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6 ways to introduce country style into the heart of your home

At its heart, a country dining room is welcoming, cosy, and well-used - a spot for hurried weekday family breakfasts, the time-honoured tradition of Sunday lunches, or for an evening spent entertaining friends.

A well-designed dining room should strike a balance between a sociable spot for hosting, and an intimate space for solo dining. This can be achieved by adding a striking floral centrepiece when entertaining, and keeping extra tableware and glassware to hand in a glass-fronted display unit. Whilst thoughtful finishing touches, like a sumptuous wool carpet underfoot and cosy armchairs create an inviting atmosphere that can be enjoyed alone.

There are certain hallmarks of a quintessential country dining room, from the use of raw and natural materials, to an abundance of accessories, and botanical patterns. Here are 6 ways to achieve a country-inspired dining room in your home.

Solid wood furniture is key in quintessential country dining rooms, as light pine, rustic oak, or painted wood bring a slice of the outdoors in. A statement wooden dining table can bring a great deal of warmth into a room allowing for a more neutral palette across walls and floors. A deep mahogany looks particularly striking with a creamy beige, whilst lighter wood tones sit happily with chalky blues and forest greens.

If you have traditional upright chairs, soften them with patterned seat cushions, or upholstery in a botanical print. For a farmhouse look, we love a traditional table and bench, like the Country Living Trellis set at Homebase, that can accommodate large groups, and encourage family dining.

In a country dining room, nature makes for the best centrepiece - botanical creations are an inexpensive way to showcase your taste, and create a focal point in your dining room.

Bring elements of the outdoors in by displaying branches still boasting blossoms, a bouquet of fresh or dried flowers, or simple green foliage. Introduce seasonal colours, and use a versatile natural filler like eucalyptus to bolster your display.

For a long and narrow dining table, try a row of bud vases holding single stems, whilst a round table can take a more extravagant centrepiece using taller stems like the ever-popular pampas grass.

A country home is characterised by warmth and comfort, and should have a lot of cosy corners to escape to with a good book. If your dining room is neglected between meal times, this makes it the perfect spot to add an extra armchair, or even create a small reading nook (read our full guide to creating the perfect reading nook.)

For print-lovers, this is a great opportunity to add some colour and pattern to your country dining room. Choose an armchair with a dense botanical motif or a large-scale print to create a proper feature piece. Those with a more tentative approach to colour can opt for a classic Chesterfield in a warm brown leather that will age beautifully with use.

One of the more charming hallmarks of a country dining room is a casual mismatch of accessories. Neat displays of coordinated crockery are a bit too uniform, country style demands more of an eclectic touch.

In a country dining room, this means open or glass-fronted display units to house an abundance of tableware, candlesticks, or even framed photos or pieces of art. Wooden crates or woven baskets can group small trinkets together, or store linens in busy prints. Mix and match bowls and jugs in different shapes and sizes, and fill them with dried flowers or herbs - the key is to forgo precision for a happy asymmetry.

Accessories, upholstery, curtains, and wallpaper full of cheerful country-inspired motifs add character when used in abundance in a country dining room. We love mixing sophisticated William Morris-esque botanical print in moody hues of deep blue and forest green with playful animal print, like the Bees collection from Sophie Allport.

The key to mixing your prints is to stay within a palette of three to four colours, and if you don't want your dining room to feel too densely decorated, choose a large-scale print with plenty of neutral base tones. For any plain cushions or simple upholstery that lack a country edge, Colefax and Fowler’s range of trimmings can provide an easy upgrade.

Whilst wooden or stone flooring are both quintessential country choices, a hard-wearing and sumptuous wool or playful striped carpet acts to warm up a room, creating a more relaxed and inviting space for dining.

In an open-plan kitchen-diner, carpet can be used as a clever zoning device, creating a physical and psychological break between a functional kitchen, and the more sociable aspect of enjoying a meal with company.