Bears Americana

Bears Americana

Use Rustic Home Furnishings to Create a Country Home in the City (up)

Bring the beauty and warmth into your home with our prints, rustic decor, home furnishings and kitchenware. From whimsical to dramatic, you'll find something to please everyone in your family with rustic home furnishings.

For many city dwellers, rustic home furnishings are a way to escape the hectic urban lifestyle for the peaceful tranquility of rural living. When it's impossible to leave the corporate rat race behind, an urban apartment or city house decorated in rustic home furnishings can be a relaxing place to unwind after a stressful day at the office.

Country decorating utilizes natural materials as much as possible and decorative items that look handmade even when they aren't. Wooden floors may be polished to sheen, yet have characteristic marks from decades of being walked on. Braided rugs are scattered about, providing texture and warmth. The walls may be painted in neutral shades or earth tones, or perhaps papered in small floral patterns or bold country motifs.

For those living on country farms or in mountain cabins, the rustic decorating style is a natural choice that showcases the tradition of a farming heritage. And for those who live in-between, the suburbanites, upscale country home furnishings can provide a comfortable gathering place for family and friends to enjoy each other's company, or to relax after a long commute.

Popular designs incorporate such elements as apples, floral wreaths, roosters, birdhouses, hearts, and Americana folk art for borders or to be used either above or below chair railing or crown molding. Wide borders with bold patterns complement smaller matching designs, checks, stripes, or plaids that can be used for larger wall areas.

A bear or moose motif may be used with more rustic home furnishings to create a log cabin ambience or to bring the feel of wilderness living into the dwelling. Chandeliers that look like wagon wheels or that are made from antlers, whether authentic fixtures or reproductions, are common lighting elements for rustic decorating.

From moose wall plates and elk switch plates, to bear coat hooks and deer towel bars, loon key holders and pinecone or leaf curtain swag holders, we are your source for rustic metal art decor featuring wildlife and fish themes for decorating your log home, lodge, cottage and log cabin.

A dark brown leather sofa fits perfectly in a country theme, especially when teamed up with either complementary or contrasting upholstered chairs. Comfort is a primary factor when it comes to selecting seating for the rustic dwelling. Throw pillows and curtains can be made from the same fabric to add a unified look to the room, though window shutters are an innovative alternative to traditional drapes when it comes to window treatments.

A stack of folded quilts, perhaps piled in an open trunk or a large basket, invites family and friends to wrap themselves up on chilly evenings while watching television or reading a good book. Or handmade afghans can be draped over the back of the sofa and chairs. Such simple decorating elements provide a hospitable feel to a family room. Baskets, in a variety of shapes and sizes, are also an integral element of country decorating whether handmade or mass-produced. To add additional interest, baskets can be lined with calico prints or trimmed in lace, filled with balls of yarn and embroidery projects, or hold freshly baked cookies for mid-afternoon snacking.

Another idea for bringing elements of nature into the house is to arrange a small collection of bird houses on a plant shelf or countertop. Other collectibles can also be displayed, perhaps rag dolls or stuffed teddy bears.

About the Author

I'm a Chinese girl, I love all beautiful, fashion and artistic things, and I'd like to introduce and display an excellent selection of China fine art, gifts, handicrafts, jewelry, toys, home decorations and fashion accessories to you, also give you great suggestions about gift ideas and introduce you the latest fashion trends in China.

How can the same species mate?

So one of the traits of being a separate species is they cannot mate with other animals that are not of the same species right? If this is true then how can, say bears of a different species mate successfully? For example, the brown bear (Ursus arctos) and the black bear (Ursus americana) have been known to mate. I believe they produce fertile offspring which would violate the species rule. Is it that they have to be a different genus as well to not produce fertile offspring? Not really an important question but as a zoology major I feel I should know the answer. Thanks

Your "rule" is the genetic species concept, very popular among some biologists, laughed at by others. There are other species concepts. My favorite was proposed by C. Tate Regan, an ichthyologist, who said, "A species is whatever a competent taxonomist working with the group says it is." Among fishes, there are not only lots of fertile inter-species hybrids, there are inter-generic hybrids that can breed with one another or with either parent. Other problems with the genetic species concept are organisms that reproduce asexually and fossil forms. In other words, that concept is useless for the vast majority of organisms.

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