Country style: the countryside at home

Country style: the countryside at home

Scent of countryside, the relaxation of a warm and welcoming home, the search for a natural but at the same time refined style. All this is the Country style and more and more people are choosing it for their home furnishings.

country kitchen

a bright Country Style kitchen with white furnishings and glass inserts

MEANING OF THE WORD

Synonyms of the term country are “countryside, rustic, rural”, therefore everything related to the earth, to nature. A return to our peasant origins in opposition to a world that chases technological progress with increasingly aseptic environments.

Simplicity and refinement make it current even if its origins are distant. In fact, it was born in England in the late nineteenth century, when the English nobility needed to get away from the Victorian splendor and rediscover the country peace.

This style of furniture in fact favors wood and, more generally, all warm and natural materials. It can also be declined in variants such as: romantic, Provencal, chic, rustic, American or modern according to the taste and preferences of those who choose it for their home environment.

country living room.

a Country Style living room that enhances the details with dark wood.

country bedroom

A room that marries the country style also in the choice of embroidered fabrics.

THE DOMINANT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COUNTRY STYLE

The country style is characterized by classic furnishings, with shaped profiles and interior decorations. Its best expressed in an environment with exposed stone, ceiling with wooden beams and a nice warm fireplace in the center of the living area.

The aim is to be able to convey the sense of relaxation typical of a country house even in a city context. However, the “rusticity” of the style is enhanced by an extreme refinement in the elements and details that fill the environment and nothing is left to chance.

Typical complements of country furniture are the tables in solid untreated wood, the chests made entirely of wood or with elegant metal legs and the curtains that also become an integral part of the furniture.

In this country-style kitchen we made, the checkered curtain takes the place of the doors under the sink. Refrigerator and dishwasher are strictly built-in, while the oven and hood are visible and represent the heart of the kitchen. Speaking of details, here each knob has its own characterization and has been chosen with care.

 

country style kitchen

Our Country Style kitchen with a touch of color and refined details.

country style kitchen details
country style kitchen details
country style kitchen details

Details of the sugar paper shaped hood and knobs.

Are often used recycled furniture such as old sideboards, bedside tables, dressers, wardrobes. In the country bathroom, a free-standing bathtub with a vintage look and stone walls cannot be missing. Vintage and “decorative recycling” objects are inevitable, that is glass bottles, jars or all those small objects that, cleaned and decorated, can change their intended use and become nice decorative elements or containers.

To enrich the environment, knick-knacks are welcome, especially if in ceramic and old crochet doilies. Vases with plants and flowers cannot be missing either, the impression must be that of a really countryside house. Flowers are an essential element because they give delicacy and a touch of romantic mood to all rooms.

country bathroom

Two examples of a contemporary country style bathroom area, with a focus on the choice of colors.

COLORS AND MATERIALS

Country style prefers natural colors, such as those of wood, used as a base for more decisive color combinations, like cherry red, sun yellow, baby blue, ivory and all shades of green.

These shades immediately give to the environment a decidedly welcoming and romantic atmosphere. For the armchairs and other upholstered items, the choice goes to the floral textures, which are then embellished with many colored or neutral colored cushions.

In fact, the country foresees a great use of fabrics with particular textures and decorations, such as checks for tablecloths and flowers and polka dots for curtains and sofas. Even for the bedrooms you can opt for wallpapers and, as a complement, themed bedspreads and sheets.

The materials to be used are wood, stone and wrought iron especially in the chandeliers and headboards of the beds. For the back of the kitchen and for the bathroom, white ceramic tiles or in some patterns of blue, gray, sage or delicate pink are preferred.

country style elements

The Modulor selection of colors, textures and furniture references for the Country moodboard

country living room.

A very bright living room that emphasizes the Country style in the choice of fabrics.

MODERN COUNTRY

The variants of the country style are many, but the one we prefer is the Modern Country style, less characterizing but more suitable for everyday use.

The Modern Country mixes vintage furnishing accessories with minimal or industrial ones. Sometimes it is enough to leave stone walls or exposed brick walls, opt for a large solid wood table and it is already possible to recreate a country atmosphere but not overly ancient.

This flavor of modern country can also be found by modernizing the style of old peasant houses with pieces of modern design that make them more refined. Here we present the living area of ​​a splendid Sicilian Villa in which the ancient stone oil mill is located in the center of the room, surrounded by traditional dark wood furnishings and stone walls, but also very minimal backlit elements.

 

country style sicilian villa

The ancient oil mill, classic and modern furnishings.

traditional villa Sicily dining table
traditional villa Sicily kitchen view

Details of the large living area between traditional furnishings and new elements.

Those who choose the Country style have a romantic spirit and love to enjoy their “home sweet home” in relax.

High altitude renovation of a traditional two-room apartment

High altitude renovation of a traditional two-room apartment

In the context of Bergamo mountains, a small two-room apartment renovated to improve its functionality, whose contemporary style well balances with traditional furnishing.

