If your taste runs to natural flower arrangements, loose and brightly coloured covers, painted furniture, quilts, braided rugs and tile floors, you are almost certainly living with country style. This relaxed, low maintenance but high comfort lifestyle has captured the hearts of millions and infiltrated the worlds of style, decoration, food and crafts. Wherever we live, whether high-rise city apartment or semi-detached suburbia, we can all bring a little of the countryside into our homes, and this beautiful book shows you how. The spirit of "country" can be evoked in many ways and this collection offers the reader practical knowledge and inspirational ideas to create their own very personal sense of country, whether through an awareness of the past or simply a sense of nature through the changing seasons. The first section, Country Decorating, illustrates how you can create restful decorative effects around your home, from applying colourful paint washes or stencil designs to walls, to simple renovations that give furniture and accessories a new lease of life. In the second section, Country Crafts and Flowers, inspiration is drawn from nature for a variety of arrangements created from fresh and dried flowers, and include pillows, gift baskets, table centrepieces and fabulous floral displays. The final section, Country Cooking, is a collection of 50 seasonal recipes for mouthwatering country fare. From Griddled Trout with Bacon and a Wild Mushroom Tart to Cranberry Muffins and fresh Mint Ice Cream, you will find a variety of traditional dishes that are simple to make and absolutely delicious to eat. Highly accessible, all the projects and recipes are illustrated step-by-step in colour, with more than 750 photographs and beautiful decorative artworks. It is a glorious compendium for the home, that captures the timeless essence of country living and will be treasured and consulted for years to come.