Country Style

American country is a style that contrasts or counterpoints sleek, cool modern and restrained, well-ordered traditional. It is a free and easy decorating approach that blends with both old and new furnishings, works for every room in the house, and is simple for anyone to put together.

The chief components of "country" include quilts, brass beds, oil lamps, wood- burning stoves, golden oak and scrubbed pine furniture, old trunks and rocking chairs, framed ancestor portraits and photographs, porch wicker, stained glass, afghans, blue willow china, old Hooker kitchen cabinets, and baskets galore. The look is frankly nostalgic and evokes memories of the fragrance of fresh bread baking and apple pies cooking.

The look captures the essence of earlier life and honest hand craftsmanship. Yet, it can be expressed in city apartments and urban row houses as well as in village homes or rural farmhouses. It can be produced with superb country antiques, flea market "finds," or good reproductions or adaptations that are being made today. Or, as is most likely, it will be accomplished with a combination of all three, plus a few ultramodern additions tossed in to make the total mix work efficiently and well.