9 Easy Ways To Use Dark Paint In Your Home
Dana Holmes: Gifts by Relationship Stage: Rocking Steady
Cabbages & Roses' Christina Strutt's latest book is At Home With Country. Photos: Edina van der Wyck/CICO Books
Country style isn't just for English cottages with cozy nooks and rose bushes. In her new book, At Home With Country: Bringing the Comforts of Country Home, Christina Strutt, makes the case that country is for everyone, whether you live in the actual countryside or in a loft space in the heart of the city.
As the owner of a home in the English countryside and the founder of Cabbages & Roses, a fabric company specializing in historic rural prints, Christina knows a thing or two about what "country" is all about. We caught up with Christina to get her advice for decorating in a country style -- and how to get it right. Here's what she had to say:
Bold stripes are a perfect foil to feminine florals. Photo: Photo: Edina van der Wyck/CICO Books.
A: Cabbages & Roses has always been associated with a country style. We wanted to show people that [country] could be slipped easily into the city, an apartment, a beach house -- it's so versatile, that we wanted to put it everywhere. We wanted to show people that it's not exclusively country homes.
The easiest way to mix and match: Choose two patterns with the same color palette. Photo: Edina van der Wyck/CICO Books.
A: Go with your heart, and do what you feel is beautiful. If you're looking for country, you'll find it. And always, mix and match.
Q: Do you have any advice for mixing and matching?
A: Again, go with your heart. Follow your eye, and don't worry about being judged: Do what you like. It doesn't always come out right the first time. Even professionals have to put things in, take it out, and play around.
Rough-hewn woods and natural linens add a touch of brutality to this room. Photo: Edina van der Wyck/CICO Books
A: Exactly! You need to add some brutal stuff there. What I love is a concrete floor or a concrete surface with a floral. Also, pare down, pare down: Clutter can creep up on you. Once in a while, step back and empty, and then re-add carefully.
Q: Do you have suggestions for making country more masculine?
A: Introduce some masculine kinds of fabrics: stripes, plains, or go neutral -- [men] won't notice that it's floral [if you do].
Q: Do you have tips for mixing country into a more contemporary home?
A: Be very sparing with country: It gives [contemporary interiors] a bit of femininity and coziness. Contemporary can become very cold and stark, but just a one rosy pillow on a plain white sofa, would give you that bit of softness.
A few touches of country warm up this modern loft. Photo: Edina van der Wyck/CICO Book
A: The worst thing you can do is to be afraid to use color; to go beige in everything is a no-no -- that's no taste at all. And it's better to have bad taste than no taste.
All images from At Home with Country by Christina Strutt. CICO Books, $29.95, 2010; Cicobooks.com.
Want to read more about decorating in a country style? Check out these posts:
Country Chic South of France Style
Give Your Home a Farm Fresh Look
Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)
The first picture is a bit too cutesy-wootsy, and there is way too much going on there. The others, however, are very attractive....
ReplyWhen I talk about the first picture, I'm talking about the one based in red. Sorry for any confusion....
way toooooo white. it's just glaring at you!!!!!
ReplyWhoa... these roome are blindingly bright. I prefer dark colors and muted lighting, which I find more soothing and restful than rooms where sunlight just pours in. I'd be in these rooms for about 2 minutes before I'd want to draw all of the curtains. No, thank you!
Replyall gorgeous! I love white wooden floors & having a "country" scene in an urban abode is really what I long for, I'll be getting this book for sure!
Reply