Democratic and sincere style of country in the interior is used by many designers. They create projects on the principles of American, French country. About how many varieties of style exist, what are their features and how to create an interior in this style in more detail in this article.
Content:
Style History
Such a concept as the country style in the interior, began to be used in 1920-1930, when they wanted to indicate that the home environment has village roots. At this time, interior decoration was considered a special chic in the tradition of a grandmother's house in the village. It was memories from childhood, filled with the smell of fresh milk and bread, the crunch of starched curtains with ruffles, the convenience of a large bed in a spacious bright room, that formed the basis of the country-style design. Buying property in the country, the owners designed its interior decoration as close to the village traditions.
Such a ritual quickly gained widespread popularity in many countries. Starting from 1950-1960, country won the hearts of Europeans, English, Americans and other peoples with its frank naturalness, comfort and functionality. Around the world, it has become fashionable to create a country style of interior not only in cottages, country houses, but also in city apartments.
It is noteworthy that French youth designed their homes, embodying all the features of the rural style of France. Accordingly, the British furnished the rooms, guided by the original English interior principles. Thus, country has received many directions, which have incorporated the national rural flavor of different countries.
Today there are such areas:
- French (Provence);
- Swiss (chalet);
- English;
- Deutsch;
- Italian;
- American.
Modern designers make repairs not only in historically close rural style. They adopt the characteristics of other countries. Therefore, the design of an ordinary Russian apartment in the style of English or French country will be quite natural. This direction is called ethnocountry.
Country Style Fundamentals
Country-style design was finally formed by the beginning of the XXI century. Today, despite the abundance of national trends, it is characterized by common features:
1. The characteristic color scheme. Country is characterized by a natural palette, so when working on decorating and choosing furniture, choose olive, sand, brown, lavender and other discreet colors. Avoid too bright and contrasting patterns.
2. Modest decoration of rooms. To emphasize the rustic style, natural materials are used, walls and floors are painted with plain paint. State-of-the-art technology, chrome parts - this is not for country style.
3. Colorful dishes. Often for the design of the kitchen, use handmade utensils made of copper, ceramics, wood. It is distinguished by the simplicity of forms, and is often decorated with small floral ornaments.
4. Natural materials. Furniture, utensils, materials for repair and textile design are selected exclusively from wood, copper and aluminum, stone, glass, paper, cotton or chintz. Plastic, plexiglass, synthetic fabrics, linoleum are not typical for a village house.
5. The use of metal. Country allows the use of metal, but there are certain conditions.Forged furniture and decor items, brass or copper kitchen utensils are welcome. Shiny metal surfaces are not typical for country.
6. The abundance of textiles. Textile decoration is given a lot of attention. Each room is decorated with beautiful curtains, napkins. The kitchen is decorated with a tablecloth with manual embroidery, the bedroom is supplemented with beautiful multi-layer bedspreads, the living room is decorated with animal skins, rugs and rugs.
7. Straight line furniture. Wooden furniture is selected from natural wood with a clearly visible texture. For a soft corner in the living room, beautiful upholstery with a small pattern is acceptable. For the bedroom, you can choose not only a wooden, but also a forged bed.
8. Handmade accessories. Decorative items that emphasize the country style of the interior should be unique and simple. Various crafts and handicrafts are welcome.
Starting to repair, you should decide on the direction of the country, taking into account national characteristics. So the interior will turn out more lively and comfortable. It is worth remembering that, unlike city apartments with their multifunctionality and saving square meters, the village house is filled with simple life and spaciousness. It runs a measured leisurely life, which seeks closeness with nature, welcomes family traditions and customs.
Colors inherent in country style
Compliance with the color scheme is one of the main rules of country style design. Choosing a palette of colors, you can use the following recommendations:
- preference is given to natural pastel shades;
- too bright colors are not used;
- taboo on chrome and neon colors;
- it is possible to use small patterns, for example, olive branches, lavender, roses;
- for textiles, a two-color check pattern is allowed.
If the decoration is done in pastel colors, then the furniture is better to choose a more saturated color. For example, for a living room with beige wallpaper, a soft brown leather corner is suitable. If the room is pasted over with dark wallpaper, or sewn up with dark wooden panels, then against this background light furniture will look better. For example, in a dark kitchen, a light furniture set and a dining table are selected.
All colors that can be used to create a country interior are conventionally divided into three groups:
Preferred
Beige
Brown
Lactic
Sand
Terracotta
Suitable
Green
Olive
Gray
Light shades of pink
Light shades of blue
Not recommended
Silver
Violet
The black
As an accent, you can use red, burgundy, yellow and blue.
