How to Decorate Your Home with Primitive Country Decor

Natural wood decorations add to a primitive decor.

Creating a primitive decor is easy to do if you strip away everything but the bare necessities and use only natural materials. However, it isn't always possible to live this simply, so add as many basic elements from a primitive decor as possible to achieve the look and feel of this simple and rustic design. Decorate a room slowly to give yourself time to collect just the right objects to enhance your decor.

Things You'll Need

• Hardwood flooring
• Wood furniture
• Dried flowers
• Antiques
• Homespun textiles
• Cast iron pots
• Whitewash

Instructions

1. Use natural wood throughout the home. Install hardwood flooring and use simple wood furnishings, such as Shaker-style furniture.

2. Add elements from nature, such as dried flowers and stuffed animals. Find accessories made from animal parts, such as an antler coat rack and a bearskin rug.

3. Collect antique items, particularly those that aren't easy to find in contemporary design, such as a jelly cupboard and a sugar chest. Adorn shelves with old collectibles like a bowl and pitcher or hand-carved wood bowls. Use items that mimic antique pieces if originals aren't available.

4. Limit your textiles to natural, homespun fibers, such as handmade quilts and woven throws. Avoid synthetics and bold, unnatural colors. Dress the windows with simple curtains or only sheers.

5. Introduce metal elements to the rooms, such as cast iron pots and pans, wrought iron furniture and pewter decorations.

6. Whitewash the walls or give them a soft, natural hue such as earth tones. If the walls are a natural material, as in a log cabin, leave them untouched.

References

• Decorating Country Homes: Primitive Bathroom Decorating
• Country Living: The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Decorating
• A Primitive Place: The Keeping Room