THE CONTEXT THE INTERVENTION KITCHEN AND LIVING AREA BATHROOM THE MATERIAL AND CHROMATIC CHOICE

THE CONTEXT

Style never goes on vacation! Or yes maybe, and in this case, it goes on mountain! Lodges and small wooden apartments always have their charm, bringing a sense of hospitality with their warm and natural colours. Inspired from the surrounding landscapes, the interiors are often characterised by the abundance of wood, used both in furniture and in the finishes of floors and ceilings. A perfect example is this two-room apartment in Lizzola, designed in the eighties style which the entire village has maintained the strong stylistic mark. In fact, is exactly in that period that the small residential area experienced its best time. The main roads were swarmed by tourists and surroundings’ valleys inhabitants who reached the area for an out-of-town weekend or entire weeks of vacation. An undisputed choice between the mountains’ resort. Set up as the typical “mountain house” the Lizzola’s two-room apartment needed a renovation, in order to make it contemporary in style and at the same time more functionally, without deleting the traditional imprint which is characterized by and makes it welcoming and typical.  

THE INTERVENTION

The design choice has been that of preserve the stylistic element and the furnishing which best represent the atmosphere of the two-room apartment. Concerning the new elements designed, the deliberately choice is a slightly invasive solution that can fit harmoniously into the existing context. From this perspective, the cherry-wooden garret was preserved from its original environment, even taking the main role in the stylistic definition of the room. As a consequence, the cherry wood parquet has stolen the stylistic characteristic of the ceiling, adjusted to the renovation of electrical and heating system. The renovation involved the entire apartment, going to specially attend the kitchen and bathroom interiors.

KITCHEN AND LIVING AREA

Reduced in size, the kitchen of the two-room apartment in mountains, has an essential but extremely functional setting. Being a residence designed for shorter stays the kitchen occupies a small part of the environment, without giving its contemporaneity and practicality away. There’s no lack of necessary appliances: starting from the small-seized induction hob, passing through the combined oven with microwave and refrigerator with freezer compartment. The extraction fan is instead the kitchen cabinets’ excess, used as a pantry for food and dishes. Concerning the dining table, the wooden chairs with traditional and soft profiles fit well into the room, reason why it’s been preserved. On the other hand, a support surface was combined with folding leg has been supplied in order to provide an additional support space and, at the same time, to become extremely practical for close and move the furniture. Functionality is the main element considered to the living room design, allowing to take the best advantage from the sofa-beds there and to customize and rearrange the space as needed. The original suspension lamps now become protagonists of the dining room by introducing a chromatic contrast with the black outer finish of the cap. The living room furniture with its contemporary style houses the free-standing TV and becomes a containing element both for kitchen, by its proximity, and for other objects of the entire apartment.

BATHROOM

The bathroom intervention has also provided its expansion, thus managing to house all the container elements inside and equip it with a washing machine compartment. It is probably in this room that the contemporary style is most visible, starting from the extremely elegant and clear in the stylistic lines of the glass shower, moving to the semi-recessed sink with an oval shape and rounded profiles and ending with the choice of the covering tiles for the shower interior with its bright and fresh colours, which remain in perfect harmony with the surrounding neutral tones. The cabinet with large storage drawers also includes the possibility of a built-in washing-machine. The plywood top refers itself to those of the kitchen and table, becoming a stylistic element in continuity with all rooms.  

THE MATERIAL AND CHROMATIC CHOICE

As already seen, it is certainly the plywood that defines the material mark of the whole two-room apartment. An economic material, also young and dynamic, but at the same time that can be easily fit into traditional interiors. Its main feature is its structure, which is visible in the edge of the tops, becoming the stylistic signature of the project, emphasizing the geometric lines of furniture with a recognizable touch. The balance between the orange tones of cherry wood and the white of plywood creates internal divisions able to give rhythm at the room. The internal subdivisions underlined by the change of flooring, which from the most intimate and comfortable rooms of bedroom and living room are changed into uniform surfaces with gray stoneware for better practicality. Being more wear-resistant and easier to clean, the stoneware has in fact been chosen for the kitchen and bathroom where they elegantly relate to the white of contemporary style. In conclusion, a renovation that takes origin from the traditional setting of the two-room apartment, without turning its featured upside-down but instead adding contemporary elements that give freshness.

Country style in a custumisez reinterpretation

Country style in a custumisez reinterpretation

We are used to design custum furniture, which best fit our interiors, but even the style can be customized in a modern country. To best satisfy our client’s country taste, we pop round to overseas farmhouse. Knobs for drawers unique in their own style, shaped baseboards with central voids, decorative bands on doors. For this project we lacked for nothing, even a trapezoidal-shaped extractor fan with a lower curved shape. A kitchen able to keep attention in each its detail, as the hand-woven curtain strictly in pastel red and white fabric that replaces the door under the sink. A bespoke container whose shape alternates sinuous shapes with linear profiles. Stylistic forms also recalled on the countertop with beige hue which in the back elevation assumes conformations with a strong stylistic taste. A country style that is personalised, shaped following the personality of its inhabitants. Here that the wall units flank shelves with different heights, alternating doors in matt lacquered MDF with glass doors with decorative strips. The classic cream-white colour undergoes a modern reinterpretation and is endowed with greater character with the add of a pastel gray-blue. As in an American farmhouse we let you discover its details with the photos below.

kitchen country revisited style
kitchen detail country Modulor 01
kitchen detail country Modulor 02
flower detail kitchen
knob detail kitchen glass door
kitchen country style
strips doors detail
extractor fan country kitchen