Country Curtains with Tea-Dyed Lining!

Soft and full homespun country curtains give a room cozy comfort. Recently a customer extended this comfort in a unique way! She ordered the Wider Virginia House curtains in a mini check (as shown) and had them lined with what we call “Tavern Tan.” (That’s the fabric used in the very popular but unlined Tavern Swag!) She was our first customer to come up with this idea and we were all amazed and astonished at how nice her country curtains looked.

So we decided to present this idea formally in our 2011 Fall and Christmas catalog. You will see the Betsy Ross curtain done in cheerful homespuns with a tan (we call it tea-dyed) lining. The great thing about lining a curtain with a fabric other than muslin is that where the curtain drapes or folds there is an equally soft color showing. Changing the lining to homespun increases the price by only 10% and dramatically improves the look of a curtain.

Virginia House Curtain

2011 Fall and Winter Catalog

Betsy Ross Curtian with Tea-Dyed Lining

Hodgepodge Valance

Expanding this idea even further, we created what is called a Hodgepodge Valance. This valance is made of 7 coordinating fabrics. All of these fabrics go good with each other. The six patterned homespun fabrics look great with the tan (tea-dyed) lining and there is an additional option of using two “patterned” homespun fabrics together, one for the lining and one for the top! Because sun is known to fade curtains a bit over time, we think the lighter homespun might work out better for the lining and the darker homespun for the top. For example, you could use LR (light red) for the lining and DR (dark red) for the front layer of your country curtain!

So we invite you to take a look at this new and different concept of country curtains. And we thank a very creative customer for the idea! Please send us any ideas you might have to create a new and different country curtain. We are always on the lookout for something new!

Have questions when deciding on the size curtains you need? Need swatches? Check our website for ‘Questions about Curtains’!

Visit our Website Today or Visit Our Store in Geneva, Illinois in the beautiful Fox River Valley!

Rustic Twig Trees

I have lately noticed a growing holiday trend! Specifically, I have noticed that rather than have one Christmas tree decorated with keepsake ornaments, people have more than one, sometimes quite a few, with different themes or colors. A friend of mine puts up four trees in her house at Christmas and keeps them in the garage for the rest of the year, fully decorated, sealed in very large plastic bags! Another friend leaves her tree up year ’round and changes the ornaments from Easter to Fourth of July to fall to the holidays!

At the Country Store of Geneva, we have a terrific selection of twig trees. Rustic slim twig trees are dark green and brown with tiny brown twigs and are commonly referred to as ‘”German Twig Trees.” They hold ornaments securely in view as the branches are bendable. When you receive your twig tree, the branches will all be tight up against the main ‘trunk’. You can pull the branches down to a 90 degree angle for maximum width or let them lean up a bit if space is more limited in width. This allows you to display the tree a bit closer to a wall on one side. Keep them up ‘year round and decorate seasonally or a festive woodsy look!

The Country Store of Geneva offers twig trees in six sizes. The larger twig trees have three sections (bottom, middle, and top!) plus a sturdy iron base. The smaller, table-top twig trees are in one piece with a burlap base or a reproduction treenware base.

Tiny Twig Tree Height: 22” Base: reproduction treenware grain measure base Number of traditional brown cord lights: One 50 ct string Number of silicone lights: One 12 ct string

4 1/2 Foot Twig Tree Height: 4.5 feet Width: 16”to 20” Base: Sturdy Iron base Number of traditional brown cord lights: Two 100 ct strings Number of silicone lights: Two 12 ct strings Six Foot Twig Tree Height: 6 feet Width: 18” to 24” Base: Sturdy Iron base Number of traditional brown cord lights: Three 100 ct strings Number of silicone lights: Three 12 ct strings Seven Foot Twig Tree Height: 7 feet Width: 25”to 35” Base: Sturdy Iron base Number of traditional brown cord lights: Four 100 ct strings Four 12 ct stringsEight Foot Twig Tree Height: 8 feet Width: 30” to 36” Base: Sturdy Iron base Number of traditional brown cord lights: Four or five 100 ct strings Number of silicone lights: Four or five 12 ct strings

The smaller twig trees look wonderful in a children’s room. You can even light the little tree up with tiny rice lights and use it as a night-light. We also offer strings of silicone swirl and star lights. Try dressing up a few of your existing tree lights with silicone “slip-over” stars or snowflakes. These tiny silicone decorations fit over the regular strings of clear lights.  The Country Store of Geneva also carries traditional tree lights with a BROWN cord rather than a green cord! They are hard to find and match the twig trees perfectly!

