “naturalness”, “ecology”, and “rural life”. The interior design should reflect the simplicity of country living – its natural comfort and closeness to nature.
What is Country Style?
Country style is a philosophy of a measured way of life that has developed in various countries. It is a rural style. Many directions in design have been developed, named French, English, and others. However, the traditional country style is more seen in the American tradition of the colonial times and the beginning of the New World, when a new view of decor and comfort was formed. In this regard, it is very similar to Rustic, but not as harsh and authentic. Unlike rustic, country style has retained some refinement and even elegance.
Over the years, the country style has undergone countless influences and assimilations from designers around the world, and it has become a general term encompassing American, English, and French styles.
Design Principles
The main trends of the country style include painted and unpainted wooden furniture, quilted blankets, baskets, folk art, and handcrafted items. It is a welcoming, life-affirming approach to decorating that has helped to develop a new enthusiasm for antiques, flea markets, and branded items that are evident in the style today.
However, the approach to the country style has changed somewhat towards greater refinement, but the value of handcrafted items, well-thought-out furniture, and accessories remains and expands with each generation.
In country style, you can find such items as:
- Rustic chairs;
- Patchwork quilts and carpets;
- Atlantic-style garden furniture;
- Porcelain from the early 19th century.
The components of the style vary according to many factors, such as personal taste and region. However, each country room in your home will emit a comfortable, relaxing aura if it is done in country style, where all the items were lovingly collected over time.
Colors
Create warm, cozy rooms in colors such as:
- Red;
- Yellow;
- Dark green;
- Gray;
- Rust.
Make neutral walls with trim painted in bold colors such as blue and red. For a modern country look, especially in a small space, paint the walls, trim, and ceiling in a cream or soft white color.
Floors
Install polished hardwood floors that reflect light and show the grain, or paint floors with a “diamond” pattern, which is a classic style from the 18th and 19th centuries. Pre-finished hardwood floors, available in various wood types, are a modern alternative for high-traffic areas such as kitchens and living rooms. Braided rugs, woven mats, and thick canvas rugs add a new level of interest.
Textile
Allow light breezes to dance at the edges of simple curtains in romantic shades. Roman shades or short curtains of natural fabrics such as cotton, linen, and wool are desirable. From seat cushions to table napkins, find simple, non-traditional “loom patterns” that work best. For example, check out blankets with checks or stripes in shades like turquoise, lime green, and creamy yellow.
Furniture
The style’s furnishings are restrained but welcoming to friends and family. Sofas and chairs should be designed for years of use. Dining tables should be spacious enough to accommodate all relatives. Beds should be simple: with folded blankets and pillows in winter, open to fresh cotton sheets in summer.
Kitchen
Choose characteristic accessories such as patchwork quilts, baskets, hand-carved toys, as well as dishware, various carved flat plates, and pitchers. Open shelves or cabinets with high panels, a combination of glass and solid doors, or a mix of wooden and painted cabinets will maintain a dynamic look in the kitchen.
To note
Display your collection of black metal or cast iron pots or copper cookware, keeping them separate from each other.
Bathroom
When it comes to the bathroom, clawfoot tubs and vintage-style pedestal sinks are widely available today. A standard white tub enclosed in tongue-and-groove panels is also appropriate. Invest in durable ceramic tile, such as quality porcelain. Use a checkerboard pattern on the walls and floors. For towel and robe storage, use wooden caddies for everyday toiletries. When night falls, light candles in a wrought-iron chandelier.
How to Decorate a Home in Country Style?
The goal is to create a comfortable and cozy interior that is both welcoming and homey. There are many methods you can use to achieve this style, and you don’t necessarily have to live in the countryside to do so.
Where to find ideas for country style?
Decide what you want to see in your home interior and visit various antique markets that can be a great place to find inspiration, as there are many key elements that can be adapted for decor. Look for patterns at flea markets to determine what you prefer for your rooms, and even for selecting accessories and small items. You can also get ideas from country homes – perhaps spending a day wandering around a local estate in search of tips.
