Country Expressions

In the past decade, there has been a gradual evolution of country home style into a wide range of looks, each one of them fresh and original. Here, we present four new country styles in step with the new century: new blue, cottage, rustic, and personal.

 

Designed to recall the feeling
of an old general store, the
kitchen cabinetry is chock-full
of modern conveniences.

Picture rows of classic white ironstone on steel utility shelving, practical recessed lighting in an old plank ceiling, easy-cleaning glass resting on carpenter-made trestles, or a single bare bulb lighting a harvest table. New blue interiors carry the pure and simple values of our forefathers into the present day, mixing the true-blue style of country roots with new handcrafts and hardworking industrial materials. Poured concrete, corrugated iron, and galvanized steel are as much a part of country construction today as timber and stone were two centuries ago.

Blending new and old into a seamless whole is also a pioneering, make-do solution to the challenge of furnishing homes. Lifestyles have changed along with the market, and what was used a century ago may no longer be available, affordable, or even comfortable. For country to offer refuge from urban living, ease and simplicity are key. Spaces are airy, windows undressed, and furnishings limited to what's useful or beautiful. This leaves room for heirlooms to resonate their history, and open space to echo the great outdoors.

Colors are drawn from nature, but in brighter hues than before: ocean blues, seashell pinks, apple greens, grain yellows, and autumn reds and oranges. Like the contemporary artisan creating traditional handcrafts, new blue style redefines what in today's world has the honesty, strength, and integrity of the past.