Living Room in Country Style: Interior Design

This applies to highly focused styles that imply the use of specific colors, materials and forms. Country is one such style.

History of the Style

It emerged in the 1970s, alongside the development of hippie culture. Initially, it had a lot in common with English rural design, which is why it received its name (country in English: village). Later, the country style acquired features of other national directions, so today it is not possible to claim that it has a pure English origin.

The popularity of this style is quite understandable — it can create a cozy atmosphere of a country house in any room, which is relevant for both private cottages and multi-room apartments.

But what makes country different from other styles? This can be determined by the specific characteristics of the direction.

Design: Maria Nasedkina and Architect Ilya Nasonov

Features of the Living Room in Country Style

The country style is primarily associated with calmness and a relaxing atmosphere. Therefore, it predominantly uses light and warm shades that do not upset the eyes and create an impression of 'airiness' and volume. At the same time, a living room in this style avoids pompousness and clutter due to the use of simple furniture and decor elements. However, a country room can also be decorated with bright colors, provided that there is a connection with nature and naturalness.

Natural materials are a real must for country. They can be used everywhere in the form of finishing materials for walls, floors or ceilings, as well as in individual elements of the living room: wicker vases, armchairs, wooden cuckoo clocks, rough pine cabinets, etc. Natural fabrics are also part of this point. Nothing is more interesting than finishing the look of a living room with linen throws with embroidery or cotton curtains with unusual weaving.

"Rural" vintage is the best decoration for country. Antique furniture, handmade accessories perfectly complement the living room and help save money on decoration, especially if you still have household items from previous generations.

The listed features suit all directions of the country style, but it is worth remembering about the specific characteristics of national branches of country, which we will consider further.

Design: Alexei Dunaev and Marianna Zapol'skaya

Directions of the Country Style

Country in interior design is expressed through the style of 'American Ranch'. It is characterized by excessive bulkiness due to natural materials, most often unprocessed wood (beams and planks). Coarse textiles, fur and leather are also addicted elements of a country living room. They can be used as throws, woolen rugs or blankets. Authenticity is achieved with carved figurines, wooden masks with paintings and horns of wild animals.

As a result, such a room looks like a hunting lodge, more gloomy than a classic country room, but just as cozy and atmospheric.

The complete opposite of American ranch is the living room in 'English College Style'. Each element of the room reflects refinement, elegance and light stiffness. Pastel textiles with plant decor and light wood are the main materials of this direction. Among furniture are soft sofas and armchairs with matte or velour upholstery and, of course, small footstools. The name of the style also implies the presence of a small shelf with books or a full library and, as a consequence, a magazine table also covered in soft textiles. The final element is a large number of flowers in pots and vases.

Design: Alexei Dunaev and Marianna Zapol'skaya

Decoration in the Swiss variant of the country style is based on the interior of national mountain huts – chalets, built from massive posts. The interior of houses is also wooden — the ceiling consists of imitation beams, walls are finished with natural planks or boards. The color of finishing materials is necessarily light brown or gray. A living room in Swiss country style is difficult to imagine without an open hearth or stone fireplace. In addition to natural finishing materials, the interior is complemented by textiles in brown, burgundy and gray shades that can be diluted with blankets and pillows with colorful prints. The final touch is a fur hide laid on the floor or sofa.

Appreciators of minimalism and convenience will appreciate living rooms in German style. The perfect combination of colors and modesty in the amount of decor distinguish the country style in Germany. To avoid making the living room too dark, designers recommend using light finishing materials for walls, such as plaster, and dark ones for floors (laminate, processed wood). Also, on the walls, as a reference to the German village, you can make a fachwerk layout — a geometric pattern made of thin wooden planks. The decor can be finished with suspended shelves with napkins and forged accessories.

Russian country style is a relatively new, but already popular concept in the world of design direction, which formed under the influence of national Russian traditions. A living room in Russian style does not tolerate showiness, on the contrary, it is characterized by simplicity of finishing. Walls imitate log vaults in rural houses; wood is not processed and visually 'ages' with special mortars. Such a coating can be combined with plastered or whitewashed sections. Another option is imitating irregular bricklaying. Floors are laminate or wooden floorboards in wall color. Colorful accents are created with bright textiles — curtains, pillows, carpets. Furniture in the living room should be wooden, but also with rich upholstery — red, blue or green.

So, these are the main directions of country style that can be easily implemented in the living room interior.

How to Combine the Kitchen and Living Room in Country Style

It should be noted that 'rural' design of the living room allows for zoning the space if you need to accommodate a kitchen, dining area and guest area in one territory. The features of the style remain in force here as well: natural materials and pastel shades are predominantly used.

It is easiest to zone American, German and Swiss country style, as they blend well with household appliances, despite the fact that country 'does not love' chrome shine, glass and plastic. The secret lies in an abundance of dark shades and rough, unprocessed materials: the more of them there are, the more minimalist the kitchen cabinet with modern appliances fits in. In this case, the kitchen adds rough tones to the interior, which can be softened by the dining area. It is enough to lay a checkered tablecloth on a large table and put chairs with soft light upholstery that matches the tone of the sofa in the living room, and the overall look of the space will instantly acquire a minimalist appearance. You can also add decorative items characteristic of the chosen direction to the kitchen.

English country style in a living room will require more creativity from homeowners. You need to choose appliances made of matte or painted metal, preferably in vintage style. But the zoning process here is also not difficult — when setting up the dining and kitchen areas, it is enough to stick to light pastel shades with bright decorative elements.

Material, Lighting and Decor Selection for Creating Country Style

Wall and ceiling finishing is half of the final result after renovation, so it deserves special attention. Ideally, a living room should combine three main materials — wood, stone and plaster. Wood gives the interior massiveness and naturalness, especially if full-sized imitation logs or beams are used. One of the walls can be covered with textured plaster — this is a practical and inexpensive material that blends well with wood and has an unusual appearance. It can be painted in the color of forget-me-nots, fuchsias, or yellow primroses. It is not recommended to use only stone and wood in wall and ceiling finishing — these are 'visually' heavy materials that can spoil the appearance of the room.

Natural stone, parquet and tiles are the best materials for flooring. To warm up the floor covering — you can lay a wool carpet or imitation of wild animal hide (depending on the country style direction). The darker the covering, the lighter the element that complements it should be.

The next point is lighting. Living rooms are not usually closed with thick curtains, natural light should penetrate into the room without obstacles. For lighting fixtures, you can use vintage floor lamps, candelabras, designer chandeliers imitating antique lanterns and oil lamps. For them, it is better to choose LED bulbs with cool white light.

The country style in the living room is also emphasized by the furniture set. It should be simple and convenient, excluding patterns and coats of arms. Multifunctionality is also excluded. For example, a living room table should not fold out or transform into a dining table. Each element of the country interior has its own task. A distinctive feature of rural design is more wooden shelves and horizontal surfaces where you can place decorative items.

Decoration depends on the national color scheme of country style. For this, pillowcases on the sofa with hand embroidery, light cotton curtains, trinket boxes, porcelain vases, flowers, decorative figures, skins and taxidermy of animals can be used. Everything depends on how bright a room you want to see in the end.

Design: Svetlana Ilyina

Country style is an excellent choice for a private house or apartment. It allows you to create an unforgettable atmosphere of domestic comfort using simple materials and interior elements. The main thing is not to overdo it in your desire to recreate the 'rural' atmosphere at home, otherwise the living room can turn into a room full of bright splatters.