Custom Search New Articles A Better Life Through Interior Decorating The way your home looks can have an intimate impact on the overall quality of your life. This is a concept which may not seem obvious at first, and yet when you come to realize what a home really means on a psychological, a functional, and even a... Home Decorating: Choosing The Right Lights for Your Look and Needs A successful lighting scheme that meets practical needs and creates atmosphere plays an important part in establishing the style and character of your home. A modern bedroom that looks and feels good Is your modern bedroom an inviting oasis of relaxation? Or does it look more like a storage unit, a veritable wasteland of clutter, dirty clothes, dirty dishes and kid's toys. A New Bathroom on a Budget…It IS Possible! If you're considering updating your bathroom, you have probably watched some of the home improvement television shows that show examples of shining new bathrooms created in just a few days. Outdoor Decorating Ideas With Garden Planters For Your Yard Yard deprivation does not mean you cannot surround yourself with beautiful plants. These outdoor decorating ideas with planters will give a beautiful garden anywhere. The Trouble With Home Offices Who wouldn't want to work from home? You roll out of bed and before you have time to change out of your PJ's your already in your office, no commute, no hassle with mass transportation, no fighting the crowds or waiting in lines, you are already there. Important Elements in a Recreation Room A recreation room is a location that is set aside specifically for entertainment and play. It is a wonderful place where friends and family can come together to interact, compete, and enjoy one another company over a variety of entertaining activities. Redecorating Your Nursery: Making Baby's Room Safe Expecting a treasured arrival to join your family? Planning to makeover a room to greet this newcomer? Read this article to make sure your nursery will be safe for the precious little one who will be living there. Saving Money Through Bathroom Renovations Spending money to remodel kitchens and bathrooms is an excellent way to recoup an investment on home improvements. This can be as expensive - or as inexpensive as you desire. Creating the Perfect Dining Room Today, busy families find little time to gather at the dinner table. And the formal dining room in many homes is relegated to special occasions and holidays. With a little thought and some creativity, you can convert this little used space.... A Little Thought Goes Far In Furnishing Your Media Room or Home Theater Furnishing a media room or home theater with entertainment furniture that fits your interior design scheme in a variety styles from classic to contemporary.

Country Bedrooms, Part 1

With its emphasis on hand-crafted natural materials, informality, and simplicity, the country bedroom is stylishly restful and refreshing.

The hallmarks of the country bedroom - natural materials, unfussy and practical furnishings, airiness, restrained but rich color schemes, and a commitment to comfort - create an environment that is perfectly conducive to rest and relaxation at any time of day.

Whether stripped, stained, varnished, or painted, wood features heavily in country schemes as floor and wall surfaces, furniture, and smaller decorative objects. Other natural raw materials such as cane, wicker, and cotton play supporting roles. Colors such as teal blue, creamy yellow, conifer green, and rich Indian red are traditional, used on their own to cover broad expanses of wall, or in small doses to give character to large expanses of white or pale neutrals. Furniture has a timeless practicality, based on a mixture of Shaker simplicity, American Colonial elegance, and a hint of toned down Victorian. Generously stuffed cushions, pillows, and quilts ensure that comfort is high on the list of priorities.

Ornamentation, from stencils to children's toys, is - in appearance if not in actuality - handcrafted. Likewise, fabrics have a slightly rough, homespun appeal, and patchworks and samplers continue the hand-crafted theme. The look is mildly eclectic rather than highly coordinated, but never chaotic - everything has its rightful place.

Creating the Look
Walls: Whether they are plastered, papered, or tongue-and-groove paneled, keep walls plain. Combining low-level, tongue-and-groove paneling with a plain painted surface above is traditional. Consider narrow, vertical tongue-and-groove paneling up to wainscoting level if funds allow, with wide, horizontal tongue-and-groove paneling above, or vice versa. The paneling can be left natural, stained, or painted in solid, matte tones.

Patterned wallpapers are unsuitable, as are chalky ice-cream pastel colors such as light pinks, blues, and mauves. Earth colors, natural dye colors, off-white, and white are ideal for the look - the latter two especially for small bedrooms. For an authentic touch, paint the woodwork - doors, architraves, baseboards, wainscoting, and picture rails - a rich color to counteract the impersonality of white or off white. Varying the density of this color from paneling to architraves, reveals, and baseboards is typical. Consider high-level stencils and friezes with simple geometric motifs or motifs based on fruit, flowers, or leaves; grapes, pomegranates, pineapples, willow and oak leaves, and tulips are all authentic.

Floors: Wide, stripped pine floorboards are ideal, but if your house doesn't already have them, modern wood-look floor covering strips make an acceptable alternative. You can use subtle paint effects, perhaps even a stencil around the edge to mimic a rug. Hooked, crocheted, knitted, or braided rugs, and embroidered needlepoint rugs, or Berlinwork with rose motifs, look perfect and make walking barefoot comfortable. Plain or striped, inexpensive cotton, hand-woven rag rugs can work equally well. Although not strictly authentic, wall-to-wall carpets in near white or neutral tones won't detract from the look, provided they aren't too sumptuous or shaggy.

Windows: As the look depends on plenty of natural light, make the most of windows. Outline small windows in the same color as baseboards and picture rails; you can paint wooden window frames, reveals, and sills, or simply apply a band of color to the wall surrounding the window. White-painted internal louvers, wooden Venetian blinds, and plain, checked or striped fabric shades are fine for the look. If privacy is a problem, or the view is far from leafy and rural, hang simple white net or muslin curtains. A little swag made from patchwork fabric adds a pretty finishing touch on its own or with another window treatment.

Lighting: For practicality, have several light sources: low-level, sited near to the bed for night reading, plus wall-hung and/or ceiling-hung for general illumination. Candles in sconces, freestanding or wall-hung, add to the mood; electric lights mimicking candles are useful as well as attractive. Table lamps with simple shades in checked, striped, or plain fabrics, and earthenware bases, such as old jugs, are ideal. Victorian-style brass table and floor lamps with translucent glass shades, or plain, small contemporary lights, also suit the look.

A related article you might like can be found on our website: "French Country Home Décor: A Popular Home Decorating Choice"

©2007, Kathy Burns-Millyard. Want to learn all about different types of Home Decorating Styles such as country, cottage, or shabby chic? Visit the Do It Yourself Home Decorating Network (http://www.diyhomedecorating.com/) now to see what's new!

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