Country kitchens often look attractive when painted in milky white tones.
To create a country-style decor scheme, first establish a color palette that will complement and enhance country-style furnishings. "Country style" can refer to a number of decor types, from "French farmhouse" to "cottage" styles. Look carefully at your own design preferences, as well as at your home's architectural style, to pick the right country-style paint colors for your home. Take inspiration from a favorite vintage fabric or painting, as these may contain colors or motifs that will work well in your overall decor scheme.
Clean Whites
Cottage-influenced country style makes wood its hallmark. If your home boasts varnished wood floors, antique wood molding and distinctive wooden furniture pieces, set off their beautiful natural grains with clean white paint. Pure white paint is especially useful for showcasing vintage furniture and artwork, as its freshness keeps time-worn pieces looking chic, rather than shabby.
Cottage country style gives homes an airy feel. Augment this impression by playing up white paint's reflective ability. Make your window treatments sparse or transparent, which will allow sunlight to bounce off your white walls, filling rooms with light. Hanging lots of mirrors on your off-white walls will further enhance this effect, making rooms feel larger and more open.
The simplicity of white walls makes it possible to use patterns extensively in your decor. Chintzes, prints and china will all stheir best advantage against an off-white backdrop. If your tastes run to the traditionally feminine, you can accent your country cottage with floral touches, such as rosebud-patterned wallpaper trim and bouquets of fresh hydrangeas. Use delicate pastels, such as mint green, lilac and pale pink, to accentuate cabinets, trim and baseboards.
Cream and Gold
French or Tuscan country farmhouse style contrasts primitive natural textures with polished antiques. Like cottage country style, Mediterranean country style embraces wood, but it also incorporates materials like iron, copper, silver, stone and ceramics. Typically, this country decor style tends to be less fussy than cottage country style, eschewing patterns and florals for natural fabrics and handmade pieces. Because this decor style emphasizes raw materials, it is best augmented by paint colors that appear as if they could be found in nature. Rich but light solids, such as cream, old gold, wheat, amber, mustard yellow and butter yellow work best for accenting Mediterranean country materials like brick, walnut, wicker, clay, weathered pine and unbleached muslin. Instead of using an accent color on trim or cabinets, lightly white-wash them.
Faded Glamour
Perhaps the most iconic country decor style, New England farmhouse style complements homes with high ceilings, small rooms and tall windows. Dusty tones work best for this classic style---soft grays and blue-inflected slates; sage and hunter greens; Delft blue and muddied turquoise; light red or wine tints; and toasted yellows. Embellishments such as stenciling work well with this style, as do crackle finishes and "antiqued" textures.
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