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By Mary Beth Breckenridge
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Saturday, Jul 04, 2009
Three cheers for the red, white and blue.
Americans have been using their homes to display their patriotic pride almost since Betsy Ross stitched the first stars and stripes together. This time of year, especially, we love to wave our flags and revel in all things American.
But like most decorating trends, even Americana has changed over the years.
Today we like things big, bold and whimsical, those who pay attention to decorating directions say. And increasingly, we want those things to be made in the USA.
It's hard to define Americana, but decorators generally agree it covers a wider swath than just patriotic symbols and colors. It encompasses things that remind us of our heritage, items we associate with icons of American society — images like summer picnics, front porches and community parades.
''I think the people have a renewed patriotism again,'' said Lynne Dowling, who co-owns the gift and home-decorating shop Yellow Creek Trading Co. in Peninsula with business partner Libby Upton. People are reclaiming traditions and old-fashioned values, Dowling said,
and they're showing that through what they display in their homes.
Even younger consumers are embracing the trend. They've put a fresh twist on traditional looks — for example, choosing gingham in a playful, exaggerated scale or using more vivid punches of color, said Natalie Warady, style and market director for Country Living magazine.
Handcrafting is particularly popular, she said. And after a time when modern was the hot look, interest seems to be swinging back to antiques and vintage items, although Warady said many collectors are more interested in mixing old pieces with new than adhering to a particular time period.
That change can probably be attributed to the uncertain economy, Warady said. ''Everybody is looking for the familiar,'' because there's comfort in nostalgia, she said.
Upton agreed. Americana ''evokes all those memories,'' she said. ''It just makes you feel good.''
People also see Americana as having staying power, something that can fit in with changing trends, said Anna Fisher, general manager of Hudson Sampler, a shop in Hudson that sells traditional home items and also provides space for crafters to display their goods.
''You don't go to a garage sale and see a lot of Americana,'' because sellers aren't getting rid of it, Fisher noted.
Benjamin Moore's director of color and design, Doty Horn, believes the economy is also behind the recent comeback of red, white and blue as accent colors. People are returning to the basics, she said, and those include primary colors, two of which are red and blue.
Americana also fits well with beach and cottage looks, which both represent a fresher evolution of country style. Red, white and blue are traditionally nautical colors, so they mix well with a coastal motif, Warady said. And items from grandma's time lend a cottage feel, such as quilts, apothecary jars, yellowed botanical prints and things decorated with an old-style typewriter font, said Cynthia Whitford, an interior designer from Bath Township.
The colors of the flag also work well as accents with neutrals, such as the camels that are popular as wall colors, Whitford said. Designers Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren regularly use the color scheme in their bedroom, bath and tableware lines, she noted, and it's even showing up in formal dinnerware. Whitford likes to add a little sparkle to the mix, such as adding silver faux-leather throw pillows by Candice Olson or a soft gray metallic tablecloth by Saro.
Although Americana isn't just about the American flag, Warady said that motif has never waned in popularity. In fact, she can't remember a house that's been photographed for Country Living that didn't display a flag.
Likewise, she doesn't expect stars to go out of style, although how we incorporate them into our homes changes. Large-scale metal barn stars are popular now, hung on a house or propped on a shelf.
''Stars are huge,'' she said. ''They're always going to be huge.''
Today, though, the flag theme is often twisted in a more modern way, so it's not quite so literal, Warady noted. Red stripes on white pottery might be irregular and narrower than a flag's, for example. Or tableware in red, white and blue — but in patterns that aren't at all patriotic — might be combined to nod to the flag without copying it.
Whatever the colors, think big, the decorators say. While it used to be popular to display a collection of smaller items, Upton said the trend now is toward a single, oversized item that makes a statement.
Where the item is made is important, too, they agree. Both County Living's Warady and Hudson Sampler's Fisher said they've seen a marked increase in readers and customers asking specifically for goods made in the United States.
''People are really trying to get away from made in China, made in Japan,'' Fisher said. '' . . . People want American made.''
It's all about showing our true colors.
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com.
Three cheers for the red, white and blue.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Akron, OH
Posted 11:14 AM, 07/04/2009
Yuck! Really? Well, let's let the rich and tasteless folks in Bath enjoy their tacky faux-patriotic motifs. This is design and decor? Only in America.
