Many city dwellers, tired of the hustle and bustle of the city, strive in the warm season to move closer to nature, clean air and silence, disturbed only by the singing of birds. In this regard, small country houses have found a new life. Used, unlike country houses, only for a few months a year, they do not claim to require large financial investments in organizing and decorating everyday life. But at the same time, interesting ideas for country interiors are increasingly present in the works of professional designers and architects.
We offer several options for stylistic solutions for decorating the interior and veranda of a country house, which can be used without resorting to the services of outsiders.
We are not afraid of old country walls
Cracked boards on the walls can ruin the mood of any housewife. But you can coat them with light, environmentally friendly paint, which will highlight the texture of the wood. Place an old sofa, decorated with new covers, against the wall. Hang a collage of family photographs on the wall, and you will get the feeling of an old family nest. Fresh flowers in vases will bring airiness and freshness to the interior.
A dining table with comfortable chairs for the whole family can be selected and purchased in an online furniture store at a very affordable price. Decorated with an old grandmother's tablecloth or a tablecloth specially knitted by you, it will serve as a place for family gatherings and tea parties in the evenings.
Style
The interior of a country house should be such that you want to come to the dacha as often as possible. Let's look at some styles that are suitable for country life and allow you to use what was once sent into exile from a city apartment.
Country or "rustic" style
The most universal, reflecting the special flavor of the country where it is used. Simplicity and bright accents, the use of natural materials and natural fabrics - all this gives the country style charm and soulfulness.
Provence
One of the most favorite trends is this French style. Light shades of furniture, plaster-like wall decoration, forging elements, wicker baskets and textiles with soft floral motifs are the main distinctive features of the style.
This is where old furniture comes in handy, which you can decorate in Provence style with your own hands. True, you will have to work on them - if necessary, remove the varnish and paint them with light-colored paint.
It would be appropriate to use lace tablecloths, curtains with lace trim, bouquets of wild flowers - dried or fresh, wicker furniture, flower pots and flower pots with a variety of plants. Interior items can be decorated with appliqué in the decoupage style, combining them with a single style.
Light painted walls and floors are constant attributes of the Provence style. If the walls in the house are covered with clapboard, you should paint them white, but the beams can be highlighted in dark brown.
"Russian Country"
This is a special flavor of a village hut, where there is a large stove, simple wooden furniture, bright rugs and chintz curtains on the windows.
The village hut style involves the use of patchwork for bedspreads and pillows (for making, you can use clothes that you no longer wear), rugs from scraps, crocheted tablecloths. All these decorative interior elements can be purchased today, so there is no need to spend time on handicrafts yourself.
It’s good if the interior contains antique objects - a samovar, a spinning wheel, a spindle, or simply various crafts made of wood, including those made by yourself.
Classic
This direction includes the English rustic style, characterized by restraint and aristocracy. Furniture that matches this style is usually dark brown or red-brown in color. The floors, window frames, and doors are also painted in these colors.
To decorate the walls, use strict wallpaper with discreet floral patterns or checkered patterns; it is good if these motifs are repeated in textiles. It is impossible to imagine English classic country style without a fireplace and armchairs near it. Remember that the English style is characterized by a sense of proportion, so do not overload the space with decor.
Style of Russian noble estate
It will also be a classic style. This style is similar to English classic country, but a little “lighter”. If you want to give your home a “Chekhovian” flavor, then you should plaster the walls and paint them olive green, blue-gray or pink-brown. It is better to choose textiles of the same shade as the walls, but a little brighter or a couple of shades darker.
Hang paintings or prints on the walls in simple dark brown wooden frames, preferring modest still lifes and landscapes. Glazed cabinets for books and dishes will also look great in a “Chekhov” interior.
Minimalism
Supporters of this modern style in country interiors should pay attention to Scandinavian country. The decoration uses light gray and white shades. A minimum of simple furniture, the absence of complex details and decorative elements - all this allows you to create a special space that gives a person a feeling of freedom and peace.
A sense of proportion and a sense of purity of Scandinavian minimalism allows a city dweller to pay attention to the main thing why he came out of town - to the beauty of nature outside the window.
Dacha as a family heirloom
What is a family heirloom? This is a memory of a certain historical period in the life of a family or of a loved one who, alas, has passed away into the world. Or perhaps this is the basis of some clan legend. To create an interior in this stylistic direction, things that have long been sent to the dacha will help, but which you don’t raise your hand to throw away, because they contain memory and history.
Grandma's dressing table, refreshed with light paint, placed in the corner of the veranda near the large window will temporarily become your work office. Sitting down at it, you will certainly remember the person dear to you. And you might even feel the warmth of his hands.
