Man! I feel like a (modern) woman!

Think hard and remember about a year ago when our economy was in the shitter and people where flipping out and starting vegetable gardens and wearing plastic bags on their feet instead of shoes and millions of people were out of work.  Wow that was so long ago it barely feels like it happened at all!  Pop culture embraced the Great Recession and birthed such vomitous gems like "staycation" and "recession chic".  Depression-era fashion became hot for like a minute and hipsters said "FUCK YOU!  we're going pioneer!" and then we saw lots of suspenders, handlebar mustaches and Brooklyn cowboys.  Even Gap had a brief horrible foray into outfits that looked like long johns and old mattress ticking.  I'm pretty sure every unemployed person wanted to punch you in the balls wearing your $50 tea-stained Gap thermal shirt in solidarity.   Flash forward to today and I think interiors have finally settled on a collective response.  I'm calling it Modern Country.  I was going to call it New Country but that sounds a lot like Shania Twain would be sitting in all of these pictures and that would ruin everything.

Barbara Barry in Veranda via A Life's Design

The Barbara Barry version of the captain's chair? 

Margarita Lorenzo from Bliss

My definition of modern country really just means adding a piece of mid-century modern somewhere in there.  Probably the only reason I like this room is the shell chair.  Love the wood legs.

from Head Over Heels

Honestly I love every single thing about this room including the totally arranged photograph of it.  Let's break it down art class style: Ooh look at the neon doggie as the focal point!  His nose is pointing to those delicious chocolate walls!  Gawd that grey mantle looks saucy next to the brown.  Birch logs and twine?  Stealing it.  Moving over to the vintage-looking pillow whose traditional pattern contrasts nicely with the contemporary art.  The stupid karate chop angles the viewer to the casual billowing of the chair corner.  It looks like it was slip covered with a old blanket which is exactly how I slipcover things when I can't wash out the wine stains anymore.  Notice the inclusion of the modern ethnic side table. *ignoring sunflowers ignoring sunflowers ignoring sunflowers* Oh that color of the table wood blends so nicely with the sisal rug.   What I nice fun plant sitting next to the classy marble.  That green really brightens up the room and gives it height - just like those nice simple roman shades.  Oh shit Madame Sunday would sell her firstborn for that chandelier whose multitude of round bulbs perfectly accent the curves on the side table and plant basket.  Ooh hello again neon doggie!  And so it goes...

from House Beautiful

Once again that MCM Platner coffee table in a countrified room = awesomesauce.

Southern Living

Minus that retarded upholstered wood thing on top of the bed this is nice modern country.  Is it even country?  Is it just traditional?  You figure it out I don't really care that much...

House Beautiful from Cafe Cartolina (?)

Lonny

That black farmhouse sink is pure fabulosity.  I want an IV drip that is nothing but the pure fabulosity emitted by that sink. 

Country Living

Fucking open shelves with dishes.  Didn't I JUST talk to you about that?

Country Living

My hallway is dark chocolate so this always gets the ModSauce stamp of approval.

Notebook magazine from here

Apparently modern country also equals boring.

Skona Hem

Notebook magazine from here

This whitewashed fireplace is a nice alternative to all that whitewashed furniture that's everywhere.  At the very least it distracts from the unfinished bookshelves.

both are Erin Martin from Head Over Heels

Yes those are bales of hay.  This Erin Martin lady is definitely the winner today.

If you want more modern country you could check out Skona Hem, every Scandinavian interior ever photographed (including any Ikea catalog) or this new book that is all about modern country.  I guarantee it's not nearly as awesome and mind-blowing as what you've just read here though.  Do you need some time to recover?  Yeah me too.