BUT FIRST, WHAT IS MODERN COUNTRY?

We’re all familiar with classic English country house style as it’s an enduring look that has been popular for decades. Its hallmarks are deep, comfy sofas; an abundance of prints and chintzes in floral, checks and stripes; elegant clutter; layered rugs; lots of lamps and books (and yes, dogs), as well as a degree of relaxed charm and a dash of rural eccentricity. Interestingly, the woman who bought the style to the international masses was an American, Nancy Lancaster, who purchased the luxury fabric and wallpaper firm Colefax and Fowler in the 1940’s. The popularity of the style has remained steady in the country, but it has been in and out of vogue in the urban design scene ever since. The last time we saw it peak here was the 1990’s, when festoon-like Austrian blinds and ruffled skirts on sofas reigned supreme (mine were a thick butter yellow and white stripe and of course now I’m kicking myself, wishing I’d kept them rather than dropped them off at a Salvo’s).

The new look modern country style is once again very fabric-forward. We are seeing ruffled skirts below sinks and tables, even in chic high-end urban homes. Blowsy floral prints have made their comeback too, along with dainty ditsy florals, checks, thick stripes and narrow ticking. They’re all combined in a glorious jumble, with mixed pattern scales for the best visual effect. Iconic brands like Laura Ashley and Cath Kidston are enjoying a revival, and our social feeds are teeming with memes extolling the joys of ‘intentional clutter’. Take a look at the glorious insta feed of @sean_anthony_pritchard, who brings his lush gardening skills indoors in the most seemingly haphazard but gloriously curated scenes of country style.

HOW I CREATED A MODERN COUNTRY STYLE BEDROOM

Whilst the new version of the look is by no means minimalist, it is a bit less fulsome and maybe a little more streamlined than its previous incarnations. For instance, carpets and rugs are unlikely to be floral – instead, natural looking jutes and sisals are being used. I selected a jute rug Madras Jute in Natural a rug which lends an organic, earthy feel to the room and really grounds the whole scene, so it doesn’t become overly fussy.

For my floors, I went for timber as it is the ideal base for creating country style – whether you’re actually living rural or, like me, just wishing to be. I found a brilliant product at Carpet Court - the Amalfi timber floor - which is designed to be incredibly robust as well as beautiful, and comes in a great variety of shades, from light and pale through to rich and chocolatey. I decided on a mid-toned, almost Oak-like shade, called Tovere, that works equally well with contemporary or vintage furniture, in large or small paces and with lighter or moodier interior colour schemes. The boards are 1900mm wide, which gives it a very relaxed look, and the abovementioned jute rug looks delicious on it. The Amalfi feels silky-smooth underfoot, and I can confirm that my dog loves to lounge on it whenever she can too.

It's the bed that really establishes the modern country look here. Again, I kept the bedhead quite plain so that the bedlinen could be mixed and matched to my heart’s desire. It is from Heatherly Design bedheads and is a stunning thick white linen with a pale green velvet piping to up the luxe factor a little. From there, I layered with a small-scale daisy print floral duvet cover and euro pillowcases from Chyka Keebaugh’s Home range for Harris Scarfe. I have an enduring love for geraniums and pelargoniums, so I added the glorious pelargonium pillowcases from Lazybones, which introduced a pop of red that I then repeated in the bedside lamp bases, picture frames and an old timber chair. The lamps were cheap and cheerful from K-mart, which I custom painted in Taubman’s Red Alert, and into the small timber frames I placed some charming little geranium postcards I bought online. I then added a few little dashes of chambray blue with a cotton throw, and another Chyka Home floral block-print cushion. A plump, inviting bed is key to this look, so I always use two or even three duvets to get a really luxurious looking bed.

Again, in the spirit of not going too over the top with pattern, I decided on plain sheer curtains, the Seattle S-Waves in Chalk which, being weighted at the base, billow so beautifully and gently in the breeze. Behind these are block out blinds, the Contemporary Block Out in Quill, which manage to brilliantly block the city lights, even if I’m dreaming that’s it a nighttime country sky full of stars. If I keep dreaming hard enough, maybe one day it will be!