Country Chic: A Fresh Look at Contemporary Country Decor

In a thinly disguised plug for Biggie Best, a British furniture retailer, Norval-Kruger honestly tries to make a definitive editorial contribution to the heritage of "country decorating." And it works--sort of. She shuffles photographs into eight different dimensions of the "new" country decor; some work, others don't. Among the more successful are the naturals, featuring many textures and singular hues of cream, cream, and cream; and creative color, where purple enters the kitchen and green splashes the bathroom, all bordered, naturally, with white to tone down visual shock. The failures are styles that make little distinction about the uses of floral patterns; who, for instance, could tell the difference between romantic and modern rose categories? Good, crisp color photos, however, save the day as guides to readers' decorating efforts. Barbara Jacobs
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A streamlined, casual country style is shown in beautiful color photographs in these two books. Ronald and Roberts (Grand Illusions New Decorating) show how to create a relaxed country style with simple home decorating projects for every room of the house including the garden. Norval-Kruger divides this casual look at country into themes, such as rustic, romantic, and nautical, and shows suggested color schemes, furniture, and decorative accessories for each of the themed looks in every room of the house, as well as a resource list. Both are recommended for large interior design collections.
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