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Make it Country

Old Blue
A collection need not group objects of the same form. Color can be just as important as a connection, as Randy demonstrates with this study in blue (left). The common color holds otherwise disparate items together and encourages the viewer to take a second - or third - look at the delightful shapes and the rich textures imparted by age and weathering. Inject the unexpected: Here, a pale-jade dish in a still life composed of shy blues subtly connects the objects to the greens of a surprising bouquet - the long-stemmed artichokes displayed in the coffeepot.

A Spotlight on Color
You've smoothed over the rough-edges of your wide-ranging furnishings with unifying strokes of white. Now, don't let it lull you to sleep: Seize the oportunity afforded by this blank canvas to play with vibrant color. Mix your own rainbow of objects. The wonderful thing about working against a backdrop of whites is that any colorful object stands out, instantly becoming the center of attention. Reflections and tinted sunbeams passing through jewel-toned bottles can further "paint" the colors across white walls. Two steel-and-glass cabinets (right) are stacked to create a colorful tower and a showcase for aquamarine seltzer bottles and once-utilitarian vessels. Flattened to lie neatly against the wall, sap buckets (left) fitted with wire handles offer pockets of color. Labels, such as "letters" and "herbs," suggest fresh uses for the containers. RIGHT: antique quilt, linens: Paula Rubenstein, LTD.

Old Hardware
The living room's pressed tin chandelier (see print edition) came from Housing Works, in New York City (212-579-7566) and 212-366-0820), already painted white. You can pick up plain miniature lampshades like these at most home, hardware, or lighting stores for a few dollars each. As a whole the unit posesses an honest element which meshes perfectly with the rest of the house's easygoing charm. * Glass knobs are available in a wide range of cuts and colors. Randy found these glass knobs at Pete's Auction Barn, in Jefersonville, N.Y. (845-482-4611). *Other sources for new and reproduction knobs include Good Old Things (212-686-0788), Simons Hardware (212-532-9220), Crown City Hardware (800-950-1047; www.crowncityhardware.com), and Restoration Hardware (800-762-1005; www.restorationhardware.com).Randy likes to replace ordinary doorknobs and standard cabinet pulls with glistening glass knobs. Another use: cast their intended function aside and simply arrange a group of the jewel-like knobs on a table to let light and shadows dance in the sunshine.

Old Chairs
These two side chairs came from similar yet unmatched sets - but you'd probably never notice unless we told you. Just by painting them white, Randy made them effectively the same. In this case the chairs's compatible proportions and a common element - the lyre splats - fool the eye easily, but the trick works well enough with less-similar pieces. Lavender and white gingham check seat cushions further bind the group of chairs and lend an accent color to the dining room.

Vintage Table Settings
If you're lucky enough to have a set of heirloom silver and vintage linens - go ahead and use them. Otherwise, take the fun, easy route and mix and match favorite, inexpensive flea-market finds. By pairing vintage Bakelite-handled knives with Victorian forks and serving pieces, you'll wind up with a set of flatware that is uniquely your own. This method also makes replacing a lost spoon or damaged knife as easy as pie! Since Randy created such a simple color scheme for the dining room - purple and white - stocking a nearby drawer with a healthy supply of lavender table linens in various shades and prints makes setting a well-coordinated table a snap.

What makes it country?

Ideas
The kitchen, above all, is a work space, and Randy has assembled an inexpensive, well-functioning kitchen than employs old and new pieces where they fit best. * Simple cabinets are set off by mismatched knobs and a two-tier hanging dish rack (below, middle). * A very practical modern island in the center of the room contrasts with the salvaged 1920s Magic Chef range and "Pammer House" sign above. * The c. 1880 green buffet (below, left) stands out against the white horizontal wainscoting in the pantry. * Randy bought the breakfast nook's table and corner bench (below, right) - probably from a summer cottage's kitchenette, originally at a junk shop in Liberty, N.Y., for $50; he painted them white and added cushions and slipcoverd chairs to complete the set. BELOW LEFT: pig painting: Sara Biscaye. BELOW RIGHT: pillow fabrics: Laura Fisher/Antique Quilts & Americana.

Make it Country

Ideas
Sepia-toned architectural photographs and aging pen-and-ink drawings inspire a bron and white bedroom. Randy painted the brass bed white and layered it with a patchwork of light-brown bed clothes. The once-neglected night stand, a gift from a customer, was fished out of an old barn. LEFT: antique quilts: Laura Fisher/Antique Quilts & Americana. sheets, pillowcases: Nancy Koltes. BELOW: candlewick bedspread: Laura Fisher/Antique Quilts & Americana.

Using Texture
For the guest bedroom (above), Randy stripped the paint from a metal bed to give it the appearance of brushed chrome. Sturdy wooden trunks wear the history of their travels as delightful weathering. Giants like this one provide invaluable storage and can readily stand in for a side table or coffee table. A gold-lettered vintage coffee can is used to good effect as a vase for white lisianthus (a k a eustoma, below left). Vary textures to increase the depth of a collection of whites (below, center). Blankets, bed linens, and other fabrics offer an endless source of such variations and can be tossed over other furnishings to impart their own mood; mix and match them on your bed, use them as throws, or stack them on a side chair. Use mirrors (below, right) to play with the light.