Thrifty Country Decorating (Or From Boxer Shorts to Country Quilt)
The Country Look —our favorite of all the home decorating genre, is also the style that can be achieved easily and frugally. You don’t have to have the J.C. Penney’s lady come to your house with large binders full of swatches in order to beautifully decorate your homestead. If you can afford extravagance, that’s great. But don’t feel limited by a modest budget.
Bringing in some FLOWERS or greenery, either planted by you or wildcrafted, and placed in a mason jar on the kitchen table or nightstand is a lovely country touch. It attests to a beauty beyond the work of human hands.
PICTURES of family members warm up a house. They don’t need to be expensive portraits of stylishly clad children in lace and bows. Close-up snapshots of sweet little faces will hold all the memories of how things really were and will tell those within “you belong here.”
Decorate your homestead with WORDS. Put what you value into words on the walls. Meaningful and motivating phrases, character traits and mottos, both comfort and teach. Scripture verses provide excellent selections. You can try your own hand at calligraphy or use an interesting computer font. Framed or unframed, these words will get memorized without even trying. There are WORDS for each bedroom, entry way, gathering place — even the barn.
Much of what makes up the country look is handmade or gathered by hand with little or no cost; such as handmade quilts, rugs, folk art, dried flowers, branches and pinecones.
Scrap quilts blossom from the humble roots of old clothes and fabric scraps. (Here's how I made a baby quilt for $1.50.) My husband was throwing out a bunch of worn out boxer shorts when the great epiphany came to me. 100% cotton… variety of tiny dark plaids… Yes! The great country quilt à la Americana!
Rag rugs have traditionally been made from old clothing or sheets. They can be crocheted or braided. These handmade throw rugs give the home a look of true country authenticity.
Thrift stores and garage sales turn up treasures for the discerning shopper. Creating the charming homestead is less about spending a lot of money and more about your own creative resourcefulness. The little touches you add make a statement that says “somebody loves this place.”
Country Artwork by Robert Duncan