Materials used to create country
Choosing the main materials, we can recall the setting of a natural rural hut: it is unlikely to meet plastic panels and self-leveling floors. All furniture, floors, walls, ceilings, windows are environmentally friendly, natural materials. In order to create a country style of the interior of the living room, wooden floors are used, the fireplace is covered with wild stone, the window frames are made of wood just like the doors. The country bedroom is more noticeable in the abundance of textile design.
In addition, the walls and ceiling can be whitened or glued with plain plain paper wallpaper or in a small floral pattern. The kitchen looks very elegant. Typically, a spacious room is decorated with wooden panels, bleached ceilings are complemented by clearly defined lags made of dark wood, the floors can be stone (sometimes they use natural stone tiles).
Materials that are not recommended for use:
1. Plastic - plastic windows and doors cannot stand in a village hut;
2. Glass - this material can be used sparingly;
3. Plastic and silicone - dishes, decor and any items of utensils should not be made of these materials;
4. Steel and chrome elements - cost to minimize, if possible, use non-shiny metallic surfaces instead;
5. Linoleum, vinyl stretch ceilings - are very far from the concept of rustic and environmentally friendly, so they should be excluded altogether.
Country style furniture
For the interior of the country, furniture is chosen from the following materials:
- varnished wood;
- wood, shabby, aged or waxed;
- wrought iron;
- rattan or vine;
- leather or upholstery fabric.
A common feature of furniture sets is the clarity and simplicity of lines, convenience. It should not have monograms, drawings (with the exception of a small pattern of plants or cells). A minimal amount of decor, textures, patterns and functions is what you need.
Multifunctionality is a completely unsuitable characteristic for country furniture. If the dining table is in the dining room, then it is intended for a meal. It should not be laid out, transformed or used for performing lessons or cutting clothes. Sofas and armchairs should look like guests from the last century. But this does not mean that they must be found in the attic or flea market. They can be picked up in modern stores. Many manufacturers produce a series of country.
Each room in the house is furnished in a special way, picking up the necessary set of items and excluding all unnecessary. A buffet, hinged shelves, a solid work and dining table, and chairs are placed in the kitchen. The latter, if possible, can be replaced with benches. They further emphasize the rustic spirit. The living room has upholstered furniture with leather or thick fabric upholstery. It is complemented by a coffee table, chairs, massive bookcases. In the bedroom, it is enough to install a bed, a cupboard and wicker chairs if necessary. If the house has a terrace, then it has wicker chairs and a table.
If possible, then modern furniture is replaced with antiques. Instead of a bedside table they put a capacious shabby chest, instead of upholstered furniture - a rocking chair. Bookcases are replaced by highly hanging shelves.
Textile
The beauty and rustic naivete of the rooms are strongly emphasized by the textile design. It should be a lot in the rooms. For each room, tablecloths, rugs, napkins, bedspreads and, of course, curtains are selected. In the kitchen hang curtains, cafes, or curtains with ruffles to the middle of the window. The pattern of curtains and tablecloths, the upholstery of chairs and lace napkins should be the same. As a rule, this is a combination of a two-color gamut (white with green, burgundy, blue, brown), complemented by a hand-embroidered pattern, sewn with lace. In the bedroom, curtains are hung up to the floor, but there are pickups for them. The bed is covered with a plaid or a bedspread in a single color scheme with curtains. If there is an armchair or sofa in the room, then their upholstery should be in the same scale with other textiles. The living room is decorated with a large soft carpet, simple curtains that blend perfectly with soft pillows and upholstered furniture.
The color of the curtains and other textiles is usually cheerful, bright. Dark, opaque curtains, coarse tablecloths or curly pillows are completely unsuitable. Patchwork design technique deserves special attention. She emphasizes the surroundings of the interior with her man-madeness and originality. Self-woven rugs are also held in high esteem.
Floors
In village houses, the floors are either wooden or stone. A modern interpretation of the country style allows using ceramic tiles instead of a natural stone floor. If wooden boards are laid on the floor, then their structure should be clearly visible. It is better to open the tree with clear varnish or stain, but not with dense oil paint. If it is not possible to use boards, then you can pick up a parquet board or laminate with a distinct pattern from knots and annual rings of trees. If the stone floor seems cold to you, then it is easy to fix it with a warm natural carpet. Floor coverings play a big role in creating a general atmosphere, the simpler the better.
Try to choose among their diversity the following:
- skin of a cow;
- mat;
- high pile wool rug;
- wicker track;
- homespun rug.
