Tea-time guests are welcomed in their hostess' foyer by the warming sight of an old church pew draped with a star quilt and a shelf overflowing with herbs and splint baskets. Inside the living room--with its rustic, low-raftered ceiling--they are invited to rest beside a nineteenth-century blanket chest with its original red milk paint worn down to the bare wood. The trunk serves as a coffee table, crowned with a classic assortment of colonial sweet breads and relishes served on a delightfully mismatched collection of china.
Surveying the room, one guest remarks, "We've stepped back in time. I don't know what it is, but I like it." The visitor's observation is typical for someone who experiences the American Country style of decorating for the first time. It is easy to become instantly enamored with country décor. In fact, millions of Americans are trimming their homes with country accents whether they live in a city high-rise apartment, a brand new suburban subdivision, or an authentically refurbished farmhouse in the backwoods.
Although it has been around for some time, American Country entered the mass market scene twelve years ago and became widespread only within the last six years or so. Now, comfortably nestled in as a decorating scheme, home décor businesses forecast that it is an evolving style and here to stay.
Signs of country décor's popularity include Time-Life Books' series on American Country (due out next fall), popular home magazines featuring the style (including Architectural Digest), a bevy of country decorating magazines appearing on the newsstands, and at-home parties selling country furniture and accessories (à la Tupperware).
Compared to other home-decorating styles, American Country is still a fledging, but unlike established designs, it is influencing all the other modes of decorating. In a chrome and glass house, for example, you might find handsome, deeply hued Amish quilts and hand-woven baskets of dried flowers displayed throughout.
Part of the mystique of country design is that it embraces a gentler time period. Country enthusiasts say country is not just a look, but is also a lifestyle. Those whose pulses quicken at the sight of a time-weathered duck decoy, a grapevine wreath, an authentic or reproduction step hutch, or a dog-eared Teddy bear enjoy the look of American Country. They are lured to this ubiquitous decorating style because of the way it makes them feel--cozy, comfortable, and optimistic.
Best of both worlds
Country devotees are part of a "movement" of sorts, giving their homes the appearance of old-fashioned dwellings. Some of them attempt open-hearth cooking similar to the method used by the colonists, while others engage in hobbies and crafts of bygone eras. They feel as though they have the best of both worlds--the convenience of electricity, running water, and other modern-day household accoutrements accompanied by the trappings that help them escape to the past.
Country has many definitions, but its signature is a house appointed with homespun and handcrafted accents and antiques. You do not need a decorator to furnish and coax a home into the country mold. Collectibles may
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