Years ago we considered traditional farmhouse decor to be a little bit dated and we felt quite restricted with what we could do with it to bring it up to date. This has all changed now – out goes dark wood panelling, doilies and farm animal prints and in come calming neutral colours and a beautiful blend of rustic and modern.
Colour scheme
The modern country home should be filled with light! So bring it in with your decor and furnishings – stick with pale and neutral colours for walls, floors and ceilings. You can, of course, dot some accent colour into your rooms to add depth and interest but the overall feel should be light and airy.
Plenty of texture
A modern country home should have a good selection of different natural textures to give it a wholesome feel. Baskets of fire wood, wicker baskets, a jute rug, rattan pendant lights, exposed wood beams and brick walls will all work together to bring in a whole load of different textures.
Rustic furniture
Of course, you need to fill your home with gorgeous reclaimed wood furniture – statement, investment pieces that simply shout out country home. It’s a natural and earthy feel that you want to achieve. So a solid reclaimed wood bed, choose one from the handcrafted Dulwich range, for your country bedroom. A statement reclaimed wood dining table in the kitchen, with a practical dining bench so that diners can budge up to accommodate extra dinner guests. A rustic sideboard in the living room and a stylish Oswald 2 seater sofa pulled up to a large square coffee table crafted from full of character reclaimed wood.
Bring the outdoors in
We are all way more aware of how important the great outdoors is to our wellbeing now. So bring the outdoors in however you can, of course, the natural materials help, but position your furniture so you can see out to the garden or countryside wherever possible. Bring life into your home in the shape of houseplants and not just in the living room, you can add plants in every room of the house so you get the pleasure and benefit of seeing them wherever you are!
Make the kitchen the heart of the home
The kitchen should definitely be the heart of any country home – somewhere to sit around a rustic dining table in front of a range cooker with a cup of tea or coffee and a slab of home-baked cake. It’s the picture we all automatically conjure up when we think ‘country kitchen’. Make the kitchen homely and inviting in a modern way by using light neutral hues then bring in pops of accent colour.