Slipover Snowflakes

Primitive Rice Lights

String of Star Lights

String of Swirl lights

Brown Cord Lights

Country Tin Switchplates

Country tin chandeliers are perfectly complemented by tin switch plates and outlet covers. The Country Store of Geneva offers tin switchplates in three styles: a punched tin border, punched tin hearts and punched tin stars, so can be combined with just about any country décor. They also come in your choice of soft black or pewter. The soft black ones match the arms of our wooden chandeliers, such as the flush mount Derby and the Tin Whistle, as well as most of the iron and tin chandeliers, such as the Peppermill and the Jefferson. The pewter switchplates complement many of our punched tin ceiling lights and blend well with a number of the lighter colored tin fixtures.

Punched Stats Ceiling Light

Soft Black Tin Switchplate

Soft Black or Pewter Tin Outlet Cover

The switch plates come in a variety of configurations so you can get that “primitive country look” even if your house features modern technology such as triple ground faults and so forth. There is a switch to be had for almost anywhere, so just ask us! See the diagram below for most of the configurations we offer, but we also have some less common configurations that are not shown here. All three designs share the same outlet covers.

Tin switch plates are easily to install. Just unscrew the old covers and screw on the new ones with the matching screws that are provided. It is as simple as that. It doesn’t matter if your outlet or ground fault is to the right or the left of your switch because all of the switchplates can be turned upside down. The design will remain the same!

Country Americana Décor

Americana country décor has been a popular theme in decorating for as long as we can remember. The colors of preference are usually not the bright red, white, and blue of the flag, but the more muted colors of burgundy, navy, and off white. From tea-dyed quilts, lamps, battery operated candles and wall décor, there are so many ways to create a homey, Americana feel in your home that is also primitive country!  At the Country Store of Geneva, our best selling blazing star quilt is commonly used in Americana country décor. It is perfectly complemented by the punched star shade light and a primitive star valance.

Blazing Star Quilt

Primitive Star Valance

Punched Star Shade light

Our Old Glory quilts that are burgundy, beige and blue are a perfect match for the Americana valance that features the stars and stripes of the American flag in burgundy, off-white and navy blue. The Log Cabin Braided Rug completes the motif with the similar colors.

Old Glory Quilt

Americana Valance

Log Cabin Braided Rug

Most recently, the Americana Décor craze has turned its eyes to the whimsical portraits of the Founding Fathers by well-known New Hampshire artist, Tim Campbell. Prints of all four of the portraits are currently available at The Country Store of Geneva. They include George Washington, Ben Franklin, Martha Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

George Washington

Benjamin Franklin

Martha Washington

Thomas Jefferson

 Personally, we have always loved Americana country décor. It is welcoming as well as patriotic.

Welcome Signs Make Great Gifts!

Having trouble finding the perfect gift that you can keep on giving?
Need an easy way to seasonally decorate with primitive country?
Check out the all seasons selection of hanging welcome signs at
The Country Store of Geneva.
The black, wooden arrow has a metal tip and metal “feathers” and can be mounted inside or outside with two screws.
The primitive, country decorations attach to the arrow with a few links of chain, which are included with the sign,
and can be changed with the seasons. Give Mom or Grandma one (with an arrow if she is just beginning to collect!)
and you can give her another one every birthday and every Christmas. She’ll love looking forward to the next one and you will have fun picking one out!
There are already over 20 different replacement welcome signs and we are adding new ones all of the time! Below are just some of the seasonal,
as well as year ’round possibilities:

Summer	American Flag	Star Birdhouse	Daisy
Fall	Smiley Witch	Pumpkin	Harvest Wheat
Spring	Bunny with Eggs	Resting Lamb	Pineapple
Winter	Santa in Sleigh	Snowflake	Glittery Snowman
Any time of year	Country Rooster	Tin Star	Little House

Visit our website for all of the different replacement plaques!

Reproduction Treenware

Primitive, Early American Country Decorating is about surrounding yourself with simplicity and history, abandoning the metal and plastic mass-manufactured look and seeking out the hand-crafted, homespun feel. Treenware is a term used for the small, handmade, wooden things that early Americans made and used around the house. They were typically made from hardwoods and include ‘smalls’ like bowls, cooking utencils, and butter stamps. Turning and carving the wood were the key essentials for production and each piece was “one of a kind.” Authentic early American treenware is hard to find and usually quite expensive.

Treenware Sconce	Treenware Washboard
Treenware Butterchurn with Dasher	Treenware Bowl

At The Country Store of Geneva, we offer a wide selection of elegant, replica treenware, made in the United States from pecan resin. Each piece has been molded and hand cast from an original antique. Then the most wonderful, soft patina is applied to make the piece look like it has physically passed through many, many hands since grandma’s time. Treenware makes a very affordable gift and blends perfectly with real antiques.

How do I Choose a Chandelier?

