Decorating a Country Home

The look and ambiance of country decorating is relaxed and casual. It is a welcome feeling of "come right in, put your feet up, and make yourself at home". Country decorating is all about comfort and creating a retreat from the hectic pace of today's rushed and tense atmosphere.

The look of country is nostalgic. Not long ago, country decorating was known as "Early American". The look was comprised of pine, plaids, stars and stripes, along with the colors red, white and blue. Pine is still the favored wood for furniture in country decorating, but wicker furniture is equally at home in the country decorating scheme.

Listed below are some of the characteristics of country decorating

• Upholstered pieces are soft and overstuffed inviting everyone to stop everything; plop yourself down, and relax. No country decorating scheme would be complete without at least one rocking chair, preferably with an afghan or old soft quilt thrown over the back of it.
• Braided, hooked and rag rugs are used to decorate wooden, painted or stenciled floors. Quilts and primitive paintings add great details to the country decorating scheme.
• Accessories include practical items from earlier days. These run the gamut from pewter candlesticks and kerosene lamps to wrought iron door hinges and rug beaters.
• In the kitchen you will see butter churns, egg baskets, and cookie molds. Canning jars are used for storage containers, as are wicker baskets. The kitchen table is set with stoneware, pottery, and blue enamel was used for cooking utensils.
• Walls painted in neutral colors help aid the feeling of peace and harmony. Often they are stenciled or speckled with sponge painting. These techniques remind us of the itinerant painter who traveled the country plying his trade in exchange for room and board during the pioneer days of this country.
• Fabrics are most often natural such as cotton, linen and wool. <
• Window treatments are simple using tabbed draperies or cafe style curtains.

As with any style of home decorating, flowers, candles and plants always add a sense of tranquility to the home. A sprig of wild roses in your beach cottage, some branches of evergreen in your rustic log cabin, or some lilacs from the florist for your country apartment in the city, will all add scent and a sense of harmony as you decorate your country cottage.

Bring all these ideas together and you can't help but create an ambiance of peace and harmony for you to enjoy in your home.