Sheila Wilson loves the process of arranging and rearranging her primitive collections on a variety of shelving types in her Elmer, New Jersey, home. Take away these savvy styling cues to capture the same look in your own countrified digs:
Get in line.
Don’t underestimate the effect that neat and tidy rows have on an aesthetic. Resist the temptation to over-curate a space in favor of arranging a few like items together in an organized fashion. The effect is clean and simple.
Be a mix master.
Combine textures on a shelf or peg rail for variety. Pair woven baskets with firkins, pottery with wooden boxes, or pewter with stoneware for visual interest. Integrate fresh greenery, pip-berry wreaths and sprigs of greens for added charm.
Size to fit.
Fill the entirety of an odd-shaped cubby or shelf with one large singular item, such as an oversize firkin, jug or crock. Doing so will not only suit the space but also direct attention to particularly impressive pieces.
Rack ’em up.
Wall racks are one of the easiest ways to showcase favorite plates and platters. Use them to display related goods, such as a pair of pewter plates or wooden dough bowls and utensils.
Minimal decorative accents allow this antique Hoosier cabinet with an intact flour bin to play a starring role in the kitchen. Stoneware pieces enhance the cabinet’s rustic feel without competing with its beautiful wood grain and hardware. Placing two large accents of equal height and weight on top, like this glass butter churn and firkin, provides visual balance.
Stoneware jugs and crocks, baskets, pewter plates, cast-iron skillets and wooden boxes lend homespun appeal to Sheila’s cozy kitchen, while an oval braided rug accentuates the rustic tile flooring and distressed Shaker-style cupboards. To create an additional work space, Sheila handcrafted a custom cutting board that sits on top of the range when it’s not in use. She also built the open corner shelves, which she fills to the brim with decorative wares. 43
A round braided rug anchors a small farm table surrounded by natural-wood cross-back chairs in the kitchen. A stoneware crock makes a vibrant centerpiece when filled with wildflowers and paired with vintage serving ware. Small twiggy wreaths add texture to a primitive-inspired chandelier. Built-in cupboards and a window seat give the Wilson home an authentically old-fashioned feel.
Above right: Antique wooden molds and an old-fashioned washboard mingle in a wire basket in the kitchen.
Right: Filling an empty corner or cubby with angled pieces, like this slender cupboard and miniature hanging shelf, introduces primitive appeal into what might otherwise be dead space in a kitchen corner. Similar-sized stoneware and pottery on the shelves convey a streamlined aesthetic, punctuated by a vintage high chair, hanging drip candles, and a twig-and-berry wreath on the adjacent door. 45
Above: On a kitchen wall, dough bowls, wooden utensils and other primitives are contained in a distressed, sage-colored plate rack— another one of Sheila’s handcrafted pieces. Vintage spice boxes and wall art frame the rack and the antique pie safe below, which hosts another spice cabinet tucked into a box on top.
Below: A monochromatic color palette allows larger pieces, such as this firewood storage bin, to blend into the dining room without overtaking the space. An antique stoneware butter churn and jugs featuring similar coloration cluster beside the bin; smaller stoneware pieces are arranged in a hanging cupboard above.
Right: For a classically primitive tabletop arrangement, combine three stoneware pieces in distinctly different sizes and fill one or more of the vessels with fresh flowers, as Sheila did for her dining room table.
Freestanding cupboards balance gorgeous built-in cabinets in the dining room. Sheila cleverly upcycled a ladder into a hanging shelf to bridge two cabinets divided by the doorway; she then used it to display a variety of baskets accented by pine garland. A farm table surrounded by Windsor chairs, firkins, stoneware crocks and jugs, wooden spice boxes and colorful stacked Shaker boxes suits the size of the room. 47
Oversize firkins stacked from large to small double as a nightstand next to the four-poster bed in the master bedroom. The rustic trio picks up the tones and textures of the large wooden dovetail trunk at the foot of the bed. Two black Windsor chairs accompany the dark wood armoire that is topped with an old rocking horse that contributes a playful note to the classically Colonial room.