Friday, October 12, 2012

Decorate With Primitives

Twig baskets make practical decorative accessories.


The primitive decorating style embraces decorative items that are literally a little rough around the edges. It draws its inspiration from the early days of America. Decorative items were often functional and items made for purely decorative reasons showed the rough handiwork of the early settler taking a break from other chores. Although the old days have long since passed, the touch of primitive decorating styles of old can still be seen in country styles today. Does this Spark an idea?


Instructions


1. Decorate the fireplace with pottery crocks and cast iron skillets and pans. Primitive style embraced the activities of day-to-day living. Cast iron skillets, old pots and the big Dutch oven all figured prominently in the living room/kitchen area. Look for crocks that look like they're homemade and place them in groups of three or five by the mouth of the fireplace. Hang the pots and pans from nails that you've pounded into the mantel.


2. Store items like knitting supplies, magazines and extra blankets in twig baskets of various sizes. The more handmade the baskets look, the better. Place these at the end of the couch, on built-in shelves or hang them from the rafters if they have handles.


3. Decorate an unused corner with hand-carved sculptures and figurines. These sculptures usually come in the primary colors or earth tones and look a little dull in appearance, because they're not painted with glossy paint. You can make these look seasonal by choosing seasonally appropriate items like Santas in the winter and country kids in the spring.


4. Throw handmade quilts over the back of the sofa and fill some open shelves in the hallway with quilts rolled up in thick bundles. If you have a cupboard in the living room, replace the doors with chicken wire and store the quilts in there to become part of the decor of the living room or den.


5. Hang some primitive and folk art. Some appropriate choices include work by Warren Kimble and Grandma Moses as well as hand-painted signs decorated with ribbon. Add some primitive candle wall sconces to the display for extra light. Swags made of dried berries and twine finish the look.


6. Show off an antique doll collection on an old bench. If the dolls look a bit tattered and worn, that's even better. Look for dolls with sawdust-filled heads, hand-stitched clothes and worn leather or cloth shoes.


7. Gravitate toward furniture that looks handmade. The chairs of your table can be slightly mismatched. The rocker should look a little rough.


8. Bring a simple dash of color to your kitchen table by decorating it with a pale full of fresh flowers from your garden. An antique granite ware watering can or an old-fashioned milk bucket would be appropriate.

Tags: living room, iron skillets, items like, little rough, look little