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Country Furniture Types

Country furniture is characterized by simple design that provides maximum function in the home. Traditional country furniture was often made by hand by the homeowners using the type of wood and materials that were available around his home, so many wooden pieces are raw and unpainted. Country furniture can be purchased new, but homeowners also like to purchase rugged, antique country furniture. A few country furniture pieces will give your home a rustic feel.

Hutches and Cupboards
- Most country kitchens have a kitchen hutch or cupboard, while some kitchens use both. Hutches are used to store and display the family's dishes with two or three shelves on top. The bottom of the hutch will usually have two cabinets for storing cookware or pantry items. Hutches are comparable to the higher-end buffet set of urban homes. Cupboards are similar to hutches in they're free-standing pieces of furniture used for storage. They usually have several cabinet doors to allow the homeowner to store items out of sight. Antique cupboards might have one side dedicated to food storage, a small counter space for food preparation and a second side that contains a large flour sifter. These were useful when flour was purchased in bulk. A 25- to 50-pound bag of flour could be poured into the sifter and then you simply turn the crank to sift and dispense flour as needed.
Tables
- Trestle, tavern and rustic barn are common types of country tables. A trestle table uses a series of trestles to link two T-shaped legs and provide support for the table top. While a trestle table usually uses triangle-shaped trestles, some versions simply link the two legs with a horizontal support beam and keyed tenon joint. Tavern tables are similar, but have four legs and a horizontal bar to provide support between two legs on each side of the table. Trestle and tavern tables usually have a single piece of hardwood for a top. Oak is commonly used, because it's a widely available hardwood. A rustic barn table can be made with a trestle or tavern table support structure underneath, but the top is made with recycled materials. Planks from old barns or other buildings are refinished and used to create the tabletop.
Chairs
- The most commonly associated image with country relaxation is perhaps the idea of sitting on a front porch in the evenings. Rocking chairs are one type found on many country porches and are relied on more for function than for aesthetic detail. The rest of the chair is usually very basic in structure, sometimes with ladder-style or winged backs. Ladder-back design, in addition to use for rocking chairs, is often used for dining chairs as well. These are chairs with very straight backs and a few horizontal pieces to provide structural support up the back of the chair. The other common type of dining chair is the Windsor chair. These chairs have rounded backrests with several spindle rods that connect from the top of the backrest to the seat of the chair.

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