An old reproduction, a collage of photographs or a small modular picture of a family archive in a new frame under glass, a variety of shelves, both “living” in the country for a long time, and recently purchased from an online store, will decorate the dull walls of an old building.
SMALL ONE-STOREY HOUSE – LOW, ELONGED RECTANGULAR HOUSES WITH FLAT ROOFS
Here we have selected long and narrow rectangular country houses, mostly one-story horizontal structures. We've seen a lot of these modern minimalist designs in Nordic countries like Finland, Norway and Sweden, but now they're popping up everywhere. Below are three examples from three different countries. But they all share one common design element: a small part of the building is open air on both sides, either permanently (without walls) or protected by glass walls. With a narrow glazing profile, you can see nature on both sides of the house without leaving your chair. The ability to easily incorporate this element is one of the main attractions of this type of architecture. This allows you to add a highly desirable home feature - a covered porch or outdoor living area - without deviating from the simple plan of a wooden rectangular building. These are very economical and very modern designs.
A flat roof offers a completely different aesthetic, and if you are drawn to minimalism and want to build a small home on a budget - this may be the most affordable type of design for you as it requires less material and is easier to build. There are many advantages to these low and narrow designs. They are senior-friendly as all rooms are on the ground floor and they are also the most energy efficient as they are easy to heat or cool. Elongated rectangular architecture is also one of the standards for prefabricated structures.
Additionally, flat roof structures may be most suitable for locations that experience high winds (high wind loads), such as ocean areas, high mountain ridges, cliffs, and wide-open areas.
This New Zealand house (below) was designed as a wooden container. But it's much more than that. With its low verandas, it becomes a home for guests - with views of the ocean and countryside. And when you are ready to leave, the verandas and shutters will be closed and it will become a sealed wooden container in your absence. The house is entirely wooden - inside and out, in the tradition of New Zealand construction.
Homemade furniture in the attic of the cottage
Usually, attics and attics in a country house are cluttered with a bunch of unnecessary things. When the owners come here for a short time, they do not have time to sort out all the accumulated junk. But there are wonderful places to set up a children's room or bedroom. The dimensions of these rooms do not always allow the use of furniture made in production, but it is quite possible to create it yourself.
A wide podium bed with drawers and numerous storage cabinets under the roof slopes, made from furniture panels, will be in tune with the wooden decoration of the room. Leaving the natural color of the wood or covering all wooden parts of furniture and wall cladding with acrylic paint, which will only emphasize the beauty of the texture of the lining, is a matter of taste.
Additional accessories: bed linen, bedspreads will be splashes of color into the overall color palette.
Bathroom of a private house
To decorate in a rustic style, they use antique, out-of-fashion cast iron alloy bathtubs, mounted on large legs, often made in the form of animal paws. Often the bathroom is combined, and this is an excellent alternative to an outdoor summer shower and a country toilet.
Typical for a country house bathroom:
- installation of an autonomous sewer system;
- location of water supply pipes at the desired slope;
- saving space and compact furnishings.
If you have or are planning to have children, then you should take care of stone or tile flooring. This will allow children to play without fear of getting the floorboards wet, since wood can rot quite quickly from water and moisture.
Vintage in a natural frame
It’s nice to have secluded corners in your dacha for reading or doing handicrafts. If you have a pair of vintage armchairs, they are perfect for creating this relaxation area. Decorating the walls of a room with clapboard will be an excellent setting for a new life for old things.
Posters, grandma's embroidery placed in frames, a cozy fabric lampshade will enhance the pleasant impression of the created interior. A warm fluffy carpet will keep your feet warm.
A small coffee table and armchairs that look like antiques, like any other piece of furniture, can be purchased in an online store.
An equally good place for a relaxation area can be organized on the terrace by hanging an old garden hammock next to an antique chair or sofa group, in which, among the many pillows, you can take a nap after a family dinner.
SMALL, COZY WOODEN HOUSES OF UNUSUAL SHAPE
Small country houses are ideal subjects for experimenting with unusual architectural ideas. Maybe you wanted to have your own children's playhouse, or maybe you want a high-tech home that uses all the latest architectural tricks, or maybe you just want to be very original. Then wood is the ideal material for creativity. Here are some examples of other people's creativity.
This country wooden house is shaped like a boat, but there is no sea. It is located in the middle of a forest in Finland. The small house is laid out like the interior of a sea ship, and there is a lot of wood in it. The round windows are real nautical details, and when the fireplaces are lit, they make the house look like a steamship.
The fireplace is as unusual as the house.
The C-shaped house in Casey Key, Florida is basically a tree house. When you're inside, you're not only surrounded by gorgeous curved wooden beams, but also by treetops. What a beautiful little house. These dramatic arches are a great example of what can be done with wood as a building material. There are practically no limits, only your imagination. One of the most innovative timber houses we have ever seen!
