What a pleasure it can sometimes bringthe freshness of an early summer morning, which shines through starched linen curtains with glares of bright sunlight. And the sound of the wind in the treetops sounds like music! Tired of the hum of cars and the bustle of cities, we begin to understand how valuable the pastoral lyricism of the rural way of life is. We seek protection in it from the modern onslaught of aggressive lines and forms. And then the good old country style comes to our aid. Although, it is not that old. As an independent interior style, it developed later than historical styles, and received general recognition only thirty to forty years ago. It took time for people to feel the unpretentious charm and individual charm of a country interior. The reliability and weight of interior items, the naturalness of materials and the certainty of forms, even in a modern apartment, convincingly declare themselves, creating the impression of an original. The consciousness, tired of information loads, seeks rest in visual simplicity. Today, the country style is reproduced in a variety of variations – from the emphatically restrained functional rural dwelling to the tonal and plastic delights of the Provencal or Scandinavian interior. Because the country style has long outgrown the Wild West style.
From the world by thread
First, let's find out what is included in the concept"country". At first, this term referred only to a country house and one of the musical styles of North America. Do not confuse country and folk. Their difference is that "folk" means national, popular, and "country" - a rural, suburban way of life and imagery. In general, tradition prescribes to operate with the concept of "country" in relation to the interior, which we will talk about. The word "country" - country - translated from English has two meanings - a country and a village. Recently, being applicable to the style, this definition has expanded its horizons and is applied not only to an English or American country house, but also to German, Russian and Latin American motifs in urban interiors. Turning to the prototype, the original source of the international style today, you can find some features inherent in each of the nationalities. For example, the American variation suggests country-style furniture of pronouncedly primitive forms in faded blue, as if burnt out, or ocher, reddish - acquired the color of a sunset in the prairie. Painted sideboards, cabinets, beds, patchwork quilts look very impressive in such an interior. Furniture is painted with trees, flowers, sometimes including a tendril ornament. The modern American country style was influenced by energetic pioneers, the poetry of the Wild West, a certain adventurism of undeveloped areas and the lyricism of Western secluded ranches. In the English tradition, country demonstrates the priority of comfort in everything - from the layout of the house, furniture to accessories. In the English country style, floral ornaments and rich colors in handmade textiles or upholstery are actively used. The French country style in the interior is known as the provincial style, the name of which comes from the style of furniture made by hand in Languedoc, Provence, Normandy and Brittany. Solid large objects are designed to reproduce simplified things in the historical styles of classicism and baroque. Hand-made French furniture is painted and decorated in sunny bright colors. The features of this type of country include Breton beds, as if hidden inside a wooden carved box. Color in French country gives additional expressiveness to traditional volumes and shapes. Walls are painted white or shades of ochre. In bedrooms, the walls are upholstered with fabric, and floors, as in the times of the Gauls and Romans, are made in French rural houses from terracotta tiles. In Russia, the appearance of country can be conditionally attributed to the Art Nouveau era, when the cult of peasant folk objects began to form. Things in this period had an emphatically rustic design. The fashion for country was determined by social reasons - peasants moving to cities brought their ideas of convenience and beauty and their aesthetics to urban life. The Russian national specificity of country music manifested itself in the fashion for icons – they were considered a stylish element of the interior. They tried to fit spindles, donets, spinning wheels bought in villages into city apartments. Nowadays, country style has become part of postmodern culture and conceals an intellectual intention.
Country life
Country style determines the layout featurestaking into account the expediency and comfort. Zoning and the ratio of rooms, their sizes, as well as the height of the ceilings are dictated by functional considerations. The principles of country, with all the variety of solutions, are approximately the same. The interior of a country house in the country style is distinguished by a fireplace with a chimney or a fireplace and a single space of the kitchen-dining room and living room, around which other rooms are formed. On the second floor, which forms a gallery, there are bedrooms. The country style is mainly determined by the atmosphere of a decorative, conventional village idyll with a certain national specificity. Considering the country style, we first talk about the generalized image of a country house, and only then its "nationality" is determined - a Russian hut, a Swiss chalet, an English cottage or an American ranch. Of the planning compositions, the free one is preferable today. It allows you to add additional ones to the central volume. But the country style, adapted to urban conditions, offers many different, functionally different rooms. In a city apartment, you should do without complex redevelopments, providing stylization with decoration. Especially since country provides all the opportunities for this.
Design and materials
Country music's popularity is based on popularityeco-design. Choosing natural materials - deliberately roughly processed wood and stone, country also allows their imitation, but the main principle remains environmental friendliness. Country-style rooms are characterized by paved floors, solid wooden floorboards, fragments of stonework and plastered walls. Imitation of wooden structures in modern interiors becomes an element of decor. Combinations of materials can be very diverse. The main thing is to know when to stop. Walls can be decorated with paper wallpaper with a naive pattern, ceramic tiles, colorful textiles, facing stone or decorative plaster. Here it is necessary to take into account that country in itself is a “warm” style, so the use of stone should be wisely dosed. Aged brass or bronze are suitable as metal parts. Hand-forged items fit well into the interior. In the design of windows, walls and floors, you can use arrangements of companion fabrics. You need to be able to feel the ratio of textile elements. For example, a combination of wool and chintz or linen and chintz is attractive even from the tactile senses. When decorating a window, you do not need to use complex draperies. They are compensated in this style by the texture and pattern of the fabric. Ecological country design involves ordinary curtains. In decorating floors, multi-colored rugs and carpets are used. The patchwork technique is used to make decorative pillows, bedspreads and decorative elements for walls. Patchwork blankets are experiencing a rebirth. The patchwork technique has become fashionable for artistic processing thanks to the country style. The charm and beauty of country is in the uniqueness and uniqueness of each thing. Country style furniture for the dining room is a sideboard, a dining table and stools, and for the bedroom - a wardrobe and a bed made of roughly processed wood. This is the minimum that is both necessary and sufficient at the same time. The requirement for these compositions is the notorious rural simplicity. And it is no coincidence that city dwellers strive for these symbols of reliability and stability, which are today embodied in the country style.
