Over at Canadian House & Home, Michael Penney states that the affirmative answer to whether or not country style is back is a resounding DUH! He says that the look is everywhere in the marketplace and cites hot designer Darryl Carter's work as a perfect example of how it's being done these days. How about at your home?
We think that this time around it's a bit more formal, with less chalky color and a lot more black & white with plenty of European influences. The photo shown at the top of the post is from an Elle Decor article featuring the home of NYC designers Richard Lambertson and John Truex. It is entitled "Country Chic" and it sums up the look pretty well - it may be country but it still has plenty of drama!
Would you go "country"? Do you like things that are more than a little rustic? Have homey, vintage and decidedly UN-urban items made it into your home lately? If so, you may be right "on trend".
Perhaps it has been your style all along? Or maybe it's a look that really doesn't do it for you at all ...sound off in the comments below to let us know.
Check out Michael Penney's post at Canadian House & Home and the Country Chic article at Elle Decor for more examples.
(Top image: Pieter Estersohn/Elle Decor)
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Comments (18)
Urban Icelandic Farmhouse is all the rage in Kalamazoo.
I don't think it ever went away. It's easy to do and cheap to top it off.
I personally like the style.
Yes. Because it's easy to layer. While mcm almost always requires a pinpoint focus. sigh.
Did it ever go way?
But if you keep it minimalist, it actually looks modern!
A couple of people here recommended Country Living magazine in the comments of a post several months back, so I started picking it up. The homes featured are usually beautiful and comfortable - and unique. Nothing theme-y, and not a rooster in sight. If that's country, I'm cool with it.
It never went away. Especially in the country. Most people in my neck of the woods (Orange Co., NY) living in farmhouses stick to the period. Often it's also all you can get in a local furniture store. Although we live only an hour from Manhattan, I don't know one person around here besides us with a modern aesthetic, and plenty of them moved here from the city. Luckily, I live in a ranch that can go either way. But I am trying to put a few country touches in with my Conran, BoConcept, and Ikea pieces, because it makes sense with the lifestyle. The trick is keeping it in scale. Country is often BIG.
Pottery Barn has been selling Country for the past umpteen years...
When times are tough, folks want the Comfort & Coziness that Country and Traditional styles represent.
MCM has never been able to provide that.
Funny. My dining room is remarkably similar to the one in the top photo--same low ceiling, same faux beam boards, same generl size--but we have an ecletic mix of antique and modern pieces. I find "country" furniture in a "country" house too broing for words. Nothing brings out the simplicity and purity of an old farmhouse as well as mid-century modern furniture.
I think there's a difference between "country" and "resort" (i.e. seaside cottage, ski chalet, etc.). The top photo looks like a Parisian's vacation villa. And a lot of what magazines call "country" are actually the Hamptons or Aspen.
I guess I wouldn't look at these photos and think, "Country." It just seems to be what's accessible to most people, including me.
If the top photo is "country", then I'm all for it.
It obviously never went away I just think it got refined (thank god). I like to think of that picture above as French farmhouse or French/English country home. I just keep thinking of period movies or a Jane Austen set.
I agree with Tequila Red...no roosters and check-plaid? Then I like it!
i love country chic. I prefer comfort and warmth where I live. I leave mcm clean lines for museums and airports. I'm pretty sure what makes country unpalatable is when you add tiny-flower wallpaper borders and soft plaid couches. That and rooster or cow motifs.
Country is classic! I have a farm dining table (made in England) and coffee table (Pottery Barn) and just purchased a cannonball bed on eBay that I've already begun painting glossy black.
Country always works because it's comfy, durable and you don't have to apologize for it as it ages and gets a little wear and tear and weathered.
It's always been country for me. I may modify it a little...but, yep...always country.
I live in an 1800s log house that would probably collapse in protest if I didn't have at least a *few* country touches in it. I agree with previous posters who said Country style never really went away -- especially for those of us who actually live in the country.
"Country" is such a broad term though. I like my fair share of rustic items, but I steer clear of the hokey checked plaid couch look and anything with an American flag (or the proverbial rooster) painted on it. I guess whether I like it depends on who is defining it and what other elements they mix in.