Photo: jjay69

Your country home is likely to be a place of rest and relaxation, so keep the look of the place relaxed. Relaxed, however, doesn’t have to mean sloppy: incorporating crisp fabrics and some modern touches will keep the look fresh and appealing. Instead, country casual means a focus on simplicity and a love for the details that this simplicity will show off. It’s easy decorating a country home – just follow some simple rules, avoid perfectionism and perfect symmetry, and choose what you love. One thing you can always do is to select a theme and then follow it throughout your decorating process. And, of course, you will still need add your own personal touch no matter what.

Pick a theme

Photo: coco+kelly

Country homes that have a theme throughout will be the most enjoyable – there’s something comforting and relaxing about moving from room to room and experiencing the same atmosphere, even as interesting decoration ideas are incorporated. This doesn’t mean that you have to have identically furnished rooms, just that your design plans should attempt to create a sense of continuity. For example, the same style of furniture could be used throughout with different colour palettes for each room, or all of the rooms could be linked subtly by something like textures – wood or suede, for instance – that are carried throughout. The biggest mistake made in creating a country casual look is to try to use everything you see that seems to suggest ‘country’ – this will just lead to a cluttered house with no focus and an overly fussy look.

Country colours

Photo: coco+kelly

Picking colours for a country home will probably be guided a lot by where the home is – lighter colours generally create a more relaxed feeling, and keep this in mind, but a country home in a very cold area might need some warmer tones to create a really cosy atmosphere. As explained above, there are some ways to keep a country casual look from appearing tired and washed out, and one of these ways is to incorporate lots of white: an easy decorating tool is that touches of white add depth to other colours, providing a contrast for creams and off-whites and showing off darker colours at their best. When it comes to textures, avoid anything shiny, and keep everything looking as organic as possible.

Getting personal

Keeping your style simple means that you’ll be able to really do what country casual is about – put some of yourself into the decoration of your home. It’s easy decorating in a very generic style, but you won’t regret taking some time to look out for pieces that you really love to put in your country home. While the house you live in every day is likely to be redecorated as time goes by, a country home tends to become an accumulation of happy memories and the photos and reminders that you keep of those times – and what better way to enjoy the good times to come than in a beautifully and simply furnished home?