Looking through online collections is also a great idea, as there are many ideas for blending this style with your own tastes or what suits your space. Large furniture such as leather sofas in a rustic style is another way to make the style. You can choose patterned tartan pillows to give a sense of the countryside.
If you’re building your own country home, large windows and wooden beams or the ability to see the brickwork of the building are also great ideas.
Walls
Homes in country style can look great with a wide range of colors, as it really creates a feeling of homely comfort. Soft gray shades or green can bring a farm feel, while white walls with added baseboards and highlighted door frames can create a complex effect.
To note
Choose colors that look good in the reflection of different light fixtures, such as gray, which works brilliantly for this style.
Flooring
Showcase original flooring in your home. For example, a rustic stone floor or exposed wooden floor works wonderfully for a country home atmosphere.
Wooden floors are just as appropriate in the kitchen as in the living room. You can use a rug to add color and homey warmth.
What should the style of the home be?
Although country style creates an impression of tranquil rural living, it doesn’t necessarily have to be simple, but can also be elegant.
The design looks best when it gives the impression that it was collected over time, carefully seeking and selecting coveted details. Authentic country makes a home feel like a “veteran.” You can create this look with small touches, such as combining cabinet colors and finishes.
Tips for decorating rooms in a country style
Take inspiration from the history of the countryside with ideas such as whitewashing walls in white to highlight new textiles, advertising posters or even antiques. Create an organic look with vintage wooden library lamps and wooden tables and chairs.
Try to add the charm of age to a new kitchen by using different textures and simple ideas such as tin breadboxes, fresh flowers and pot racks.
To note
Consider details when decorating each room. For example, bedroom ideas could include a large earth-tone headboard, but a more feminine floral print for the bedding.
It’s also important to try to keep the look fresh and not outdated. Bathroom ideas to create a relaxing, homely and rustic feel should include a freestanding bathtub, lighter colors, and exposed beams. Choosing the right softer lighting will help create a space to unwind and relax.
How to decorate
Accessories look more interesting here than in other styles, as you have a wide choice of places to shop. Antique stores and even boutique shops have accessories that fit well with this style.
How to apply style in a small space?
Choosing the right paint material for home decor is very important as it can help create more space and add an elegant touch. For this style, many homeowners may be tempted to use bold and bright colors, however, it may be wise to use them with caution as they can quickly go out of fashion. These colors can also visually make the room appear much smaller than it actually is.
Perhaps opting for a lighter color and incorporating accessories with bright details can easily change the style when needed. However, make sure not to clutter the room as it can also make it appear smaller. Methods such as incorporating mirrors can help brighten up the room.
French Country Style
Whether or not you have been to France, you may imagine French Country style as something like a weathered barn amidst fields of lavender and welcoming sunshine. French Country style is a blend of elegance and modest simplicity. It exudes Old World aesthetics, which are enhanced by stability and rustic finishes, timelessly attractive with refinement in its curves and details.
In French Country style, there is a contrast between richly ornamented, intricate and elegant details and rough, rustic, unrefined elements that serve as a great charm of the style.
Embrace the imperfections, scratches, and finesse of once elegant furniture. Use pendant lighting fixtures reminiscent of lanterns as your lighting elements.
French Country style is predominantly pastel, with several neutral tones in its palette. It has a lot in common with the Provence style, which also embodies the rural life of the French countryside.
Basics of French Country decor
French Country decor has a warm and comfortable feel. As for colors, it is best to stick to the warm side of the color spectrum, with colors that have medium to low intensity. Consider:
- Soft yellow
- Warm pink
- Subtle blue
- Cream
The decor should have elegant and simple lines. In French Country decor, there is a lot of painted furniture. Buying old, damaged furniture is a great fit for this style.
