The Country Living Collection From Kmart

The Country Living Collection from Country Living magazine made its debut this week. The line is being sold in Kmart and Sears stores throughout the county and online (though, as of today, you cannot use the 'Shop By Brand' for the Country Living Collection on Kmart.com, but some pieces are available). The line includes bedding, bath accessories, tabletop pieces, furniture and home décor items, ranging in price from $3 to $349.

Although this is CL's first comprehensive home line, the magazine has several brand extensions, including a furniture collection with Lane Furniture, a rug collection, quilts, outdoor fabrics, specialty foods, decorative finishing kits, stamp kits and accessories and quilting patterns and kits -- not to mention books!

Country Living has broken the collection down into four distinct looks: Modern Countryside, Blue & White, Red & White and Faded Antique. The style across all four is decidedly country, with a palette of neutrals, reds and blues, with a few hits of lavender and chartreuse in the Modern Countryside look -- think plaids, classic toiles, eyelet and crochet.
For the most part, the pieces would fit well with into a variety of decorating schemes -- they're timeless and fairly neutral. We're particularly fond of the tabletop items, which hit excellent price points, have great patterns and are made from 100 percent cotton (Oh, how we wish the sheets were 100 percent cotton too!). The lines of the accent and dining furniture is nice, but at prices as low as these, we'd be very wary of the excellence of the construction, despite the assertion that the line focuses on "quality craftsmanship."

The Country Living Collection seems like a major development for Kmart, which has always been far behind its competitor Target on the designer name front. However, Kmart also sells the Martha Stewart Everyday line (which I must admit was my sole reason for visiting Kmart in New York City, which is not a pleasant shopping experience to say the least). Country Living and Martha share a similar look; it'll be interesting to see the two lines side-by-side in stores. We also wonder if Kmart has some new partnerships up its sleeve for the future?

Love the country look? Here's more laid back style for inspiration:

A country-chic bedroom in blue and white
A trend in the making: Barn doors at home