Wallpaper that mimics log walls can transform any room into a
cozy cabin. Shallow, canvas-lined wicker baskets make
clever and good-looking under-bed storage.
You will find fresh country style easy to spot. It's clean without that cutting-edge chill, chic without being fashion-obsessed, and warmhearted without being banal. It's in tune with nature, but unlike the country style of decades back, "nature" doesn't mean dried strawflowers and mauve ducks or bunnies.
Instead, it's likely to mean a few dramatic sunflowers or a bountiful bouquet of old-fashioned roses, and a hand-carved frog or heron, infused with the artisan's personality. Intelligent, organic, and sometimes a bit off-beat, fresh country is definitely right for the times.
Today's fresh country style is kid-friendly, but, at the same time, it reminds you that you have an interest in art history. It's a quilt used for architectural impact as well as for cuddling, wood plank floors chosen for texture as well as comfort for the stand-up cook, and a cedar-lined hope chest that stashes board games as easily as it once did wedding linens.
Country furnishings vary, but they have this in common: They're never around just to impress the neighbors or fill up space.
Fresh country style means fewer things to dust and dry-clean, fuss with or have fall over, but they're better pieces, carefully chosen to meet our needs, both physical and emotional.
Originally, country homes were furnished with whatever was practical and at hand. If you're looking at a bureau from your grandmother's house, a table from your parents' first apartment, and a pair of flea market side chairs you bought years ago, you will realize things haven't changed all that much.
If a piece still works, there's a tendency to hang onto it. What is different is that today we have the luxury of combining practicality with choices influenced by an educated eye and personal flair. Where you've been tells part of your story, but so does the way you mix up heirlooms and hand-me-downs with your own favorite finds, new or old.
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| Country Decorating - Log Cabin Style |
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