Know Your Needs

• Family rooms must accommodate all family members, including pets. Avoid fragile antiques that could be easily broken and priceless quilts that would be ruined by a stain or a tear. Sturdier pieces of furniture and less vulnerable collections can add a country touch while still holding up to day-to-day wear.
  
  For example, a rustic cupboard can act as an entertainment center. Nicks and scratches only add to its charm. Cover a sofa with a washable slip cover. A large basket can be employed as a holder for magazines, books and the occasional dog toy.
  
  

Decide on Your Style

• Are you drawn by chintz-covered overstuffed sofas and deep leather club chairs that show the wear of years of hard use? Do you like the cozy feel of an English country cottage with its mismatched furniture and faded area rugs? Then cottage style is for you.
  
  Perhaps you prefer wicker, indoor plants, and the feel of a sun porch on a warm day. If so, try garden-style decorating. Its pastel shades and quirky accents, like a collection of vintage watering cans or garden tools, will give a basement room an outdoor feel.
  
  Do painted pine cupboards, folk art weather vanes and rustic decoys catch your eye? Perhaps a more traditional country look will work for you.
  
  The bottom line is that country decorating is all about what you like, treasure, and reflects you.
  
  

Decide On Colors

• Since many basement rooms have concrete floors, wall-to-wall carpet is the best choice. It will keep things warm underfoot. Carpet comes in many styles, colors and materials, but a neutral berber carpet with its tight weave makes a perfect backdrop for a country room. You can layer it with an area rug in the country style that coordinates with your upholstered pieces for an instant focal point that makes the room visually more cozy.
  
  To continue that cozy feeling, choose colors that complement your carpet and funiture. Vibrant greens add a jolt of color to a garden-style room, while blues are more traditionally country. Neutrals serve as an unobtrusive backdrop to furniture and collections while still adding personality.
  
  

Choose Your Funiture

• Furniture for a country room is as varied as the people who buy it. For a more traditional look, a camel-back sofa with blue-and-white checked upolstery paired with wing chairs might fit the bill. Heavy linen in a neutral color denotes a more modern look, while a worn-looking leather sofa and club chairs give the impression of a library or den. Colorful chintz and faded florals speak to English country style.
  
  

Decide on Accessories

• Collections, crafts, lamps, candles, window treatments, wall hangings, paintings and throw pillows are a few things that add depth, warmth and personality to any country decor.
  
  In most basement rooms, window treatments will not be an issue, but if the house is a split level or the basement is a walkout, there will be windows to be dressed. Many catalogs and country magazines will give you specific ideas for matching your windows to your country style.
  
  Throw pillows covered in quilted material or boasting a country-style animal motif like a primitive rendering of a cow or rooster give interest to a couch, while a collection of baskets hung on the wall draws the eye.
  
  Primitive country paintings add interest to any wall, while a collection of pottery might find a home on top of a primitive cupboard.
  
  If your basement family room includes a fireplace, try hanging a grapevine wreath above the mantle.
  
  Just about anything goes. Take your time and study magazines devoted to country style. Look through your home to find things that can be repurposed, like old trunks that make great coffee tables or that colorful hooked rug that could double as a wall hanging.