Filed under: Kitchen, Bedroom, Your Home, Living Room, Design, etc, Experts
Cabbages & Roses' Christina Strutt's latest book is At Home With Country. Photos: Edina van der Wyck/CICO Books
Country style isn't just for English cottages with cozy nooks and rose bushes. In her new book, At Home With Country: Bringing the Comforts of Country Home, Christina Strutt, makes the case that country is for everyone, whether you live in the actual countryside or in a loft space in the heart of the city.
As the owner of a home in the English countryside and the founder of Cabbages & Roses, a fabric company specializing in historic rural prints, Christina knows a thing or two about what "country" is all about. We caught up with Christina to get her advice for decorating in a country style -- and how to get it right. Here's what she had to say:
Bold stripes are a perfect foil to feminine florals. Photo: Photo: Edina van der Wyck/CICO Books.
A: Cabbages & Roses has always been associated with a country style. We wanted to show people that [country] could be slipped easily into the city, an apartment, a beach house -- it's so versatile, that we wanted to put it everywhere. We wanted to show people that it's not exclusively country homes.
The easiest way to mix and match: Choose two patterns with the same color palette. Photo: Edina van der Wyck/CICO Books.
A: Go with your heart, and do what you feel is beautiful. If you're looking for country, you'll find it. And always, mix and match.
Q: Do you have any advice for mixing and matching?
A: Again, go with your heart. Follow your eye, and don't worry about being judged: Do what you like. It doesn't always come out right the first time. Even professionals have to put things in, take it out, and play around.
Rough-hewn woods and natural linens add a touch of brutality to this room. Photo: Edina van der Wyck/CICO Books
A: Exactly! You need to add some brutal stuff there. What I love is a concrete floor or a concrete surface with a floral. Also, pare down, pare down: Clutter can creep up on you. Once in a while, step back and empty, and then re-add carefully.
Q: Do you have suggestions for making country more masculine?
A: Introduce some masculine kinds of fabrics: stripes, plains, or go neutral -- [men] won't notice that it's floral [if you do].
Q: Do you have tips for mixing country into a more contemporary home?
A: Be very sparing with country: It gives [contemporary interiors] a bit of femininity and coziness. Contemporary can become very cold and stark, but just a one rosy pillow on a plain white sofa, would give you that bit of softness.
A few touches of country warm up this modern loft. Photo: Edina van der Wyck/CICO Book
A: The worst thing you can do is to be afraid to use color; to go beige in everything is a no-no -- that's no taste at all. And it's better to have bad taste than no taste.
All images from At Home with Country by Christina Strutt. CICO Books, $29.95, 2010; Cicobooks.com.
Want to read more about decorating in a country style? Check out these posts:
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