About Country-Style Home Decor

Country style home decor can be found everywhere from rural farmsteads to gated golf course communities. Wherever it is and whatever the circumstances of its owners, all country interiors have certain common factors. It is important to learn what is necessary to achieve a country look in any home environment.

Country decor is one of the most popular home interior styles, primarily due to its adaptability. Simple country looks can be achieved by those with limited resources, but the more sophisticated ambiance of Country French style allows a rustic look to seem positively upscale. Whether one of these extremes or something in between, these stylistic points are common to most country style decorating projects.

Rusticity

Country style means decor that alludes to country surroundings. It uses the products of the countryside treated in ways that allude to primitive manufacturing processes. Country furniture will be made of planks or poles; it can also be woven of wicker. Carving or turning will not be elaborate, and finishes will be either painting alluding to folk art or a method that preserves the natural look of the material.

Allusions to the Outdoors

It used to be that one sort of country style was centered around the stuffed head of a dead animal. Nowadays environmental and animal rights concerns have banished the taxidermy, but country decor may still feature outdoor themes. Flower arrangements, whether fresh or dried, fit perfectly into country rooms, as does botanical artwork and that featuring wild animals or those found on a farm. Those prints of garden seed packet covers also fall into this category.

Utility

Rural residents value the usability of their environments. Getting a missing tool for anything means a lengthy trip, even today. Country style cabinetry will be designed not only to look good, but also to hold something and to hold it effectively. A country table can often serve as a worktable as well as a dining surface, for instance.

Colorful  Accents

The insides of rural structures were often somewhat stark. They could be built of plain wood or stone, or they might feature plain white plaster. If the wood were painted, it was likely to be a country color like cornflower blue or teal green. Touches like bright cushions, curtains and table linens, colorful dishes and decorative ceramics and accents in a bright folk art style lend much needed accents to country interiors.

Handicrafts

Whether residents of country interiors are crafty or not, their style should be. In addition to patchwork quilts, hooked rugs, knitted Afghans, needlework on the walls and crocheted lace accents all add to a country impression. Most are available at flea markets and craft fairs, albeit at a steep price because of the labor involved in their production.

These hallmarks of country style may not all be found in any space, but many of them will. The emphasis will vary; a very rustic kitchen may rely on calico curtains for color, while a Country French cooking area features bright earthenware chickens with coordinating cookware and linens. However they are put together, though, these elements will result in a distinctively country decor.