Chandelier Height: Look for a chandelier that is proportionally the right size for the height of your ceiling. Most standard ceilings are 8 feet tall. For high foyers, we have several “Very Large” chandeliers! For areas with “walk through” traffic, we have several flush mount chandeliers that give more walking room! Here is a table that will give you some general tips about where to start looking, but of course the height you will want depends on where in your home your new chandelier will be going.

Ceiling Height	Chandelier Height
8 foot	20″ – 24″ tall
10 foot	25″ – 30″ tall
12 foot	30″ – 36″ tall
14 foot	35″ – 42″ tall

Replacing an old Chandelier? When replacing an old chandelier, keep in mind that the dimensions of our chandeliers are a “tip to tip” measurement. So if you are replacing a Tiffany style chandelier that is 14″ wide and has a “solid” body, you will need to adjust your size up a notch or two, since much of the dimension on most of our chandeliers is “air.” i.e., not solid such as a Tiffany is! While the diminutive Dinwiddy chandelier measures 14″ wide x 9″ tall, it will not look as large as a solid chandelier with the same measurements. The Country Store of Geneva will offer you all the help you want in choosing “the” perfect chandelier! Contact us for more information.

Chain, cord, and ceiling plates! Either one to three feet of links (joined with curly ends) or two to three feet of matching chain is included with every chandelier. Check the description to see which is the norm for the chandelier you are interested in. Extra links or chain may be ordered, and we can accomodate changes from links to chain and vice versa if we know in advance. Also a matching ceiling plate (canopy) comes with each chandelier. Everything that you need to install the fixture will be there along with a small instruction sheet. The canopy (ceiling plate) is either 5″ or 5 1/2″ wide, depending on the manufacturer. We can get you a wider ceiling plate if you need it. Most chandeliers are wired with 6 feet of cord. Extra cord can be purchased (allow 4-6 weeks) and will be needed if you are going to swag the chandelier from the ceiling to an existing wall outlet. Or you can have an electrician splice the cord to extend it and then attach a plug on it (available at most hardware stores) if you are in a hurry.

Wattage: All of our chandeliers hold standard candelabra base bulbs. These bulbs are available in 15 watt, 25 watt, 40 watt, and 60 watt sizes from most hardware and grocery stores in either clear or frosted. The Country Store of Geneva offers the petite 40 watt clear bulbs, which are shown in most of our chandeliers, as well as 15 watt silicone pearl bulbs for a more cozy look. Check out the two images below of the same chandelier with two different types of bulbs.

40 watt clear bulbs

15 watt silicone bulbs

Choosing Chandelier Width

Size of the table counts some! If you are hanging a chandelier over a table, you might want to pick one that is about half the diameter of your table. So if you have a small breakfast seating area with only two chairs and a table about 24″ wide, you might want a smaller chandelier 12″ to 14″ wide. If you have a very long harvest table, it looks very nice to put two chandeliers over the table, one at each end. And of course you have the option of choosing one larger chandelier, depending on the size of your room.

Size of the room counts a bit more! The general rule of thumb for selecting a chandelier is to add the length of your room to the width of your room (for example your room is 10′ wide x 14′ long so that adds up to 24!) and then look for a chandelier about that many inches wide. Chandeliers that are about 17-26 inches wide fall within the size range of an average dining room.
Here are some examples of Chandeliers offered by The Country Store of Geneva sorted by width:

Chandelier Width (inches)	Wooden, Iron and Tin Chandeliers
8 – 12 inches	Mini Jefferson Chandelier Saddle light Mini Willow Chandelier Hanging Queen’s Lamp J-Arm Dover Chandelier Shade Light Punched Star Baby Grandby Chandelier Small Distressed Pembrook
13 – 18 inches	Dinwiddy Chandelier Sm. Shreveport Chandelier 4-Arm Abby Chandelier Old Glory Chandelier Diminutive Dartmouth Chandelier 4-Arm Peppermill Chandelier Mini Tin Whistle Chandelier Mini Waverly Chandelier Bradley Chandelier Rooster Chandelier Large Pembrook Hanging Light Grant Chandelier Hand Forged Willow Chandelier Petite Derby Chandelier BEST SELLER!
19 – 22 inches	Granby Chandelier Shaded J-Arm Chandelier Flush Mount Derby Chandelier Wilcox Chandelier Sturbridge Chandelier Sullins Chandelier Six-Arm Peppermill Chandelier Tin Whistle Chandelier BEST SELLER! Hatboro Chandelier Waverly Chandelier Medium Shreveport Chandelier Richmond Chandelier Running Horse Chandelier
23 – 26 inches	Flush Mount Sullins Chandelier BEST SELLER! Falls Church Chandelier Elders Chandelier Coxcomb Chandelier Jefferson Chandelier Iron J-Arm Chandelier Elegant Virginia House Chandelier Abbey 6-arm Chandelier Madison Chandelier Philadelphia Chandelier Double Elders Chandelier Petticoat Chandelier Double Jefferson Chandelier Shaker Star Chandelier Sheraton Chandelier Canterbury Chandelier Blair Chandelier
26 inches and larger	Double Mulberry Chandelier X-Large Shreveport Chandelier Monticello Chandelier XX-Large Shreveport Chandelier Granddaddy Shreveport Chandelier

