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"Quite a bit of what you'll find on this page is completely free country style home decor."
(As for the rest, you may well find yourself unable to spend your entire pocket money on any of these tips, ideas or items!)
Wildflowers
The star of free country style home decor must be a bouquet of wildflowers – they really are free, too. They look lovely combined with grasses and foliage (increase the amount of foliage if flowers are in short supply). Go for a variety of leaf shapes and hues of green. The secret is not to get too precious about the bouquet – small flowers in a mad mix of colors work much better than big, lush, showy blossoms (so, no roses).
A more contemporary way of using wildflowers as country style home decor is the following: Take a number of small glasses (or other small vessels that will hold water), and fill them with single heads of one kind of flower. Bunch the ‘vases’ together or arrange them in a row.
Crockery
If you’re lucky, your country decor includes some rustic crockery, handed down in the family, or thrown out by someone else and found by you.If you haven’t been that lucky, you could invest a few coins (or notes, if you must) at a second-hand shop or yard sale.
Look for jugs in rounded shapes and heavy quality earthenware or porcelain. If it’s a bit chipped that will probably add to its charm.
See if you can use the crockery in your household - you could store kitchen utensils in an antique jar, or fill a bowl with fruit, or a mug with flowers.
Collect only pieces you really like. In country decorating, there’s no real need for matching sets of crockery. The fact that you love these items is what holds them all together and makes them a collection. Over time, they will ‘attract’ similar pieces.
Fruit
Unless you have your own orchard outside the back door, you'll probably have to buy the fruit, so maybe this doesn't really count as cheap country style decorating - but seeing as you would have bought that fruit anyway (ahem! You would have, wouldn't you?), I thought I'd add the idea here.
Most fruit makes for colorful, natural displays. You don't even need a 'country style' bowl - just take any old bowl or plate, cover it with a (paper) napkin, and fill it with fruit.On second thought, you don't even always need a large container for this kind of country style home decor.
- Line up some lovely red-cheeked apples on the windowsill or on a mantelpiece.
- Fill a small plate with bright-red rosehips.
- Keep a handful of assorted nuts, almonds, and a nutcracker in a large glass. It will be just like the olden days, before plastic bags.
Linen
But you could recycle old garments into country style home decor - pieces of used white, cream or tan cotton and linen (florals, checks or stripes work as well).
The rougher the weave, the better. Tea-stain the fabric, bleach it, or do both.
Stitch the pieces together to make a patchwork cushion cover or two. Or create a doily to put under your vase filled with wildflowers. If you have the time, you could embroider it a little (the doily, I mean. It doesn’t take long at all.)
Hide the High Tech
Create some free country style home decor by hiding things away. Modern electrical appliances, super straight lines and shiny, metallic surfaces aren’t always at ease in country style homes. Keep them out of sight as much as you can.
Wood is Good
Wood is the staple of country decor. Consider using inexpensive wooden (kitchen) tools, or stripping and waxing old wooden furniture.
You can also create country style home decor by recycling found wooden objects: Make a coatrack by attaching coat hangers to a smooth piece of driftwood, or mount a wall lamp on a plank, for example.
Photographs
Wall art is a relatively recent element of home decorating. In historic country dwellings, pictures showed either religious scenes or deceased family members. Not many people could afford oil paintings; most had photographs or prints.Maybe you don’t want saints or ancestors on the walls of your country style home, but you could always use black-and-white or sepia-colored photographs instead of full-color ones. They look much more ‘authentic’ amongst country decor.
These photos don’t really qualify as cheap country style home decor, but they aren’t hideously expensive either. And they look great in ‘rustic’, wooden frames.
A Pared-Down Look
Some people confuse country decor with country clutter – they fill their house with ‘decorative objects’ to evoke a country lifestyle. This is very understandable ... after all, there are so many lovely things out there. But historically, a country home was mostly about functionality.
You’re much closer to the mark if you surround yourself with things that are both beautiful and useful - not just beautiful, or just old and rustic. Finding or making country style home decor is great fun, even more so when it literally ’works’ - when you can put it to good use.
If you're into creating rustic country interiors, you'll find some more inspiration on any of the following pages:
Country Style Decorating - How to Get the Look
Interior Rustic Pictures
Country Style Bedroom Furniture
Country Style Living Room Furniture
Country Style Sofas
Rustic Country Style Decor
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