Primitive Country Furniture and Decor

By Eric D Klein

Primitive country furniture brings a harmonious balance into your home with the rest of your decor. These hand-crafted, rustic, and pre-aged furnishings provide warm and welcome comfort to your family and your visitors. For decades the cabin decor, Adirondack, and mountain lodge styles have been known as the least imposing and most comfortable styles available to the country decorator. Primitive country furniture will blend nicely with other similar decorating styles such as the ones listed above and even Arts and Crafts, Mission Movement, French Country and Craftsman furniture. Now, through the incomparable woodworkers of the Amish communities, you too can recreate the surroundings of the great outdoors in your own country home. Your furniture will be understated with simple classic lines.

Cloth and paint colors are neutral or in early Americana colors. The primitive furniture and pillows will be cozy and overstuffed. In the old days, many primitive country furnishings were made from twigs, branches and other natural elements - so look for earthy colors and uneven tones. Primitive country furniture series has tables, chairs, desks, armoires, nightstands, dressers, benches, beds, and thick wood coffee tables. You'll find them painted, raw, aged, or in artisan hand crafted, old fashioned, traditional designs. The primary feature of this style country furniture is the use of materials from reused pieces, barns, and posts. Planks are old, or fashioned to appear vintage or antique. Some primitive furniture has been created and decorated with bark, branches and twigs. Each log and twig is especially chosen for their shape and texture - right down to the decorative trim. The chunky wood styles of primitive country furniture lend themselves easily to armoires, wardrobes and big tables. Big chests and trunks also double as an innovative coffee table or bench for the foot of the bed.

In the double drawer wardrobe you'll find much more than a closet. Plain oval dining tables with benches make excellent primitive country dining sets. The wooden wall cupboards, wardrobes, plate racks, and hutches give your dining room a comfortable, country style. Or, place a rectangular work table in your kitchen, and use antique kitchenware for your cooking and serving - this brings back memories of an old farm house, doesn't it? Use traditional lighting and chandeliers for a truer experience - with those roughly finished cupboards and racks nearby the kitchen experience will be rustic, homey, warm. There are many different ways obtain primitive country furniture, and they aren't all expensive! Buying used furniture and roughing it up to age it, or overstuffing and recovering larger pieces are two easy and inexpensive alternatives.

This repurposing of existing furniture is also good for the environment. Just because your existing piece of furniture isn't working for you today, doesn't mean that it can't be changed to work for you in the future. For instance, a friend of mine was given an ugly outdated, veneer covered entertainment unit. It was large and just what she needed for her dining room to display her plate collection and cookbooks. We spent 1/2 a day sanding, painting and aging the piece and today everyone asks where they can get primitive country pieces just like hers! Country decor is possible with all the rooms of your house. You can decorate your home wholly or partially in the country style.

So take a look at your existing furniture with a creative eye and consider some of the ways below to changing it to suit your style: Paint, then sand and stain. You won't believe how different a piece of furniture can look once sanded, painted and stained. You can even change the style of the piece. A cheap wooden Ikea table turned into a beautifl primitive country coffee table (years after use) with a thick application of crackle paint and whitewash finish. Outdated dressers can also change. Change the hardware. A few vintage, restoration or antique handles, hinges or pulls can turn a piece of wood furniture into a rustic masterpiece. Similar to painting, staining and sanding, old glass balls or brass handles add primitive to any previously country furnishing. One of my favorites is to re-upholster or re-cover a sofa, chair, loveseat or footstool. Thick primitive fabric is now easier to come by than ever before (or just look for muslin) to update a piece of furniture.

If you don't think you have the skill to re-upholster a piece, shop around for some country slipcovers - instant change. Buy antique or vintage pieces. Besides being environmentally friendly, those deals fit right into primitive country decor. Rather than spending $2000 and more on a new couch or dining set, why not shop around for something similar, but gently used? Primitive country furniture is available at affordable prices and will lend that welcome air to any room of your home. Country decor reduces the modern air to most homes and apartments - enhancing the peaceful and authentic nature of your home and your family members.

Eric Klein has been working with many home owners throughout the years on obtaining the best furniture for the best price based on client taste and style. Today he shares his information and favorite websites with everyone for free online at http://www.primitivecountry
decor.com.

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Decorating a Country Style Kitchen

A kitchen could be aptly considered the "meat and potatoes" of your home. It's where everyone comes together to eat and talk. It's where a lot of families will sit down and discuss their days. And it is also the place most heavily visited when having a party. If you're looking to add some country cheer to your kitchen, the following article will tell you how to accomplish this goal.

A country style kitchen has a lot of early American character. Farm found animals are very popular in this setting. Usually one animal is chosen and focused on for decoration. There might be roosters, cows, pigs, or chicks strategically placed in different parts of the room. Another chosen theme may be the colors of this country. Family is certainly important in this particular design style as well so there may be a family tree on display or alternately, there may be photos of family members placed in different parts of the room.

A country style kitchen is typically an eat-in kitchen where the kitchen table is placed within the kitchen itself. There is usually no formal dining room included in this setting; therefore, the table itself becomes part of the decor. The table will be made of a hard solid wood such as oak. A nice country touch on a table would be visible knots from the trees that the table was made out of. The kitchen table's chairs will also be made of hard wood, have high backs, and usually a padded decorated seat. Other furniture may include a china cabinet and/or hutch in addition to a buffet that may be used for serving a buffet style meal.

Accessories found in this kitchen will most likely follow the chosen pattern. For instance, if you've chosen to decorate with roosters, then many of the accessories will be in the shape of a rooster. There are cookie jars, hot pads and trivets, toaster covers, and a host of other accessories that can be designed into what you've chosen for your theme in your kitchen. If that's not enough, there will most likely be art displayed on the walls that will match the already discussed accessories. Unity and coherence will be shown through the use of the accessories and pictures that will adorn your kitchen. Some items will be functional and others will simply be pleasing to the eye, but they should all match your chosen theme.

A country style kitchen is one with a long history. It's an old favorite and still enjoyed by many. With the right items and time and effort, your kitchen will be mulling along so peacefully you might actually be tempted to use that butter churn that you bought for decor.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/decorating-a-country-style-kitchen-126162.html

Lee Dobbins writes for Home Decorating and Home Improvement where you can learn more about different decorating styles including how to decorate each room in your home with Country decorating style.