Dress it up: Add candle rings as a seasonal decoration or
throughout the year! Here are some examples:

Apple Rings

Berry Rings

Fall Candle Rings

Cambell’s Kids Collectible Signs

Campbell’s Soup has been a staple of American life and culture for over 100 years. It imbibes a sense of Americana nostalgia that few other companies or advertising slogans have matched.

Campbell’s Soup advertising campaign in the 1920’s with the small pudgy children provided Campbell’s with such a robust brand that it is still easily recognized today. Purchasing the original antique signs is an expensive venture. Some might fetch over a thousand dollars in antique stores and auctions.

Our Campbell’s Soup Collectible Signs were manufactured by AAA Sign Company in 1993 and then the plates and dies were destroyed. These colorful, embossed signs have turned edges for safety. Sold in sets of 20, they can be seasonally interchanged or can be used together to decorate an entire wall! Subjects include a Santa, teacher, nurse, fireman, pilot, engineer, and of course the Little Chef himself. Two of the more popular signs are of a little girl reaching upwards towards a Hoosier cabinet stocked with a large can of Vegetable Soup and a farmer’s wife feeding the chickens, which features (of course!) Chicken Soup. Sizes range between 9 and 16 inches each way. Originally priced at $13.00 per sign, some quickly sold out and are now quite rare! Visit the Country Store of Geneva for this and other wonderful pieces of decorative Americana for your home!

After all, Campbell’s Soup has been “Mmm Mmm Good” since 1978!
Shop at the Country Store of Geneva for more wonderful country decorating ideas and deals!

Country Braided Rugs

Looking for a way to create a more country, cozy feel to a corner of your home? Consider a braided rug!

In early American culture, women braided old clothing, rags, blankets and other miscellaneous materials together into thick, durable rugs. The rugs worked wonderfully to cover cold drafty floors and well constructed rugs lasted a very long time. Braided rugs became a staple of early American décor and hundreds of years later, a beautiful braided rug creates a warm, cozy feel in your home. They are also very durable and protect your carpet or flooring from stains and daily traffic!

The Country Store of Geneva offers a nice selection of premium quality braided rugs in an array of colors and sizes ranging from a simple placemat to 8′ x 10′ rectangular rugs and even larger!  Choose from 100% custom printed cotton fabrics that have no filler and will last almost forever.  The rectangular rugs we advertise are very unique and are the most popular shape, but all the different colors and patterns can also be ordered in oval or round!  Coordinate your entire house with matching hallway runners, placemats, table runners, chair pads, and rectangular braided rugs of all sizes.

 

Choosing the right size area rug is easy!  Imagine you are framing a photograph on the floor. You want a nice “frame”  of your room’s flooring to show around the edges of your braided rug. For larger rooms, purchase a rug that is 2-4 feet smaller than your room, in each direction. This will give you 1-2 feet of flooring around the edges of your braided rug on all sides. If you are placing the rug under a dining room table, as is frequently done, allow room around the table for the chairs to be pulled out and still be on the rug in order to protect your floor. Braided rugs are perfect in front of the fireplace, in front of the kitchen sink, in the bathroom, or at the front door!  

They are reversible and seldom need cleaning! Vacuum regularly and spot clean when needed with a non bleach detergent. Larger area rugs can be dry cleaned every few years, but the smaller ones can be gently washed in cold water and laid flat to dry.

What is a Hoosier?

A hoosier is an kitchen cabinet or cupboard that was used from about the late 1890s through the 1920s. During this time, kitchens did not have built-in cabinets, so hoosiers stored all of the dry materials needed for cooking like flour, spices, tea and sugar and some even had a built-in sifter for flour. Many also had a shelf with a roll-top cover and a bin or tin hopper. Typically, they also included a working space for rolling out dough and space for a kitchen measurement conversion card or recipes. Often, hoosier cupboards would be on wheels so they could be moved easily around a kitchen.  

Today, hoosier cabinets make a wonderful accent piece in any country kitchen. While authentic antique hoosiers  are difficult to find, often in poor shape and quite pricey, the Country Store of Geneva carries a Solid Oak Hoosier Cabinet that is locally made in Illinois and includes all of the built-in traditional features!

  

Dress up your hoosier with glass butter churns or glass hoosier canisters for a really authentic country look!  Surround yourself with country!