What Is Modern Country Style Part 1: Colour

Hey cutie,

So many people have asked me to try and define Modern Country Style that I thought I'd do a proper series on it...just for you.....

I'd love to hear your thoughts....

To me, Modern Country Style is more about a way of life than just being a specific look. Not limited, by any means, to those living the rural idyll, the Modern Country ethos is all about taking the very best of Traditional Country, the warmth and comfort, the appreciation of hand-made crafts, and combining with the best of what Modern life has to offer.

A bit of background......

We moved out of London to an Edwardian house nestled in a small Market Town in the Cotswolds. I'm sure you've gathered that our home has needed a huge amount of renovating but by adding the right pieces and choosing the palette with care, we're able, in stages, to create a Modern Country look that I adore. 
Homely and relaxed.

Step 1: Use of Colour

Probably the most prominent marker of the Modern Country look is the delicious yet delicate use of colour. Think of, and be inspired by, winter seascapes: the gentle grey-blue-greens of a rough sea and the browns, greys and off-whites of smooth stones on a pebble beach sum up this palette beautifully. Yet it needn't look bland. By adding the odd touch of a stronger colour, in my case, I've chosen cherry red accents, a gorgeous surprise element is added. 

Just as important is the way in which colour is used. No fussy details are needed. Simple blocks of colour, highlighted by the crisp, sharp contrast of soft white woodwork. 

Our dining room is a perfect case in point. Painted a gentle, creamy green-grey (Gregory's Den by Earthborn)....perfect for a serene backdrop to not-so-serene family meal-times! 

On Friday, I'll be sharing my personal Holy Grail 
in Modern Country Style: Part 2..... 
creating a stylish look 
that works for a family.

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Giveaway: Decorate by Holly Beck and Joanna Copestick

Hello, my gorgeous.

I hope the weekend was especially delightful for you.

Today, as promised,

I have a giveaway for you.

It's Holly Becker 

and Joanna Copestick's 

awesome book:

Decorate.

(Click the link if you missed my book review.)

All you have to do to enter

is leave me a comment 

telling me what 

your 

very favourite interiors book 

of all-time ever-ever is.

Oh, and subscribe 

in some way to 

Modern Country Style

(Facebook, email, Google FriendConnect....

all up there on my sidebar)

And that's it. 

You're in, baby.

Easy-peasy lemon-squeezy.

Coming soon to a blog near you:

{ahem, that'll be mine}

Modern Country Style: 

what is it all about...?

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Modern Country Dining Heaven

Hey chickadees,

*******************

Did I mention 

{as if I wouldn't have...} 

Monday is the day of a hot-tottie giveaway?

Remember me reviewing Holly Becker 

and Joanna Copestick's 

Decorate?

That's the puppy!

Monday 29th.

Be there....

*********************

When I saw this room for the first time, 

palpitations were the order of the day.

The beautiful mixture of old and new is 

so perfectly Modern Country.

The colour palette.

*swoon*

The fireplace.

*sigh*

The old-fashioned telephone.

*faint*

The fabrics.

*thump, thump, thump*

Now, I don't know about you 

but I'm feeling as though chocolate is needed 

to get me through this heart-racing ordeal.

See you by the chocolate stash?

{Please tell me you have one too...}

Images: 25 Beautiful Homes

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Summer Loving Link Party....It's Here!!

Hey there, butterflies.
Today, I'm a-calling for all 

Summer Loving 
out there.

Come and link up so we can all feel the Summer Love.

Shall I go first?

Me? Oh, go on then.
Just for you....

Since reading Jane Packer's excellent book, 
At Home with Flowers, 
I've been on the eye, 
looking out for flower-holders 
of the more unusual kind.


{Speaking of fabulous books, 
I've got a stonkingly cool giveaway 
coming up next week.}

I've had this pair of demi-johns 

sitting by the fireplace 
in our front room for a while. 
And they seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

I love the touch of industrial chic they bring, 
but at the same time softened by the beautiful roses,
 plucked fresh from the garden.

This is Modern Country Summer.
Best of new. Best of old.

Now it's YOUR turn!
Let's get this Linky Party on the road, shall we?

{It'll stay open for one week.}

 Here are two things I'd love you to do:

1) Follow Modern Country Style 

if you like what you see here.

2) Link back to me in your post 

so other people can come and find the partaaaay.

Then everyone who comes over to Modern Country Style from other blogs who've linked back 
will be able to see a link and picture from your blog, 
and they can come and visit your fabulousness.

Not rules, exactly...but I'm hopeful. ;-) 

Next up on Modern Country Style:
completely delicious 
Dining Room loveliness...

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Summer Loving Week Part 2......

Welcome to Summer Loving Part 2.....Fashion.

For English summer fashion, 

it has to be layers. 