Fabrics are always dense and rely on traditional textiles. You can go for stripes, checks, or add wool – it will all work.
KItchen
To note
In the kitchen, there are many jars that store basic food products. Find old identical jars to duplicate the look. Add hand-drawn or printed labels. For the walls, mimic the decor of old streets with their unique signs and so on.
You can make your own signs as well. Simply find craft stores with inexpensive wall plaques or metal signs.
Dining Room
For a traditional French country dining room, choose artificially aged white unpainted chairs and use a wrought iron patio table or a garden table for an inexpensive dining area.
Living Room
Country homes should not be burdened with heavy drapery, as in traditional style. Add lace panel curtains to let the sun in while maintaining privacy. Place an iron bench with seat cushions in front of the window.
Bedroom
Old wrought iron garden gates will look great as a headboard for the bed if you want to add French country to the bedroom. Use an old metal garden bench at the foot of the bed as a relaxation area. Dressers painted in warm, pastel tones with a bit of distressing will bring a cozy feeling to the room.
Bathroom
Use wrought iron towel racks or antique wrought iron fruit bowls to hold towels. An old painted Swedish table under the sink will work well here.
Rustic Country Style
This is the most authentic expression of the rural style in the sense that we all subconsciously associate with it. If you choose rough-hewn wooden beams and rugged furniture, then rustic country style is for you. It differs from pure rustic style with a more varied decor, which can include typical country-style ornaments.
Basics
The naturalness, elegance, and emphasized roughness of the surrounding natural components define this style in interior design. It can also be done in a French or other style.
What most connects this style with country style is:
- brickwork and vaulted wooden ceilings that can remind you of Scandinavian notes;
- white tones in the interior and intricate wooden panels from rustic furniture, which may look like Provence or English style;
- individual instances may look like classical or minimalistic with golden inlays and dark colors, a lot of textiles, and volume.
Styles of Rustic Country:
- Use of natural materials (wood, stone, textured fabrics: canvas, burlap);
- Quintessence of simplicity, naturalness, durability, roughness; simple furniture making and modest decor;
- Lack of modern materials: metal, plastic, synthetic fabrics; natural colors (shades of brown, green, gold, gray);
- Handmade touch in the making of furniture and decorative items; a special atmosphere of harmony with nature;
- Rural eco-interior for chalet homes.
An interior in a rural style is suitable for spacious accommodation, such as a cottage, townhouse, villa, etc. The country-style interior of a house is characterized by wood and stone, massive furniture, and earthy decor reminiscent of ancient homes. At the same time, a rural style in interior design is associated with lightness and comfort.
History of the style
The name of the style comes from the French word meaning “rural.” It is the roughest of all strict styles: the interior design of a house or apartment in this style involves the use of rough, untreated (or artificially aged) natural materials. The attention is drawn to the textures and colors of wood, stone, and canvas.
Interior design in rustic country style:
- Huge and spacious.
- Furniture made of rough, untreated logs and planks (or successful imitation of rough processing).
- Abundance of artificially aged and truly antique decorative elements.
- Combination of warm natural colors and shades creating a sense of warmth.
- Rough, homespun, textile.
- Untreated or decorated with stone, stucco, brick walls.
- Massive furniture, decorative materials, and items.
- Bedroom with a unique homemade wooden bed in a rustic style.
The main goal of interior design in apartments in accordance with this style is to create stability, rough elegance, and pleasant simplicity.
The centerpiece of harmony and comfort.
Pros and Cons of Country Style
Country style is a tribute to the past but in a unique shell. It is very beautiful, but at the same time, interiors can be just overplayed, not imposing the obligation of luxury in decoration. A little refinement, and your design will charm at first sight and make your surroundings envious.
Pros:
- Natural elements
- Eco-friendliness
- Practicality
- Low maintenance
Cons:
- Unremarkable, simple design
- Some details may quickly go out of style
- Heavy, bulky furniture.
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