What represents Country Living?

First thoughts on living in the countryside evoke a feeling of calm and inner serenity. Rural living provides isolation from the fast-paced towns and cities. Existing in a slower-pace of life enables a person to appreciate what surrounds them, instead of rushing through life and bypassing the beauty on nature. Man-made structures are few and far between, and any architectural forms are generally unique and reflect designs of the past. Rural dwellers are not only surrounded by expanses of greenery, but may also have the opportunity to connect with nature in their own garden. Within the country cottage garden, the cottage garden fanatic may create a sensory environment of bright floral colours, and sweet smelling aromas.



Within the country cottage, there may be influences from a farming lifestyle of working on the land. Typical reflections of this lifestyle are most likely to be found in the kitchen, the heart of the home. Materials from nature can be found in the items of furniture, such as wooden dressers decorated with plates baring countryside imagery, or wooden stools with a similar appearance to those used by milk maids, or perhaps a great kitchen table, with a rustic wooden top and distressed painted legs. Within the country home, nature may be replicated using textiles adorned with floral prints.



For the upper classes living in the countryside, their connections to the land may exist in the form of traditional country sports. Animals of the country present a great opportunity for those who partake in shooting parties. It is not only the act of shooting that contributes to the concept of country living, but the image includes traditional dress. Tweed jackets and flat caps exist as elements of the traditional dress for the sport of shooting.

These impressions of country life are directly related to designs for the cafe/bar at Burton Mill. The overall design will reflect peace and calm, with soft, neutral colours adopted throughout the main structure of the interior. Like the country cottage, the cafe furniture is intended to be made from wood, and painted with a distressed look. Floral prints will be introduced in the form of upholstery, while traditional reference to shooting will be included in the form of tweed fabrics. Although these fabrics will bare a connection to traditional ideas of country life, they will be chosen from contemporary collections. This modern twist will be particularly apparent in the colours, which will be bright and eye-catching, in order to update the image of rural living.

Written by: Nichola Hayler

Sources: Google  Images