Boots: Clarks, Jeans: Next, Blouse: Dotty P, Belt: H and M, Necklace: Mr Modern Country

Sometimes a hot day will turn cool, 

or a warm day will suddenly get a bit of a nip in the air.

Stripping off or layering up is an essential life skill here.

Pashminas are my best friend.

{Apart from you, of course.}

Pashminas and little cardies.

Perfect for layering up.

And neither of which I'm wearing here.

Doh.

{I see trouble ahead.....}

Most English summer days are mild.

And warm.

We do usually get a couple of hot weeks 

{when we all complain dreadfully about how hot it is}.

And we usually get some days of rain

...but I like to think we need those to keep the garden 

fresh and lush.

More Summer Loving soul-soothing in the garden tomorrow.....

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Summer Loving Week Part 1...2 days to go...

Hello petal.

It's Summer Loving Week. 

Are you ready? 

Do you want a super-special button? 

Your wish is my command....

Here for exclusive use by YOU

{I know, I know...so lucky}

is my Summer Loving button 

to use for linky party posts.

<center><a href="http://www.moderncountrystyle.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd436/Sarplowman/summerloving.jpg"/></a></center>

{Simply copy and paste the html onto your blog post 

and the button will magically pop up......

if you find copying over the html part too fiddly 

then feel free to link by text instead.}

So what are the plans for this week of 

Summer Loving at Modern Country Style?

Today I thought I'd share some of my favourite garden photos.

Then tomorrow, I've got a Summer fashion post just for you.

And on Wednesday, 

I'm bursting to share some of 

my summer secrets 

to eke out every last moment of sunshine.....

...and, of course, 

Wednesday is also the day 

when I do hope you'll come over and 

share your Summer Loving posts with us all.

 I am officially in love with 

the glorious summer days 

that we are having here in the Cotswolds. 

The light is golden. 

The breeze is warm. 

The days are long and happy, 

with the children splashing about in the garden, 

and me pottering contentedly in the flower beds, 

or sitting down with my favourite book.

There are few things I like doing more 

than sitting in the garden with a good book, 

whiling away the hours. 

The evenings are bringing 

the most lovely, gentle light, 

as we head inexorably into autumn, 

and it's such a pleasure to enjoy these last moments, 

don't you think?

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Kate Moss' Wedding Part 2

Less than a week to go until my

 Summer Loving link party

on Wednesday 24th August.

{Button coming next week....}

Are you planning your post?

Anything that makes you feel full of beans on a summers day.

Is it your favourite summery recipe?

Or your best outfit?

Or your newly arranged porch?

I can't wait to see what YOU have to share!
Wednesday 24th August...be there!!

But let's get back to Kate Moss' wedding....

Please feel free to Oooooh and Aaaah to your heart's content. 

I have been. 
Oh yes, siree.

I present to you, Kate Moss and her new husband Jamie Hince.

And the most glamorous-but-super-hip guest-list in the world....

It looks like wedding-planner heaven.

So many incredible details 

combining to create

gorgeous English Country bliss.

British Style at its best.

I do wonder how hard it was for Kate Moss *not* to pose for her Wedding Photos. I can't help but have a small niggle in the back of my mind that these photos, utterly eye-candified though they are, have the feeling of being posed, rather than the great, big, won-the-lottery smiles that I think look like the best thing in the entire world at weddings.

I must add that I wish her the very best for her marriage.
But what are your thoughts?

Is that smile real or not real?

Am I being incorrigibly romantic 

looking for real love to shine through?

{Discuss.}

Images via Vogue

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Kate Moss' Wedding

Kate Moss: Super Modern Miss.

Don't you think? 

But she chose to have a fairytale vintage country wedding. 

Modern girl and Country wedding? 

Errrr, hello?

That is surely to goodness 

Modern Country Style territory, 

I'd say.

And, as confirmation that this post was mean to be, 

Kate Moss' house is in the Cotswolds. 

And I live where? 

Aaah, that's right. 

In the Cotswolds.

A blog match made in heaven, 

if ever there was one.

So today's post will cover the planning side of the wedding and tomorrow I can share the glorious gorgeousness of the day itself,

for those of us NOT invited to the wedding. 

A hint at the guest list.....

That'll be Paul McCartney. 

Eeeek.

I lurrrrrve me some romance.

I lurrrve me an English Country Summer wedding.

Yes, this post makes me drooooool.

*swoon*

Can I write that about my own blog? 

Too late. Just did.

To be honest, 

I am jumping up and down, 

begging myself to post again. 

And soon.


Summer Weddings......
........oooooooh!

{Which reminds me to remind you that 

my Summer Loving Link Party 

is on Wednesday 24th August.
Come by and link up 
all things summer-related.}

Images: Vogue

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