This wooden house with a curved roof has a warm wooden interior.
This unusual wooden house was designed and built near Lake Starnberg, a popular southern Bavarian holiday area for Munich residents. The house sits on stilts, lit from below to further showcase itself. And, of course, beautiful wood trim inside and out.
The architect who designed this residential building lives there. Not surprising. Look - these exposed wooden structures become shelves. And there's even a bridge that runs between the walls for easier access. This is a good example of how creative minds create things according to their creative needs. Such designs are never common.
Come up with your own unique country house if you are young and modern. Enough of this dull, gray dacha development following the example of our grandparents. You don’t need a vegetable garden, you don’t need a chicken coop with a pigsty - you need a green lawn, fruit trees (primarily for shade) and a comfortable, comfortable home that pleases your eyes every day.
Boho in the country - memories of wonderful moments
If you are a travel enthusiast, then you probably have a lot of souvenirs and small items that evoke pleasant memories. Make them decorative elements in the interior of your cottage. The boho style is best suited for this – bright, rich, joyful.
Soft pillows from eastern countries in covers with ethnic patterns, figurines of Indian elephants, and dream catchers will take pride of place on bookcases and shelves. Alpine bells hanging on branches near a growing tree will invite you to your next trip with their chime. Chairs and tables that suit your style can also be easily found in the online store.
Interior for lovers of English or American country music
To create such an interior you do not need inexpensive furniture. Use a kitchen set purchased in the last century, or budget models purchased from an online store. Natural wood on the walls and in furniture elements, a kitchen line by the window decorated with swing curtains, a minimum of accessories and fixtures arranged with emphasized rigor - all this is inherent in this particular style.
Finishing
The finishing of a wooden house, according to most designers, should be as environmentally friendly and natural as possible. For simple and economical finishing, wooden lining is perfect, which can be painted if desired. In a brick or block house, you can use both plaster and lining to decorate the walls. Wallpaper is recommended for use in those interior spaces where there is no significant difference in temperature and humidity.
In a small country house, it is not recommended to use complex decor, as well as expensive textured wallpaper.
Places that have to be frequently wet cleaned (this could be part of the wall and floor, the space between stairs) can be lined with ceramic tiles. The use of tiles and stone is possible as a finishing material for an open terrace - in this case, it will not be afraid of any weather conditions.
Decorating the house outside and near the porch involves the use of a variety of materials (from simple wood to porcelain stoneware and artificial stone), it all depends on the general architectural and interior style and preferences of the owners.
The main thing is to remember the relevance and beneficial properties of certain materials specifically for a country house.
Avant-garde in the dacha space
To create an interior in this style, there is no need to completely change the furniture. Just put white covers on it. Paint the walls of the room in a light tone, add bright colors in the form of lampshades, curtains on windows and doorways, sofa cushions, posters on the walls.
A glass table or shelves in the Art Nouveau style will complement the overall impression of lightness and airiness that reigns in the room.
SMALL HOUSE PROJECTS – BUILD A SQUARE HOUSE IF YOU WANT TO TAKE UP LESS SPACE
When you have very little land or want a small foundation or simply want to achieve a better view of the surrounding area and want to save money with a single timber structure - a simple, square house shape will do the trick. Here are three different examples of small wooden country houses built based on this idea.
This modern timber home is located on the eastern slope of Australia's Mount Wellington. A small compact wooden box with windows that make it look large. The foundation is minimal, but the appearance is impressive. Who would have thought that a simple box-shaped house could look so elegant? The perfect way to show off your wood cladding! The home has an open floor plan and a large loft above. Simple and natural design.
To achieve an even smaller footprint, you can adopt a vertical home design, adding layers of additional living space. Basically, take a similar box shape and turn it to the shorter side.
This vertical structure (below) is just that. A 4-story towering box that emerges from a tiny apartment on a steep hill in Brissago, Switzerland. And it has its own cool design story. Read below the following image.
The customer demanded that construction costs be minimal. Therefore, the natural choice was to stick to “simple shapes and minimalist solutions” – mainly a rectangular design. But there was a huge logistical obstacle - the property doesn't have street access, even now. Because of this and to minimize costs, the type of construction chosen was a prefabricated timber building. And this is how it was done - fully finished and pre-finished timber panels (prefabricated windows and breathable insulation) were transported across the Alps and then assembled using a helicopter. Very cool! The house was built in just three days.
This tiny barn conversion into a compact timber home is stunning, isn't it? A small barn in Italy was in complete disrepair before reconstruction. It is now a charming little two-bedroom holiday home. During construction, the architect made maximum use of height. Each room is on its own level and the result is a stunning, modern and compact home that takes up minimal space.
The woodwork in this home is amazing. And the interior is so cozy.
