Americana Country Decorating
One way to add a touch of warmth and a relaxed rural feel to your home is by incorporating Americana country decorating into your interior design plans. Americana style leans on washed or dulled-down red, white and blue for its color scheme, while country décor is reminiscent of old homesteads and farms. Luckily, primitive and Americana decorations are readily available in antique malls, craft shops and online, making decorating your home a cinch. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Paint, if needed
- Wood furniture
- Pillows and drapes, as needed
- Accessories
Instructions
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Paint the wall and trim colors in the room you're working on while considering the color scheme of Americana style, which is more beige, burgundy and navy than a crisp red, white and blue. For example, paint the room walls beige and the trim navy blue for an older country feel.
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Bring in furniture with a washed-out coloring of the red, white or blue, or wood that is medium to dark like oak or mahogany or made from barnwood. If you don't want to commit to a specific color for your furniture, natural wood or an off white can provide a base for the room that can fit other décor themes later on.
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Add in braided area rugs or woven small rugs to give the room a rustic feel. Often home-style braided rugs can be found in reds, which can appear as a neutral when used as flooring to encourage even the most timid of decorators to include red in the Americana theme.
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Use fabrics in the room from throw pillows to curtains, which include the dulled color scheme. As you select the patterns on the fabric, keep in mind the stars and stripes that make up the American flag through homespun gingham patterns or rustic asymmetrical star prints.
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Add accessories to the room from small trunks to crocks and country baskets as well as figures of farm animals. A grouping of red rooster wood carvings, for example, can be set on top of a blue storage trunk or hard-shell suitcase. Try to use items which show images of farm landscapes, sheep, cows or ducks or items like eggs, apples, saddles or wagons.
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Avoid using too many frilly, highly decorative or overly detailed items when choosing your fabrics and accessories. Americana country is based on the simplicity of country life in the U.S,, not on having decorative, nonfunctional items cluttering your space.
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Tips & Warnings
When shopping for Americana country items in stores or antique malls, try to visualize the room you are buying for and put the item you are considering in it. If you don't think the item meets the needs you have for color, design or style, then don't buy it for that room.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Richard Goerg/Photodisc/Getty Images
