Country houses are no longer all about tea roses and chintz. Color trends for country houses are making country retreats playful and bold while still remaining steeped in tradition.
Mix and Chic featured designer Jeffrey Bilhuber’s country house which is a riot of color and pattern and proves that you can teach old dogs new tricks.
It’s crazy to think all of these rooms coexist in one house. If you ever told me that electric blue draped tables, cherry red hutches, purple tufted chairs and lime green walls could somehow work in one house, I would have called you a liar. The key is that they are in a country house which by nature tends to be a more haphazard when it comes to design.
Generations usually make their mark, buy quirky things and leave them to the next generation to sort out. All told, it’s the classic architecture, quality lighting and authentic materials that create a cozy backdrop for traditional furniture to be upholstered in pops of color.
It’s amazing that one of the colors of the year, Rose quartz, is featured heavily in this house. The soft, highly saturated color looks beautiful whether painted, used in the bedding or sprayed on metal dining chairs. Don’t forget to brighten up this color at night with traditional wall lights.
If you don’t want to commit to upholstering furniture in bright colors, why not simply paint your walls? Turquoise is featured heavily in this house and looks cheerful and appropriate when pared with rich woods as seen in the sink backslash or simple white trim.
Here are some classic but not stuffy ways to infuse color and tradition into a county style house.
1. Keep you kitchen cheerful with this contemporary red pendant light.
2. Who can resist a navy tufted accent chair for a lazy afternoon of reading.
3. Embrace your inner lodge with antlers made of aluminum.
4. Nothing says timeless like a brass swing arm wall lamp with a pleated shade.
5. I like the look of a rustic and distressed table lamp with a twisted base for country interiors.
6. Bold and soft describes this turquoise looped mohair throw blanket.
7. Stay on-trend with an antique iron desk lamp with a rose quartz tweed shade.
Photos: Mix and Chic.