Walls
When decorating the walls, you can safely use the following options:
- stretch fabric panels;
- inserts made of stones or bricks near the fireplace and chimney, around the windows;
- whitewashing walls with chalk;
- pasting with simple plain, striped or plain floral wallpaper;
- the design of part of the wall with wooden panels, or the design of all walls with wood;
- using decorative plaster;
- combination of several types of design.
Decor and accessories
In rooms in the style of country decor, there should be a lot. The decorative elements include dishes, figurines, candlesticks, fresh flowers and much more. Each room acquires its true appearance if it is correctly decorated with accessories and decor.
Dining room usually decorated with figurines, candlesticks, flower vases, beautiful ceramic dishes. Walls should not be empty. They can be safely decorated with landscape watercolors.
Kitchen requires a lot of decorator work. It can be decorated with ceramic plates, polished pans and other metal utensils. All dishes are placed in a conspicuous place: in open shelves, suspended above the stove or sideboard. On the table they put a basket of vines for bread or fruit. Spices, cereals, tea and coffee are distributed in numerous jars and boxes, which are decorated with their own hands and put in a prominent place.
Living room it requires a wrought-iron chandelier resembling a candelabra with candlesticks, paintings on the walls, beautiful massive candles in candlesticks, floor lamps, caskets with small baubles, decorative figures. At will, this room is decorated like a hall of hunting glory - stuffed birds and animals, fur skins, weapons.
Bedroom can be decorated with small pillows and cushions, decorative clocks and table lamps.
Accents used in style
The accents in the interior of the country-style rooms are set taking into account the chosen national color. Also affects the overall decoration of the room. As a rule, the brightest and most attractive accent in the living room is a live fire in the fireplace. In the kitchen there is a skillfully served table. In the dining room, attention is focused on the chairs, covering them with homemade covers with ruffles and pickups. The girl’s bedroom attracts attention with hand-embroidered napkins, pillowcases and curtains.
If the room is decorated in pastel colors, furniture and other objects are selected in this color scheme, then the interior is enlivened by a contrasting color spot. For example, a yellow or red pillow, a book in a bright cover, a floor lamp with a colored lampshade or fresh flowers.
Lighting
When decorating the premises, it is not customary to curtain windows with blackout curtains, so there is enough natural light in the daytime. It is supplemented with artificial as needed. It is not permissible to use fluorescent, halogen or energy-saving lamps whose light is cold white. It is better to screw ordinary incandescent lamps into sconces and floor lamps.
When decorating rooms, pick up antique chandeliers and lamps. Numerous candlesticks, candelabra, and fringed floor lamps create coziness in the rooms.
Features of various types of country style
English
If you find yourself in a living room or library with massive wooden tables, solid cupboards, full of books, elegant upholstered sofas with light upholstery, light decoration of walls and ceilings, then most likely the room is decorated in English country.
Distinctive features:
- Simplicity with a touch of stiffness and elegance;
- An abundance of upholstered furniture with fabric upholstery;
- Checkered Curtains;
- Porcelain figurines.
American
Solidity and Q-factor often fill the spirit of American country.
It is characterized by:
- massive dining tables designed for a large family;
- leather furniture;
- mandatory presence of a fireplace in the living room;
- natural animal skins;
- patchwork pillows and rugs.
Italian
A special grace and southern temperament are characteristic of rural Italy:
- All pieces of furniture have a light design, cumbersomeness is alien to them;
- For wooden cabinets and chairs, a very old tree is used or the surface of the products is specially aged;
- The most recognizable feature of Italian country is the arched door and window openings in houses;
- A decorative panel of stones or tiles is laid out in the kitchen above the stove.
Deutsch
The pedantry and accuracy of the Germans can be guessed in the rustic interior.
If the ideal order is not enough for you to determine, then pay attention to the following signs:
- The floor and walls are whitewashed, complemented by protruding wooden beams;
- On the shelves - an abundance of bottles and baskets for food;
- The invariable attribute of the living room and even the kitchen is the fireplace.
French
Cheerfulness and brightness are inherent in the French interiors.
They are characterized by:
- The abundance of colorful textile yellow, lavender, blue shades;
- Light furniture with scuffs and flaws;
- A large bed;
- Benches in the kitchen instead of chairs;
- Suspended bunches of dried herbs in the kitchen.
Swiss
Alpine chalets often have white or very bright interiors. This applies to walls, and furniture, and decor. The impression of the northern interior. There are few decorative elements in it, only the necessary things are arranged.
Thus, the rustic interior characterizing this or that locality is perfectly suited for creating a peaceful atmosphere. It can be taken as the basis for the design of only the kitchen or the whole house. After repairs in such housing, it is imperative to bake fragrant vanilla rolls and bake meat in the oven to fill the space with the true spirit of the village.