by Sara Costi
Country-style décor is ideal for creating a warm, welcoming, attractive, comfortable look for the home, making it an enchanting, magical place that strikes a balance between memories of the past and new traditions.
Whether it be chic, industrial, English, Provençal or rustic, country style is all about detail: flowers placed in terracotta jars, trunks and vintage decorations, copper pots, metal buckets, wicker baskets and recycled items such as glass bottles or painted tins used as containers all help to enhance and embellish country-style settings. Other characteristic elements of country style include rustic benches and chests, two-door wooden wardrobes, comfortable sofas and upholstered armchairs in pastel colours, embellished with soft cushions, ceramic ornaments and crochet doilies.
Essential features of a country-style look are wooden mezzanines, stone fireplaces, open-beam ceilings and open-plan areas. The ideal colours for country-style décor are ivory, beige, dove grey and all shades of brown, as well as pastels such as lavender, sky blue, powder blue, sage, rose and yellow.
The increasingly popular country style favours the use of materials such as wood, stone and wood or stone-effect porcelain stoneware tiles for both floors and walls.
Décor ideas for a country-style bathroom
A country-style bathroom generally has small, finely decorated white or beige stoneware tiles, such as cementine tiles. The main feature of a country-style bathroom is a comfortable tub to soak in after a busy day, complemented by sophisticated soap dishes and towel rails in wood or wrought iron.
Décor ideas for a country-style kitchen
A built-in or more modern kitchen are the heart of a country-style home. This style favours natural, earthy colours such as brown, hazelnut and beige, or pastel tones of ochre, green and blue. The rustic atmosphere typical of country style can be created with elements such as curtains with embroidery or ribbons, checked tablecloths, wicker baskets, dried flowers, china plates hanging on the walls, copper pots, furniture and shelves in natural wood or wood painted in pastel colours, and sideboards with glass doors for crockery and cutlery.
A must-have material to create this style is stone or stone-effect porcelain stoneware, once used for sinks.
No country-style kitchen would be complete without a table in solid wood, perhaps with a few convenient drawers under the top for tablecloths and cutlery, and some chairs with straw seats topped with soft cushions.
Décor ideas for a country-style living room
A lot of care goes into choosing the décor and colours for a country-style living room. The key elements might include a wrought iron lamp, display case for dishes with floral patterns, wooden table, chairs and wall cupboards and a stone or brick fireplace, along with comfortable sofas and armchairs. Beige or light brown walls and floors are usually covered in wood or wood-effect stoneware or stone or stone-effect stoneware.
Bringing on board influences from other styles, balancing rustic and modern elements with the use of natural materials and fabrics, appealing accessories, light colours and floor and wall coverings in wood or stone-effect porcelain stoneware, even a city apartment can take on the typical relaxing, warm, inviting ambience of country style.
