Embracing history helps you feel grounded and rooted in the human experience. Nostalgiac affection for the past can help you feel less anxious, less lonely, and even less bored.

Bring some historical nostalgia into your home with primitive home decor. Primitive decor celebrates early Americana with unfussy furnishings and practical, sometimes crude objects.

Here are four ways to incorporate rustic country home decor into your design style.

1. Floor to Ceiling

Some of the most engaging historical decor elements are the building materials used as a matter of course.

Old stone houses showcase wide planked wood floors and heavy, hand-hewn ceiling beams. Large-format brick covers Colonial hearths. Tuckpointed stone is either exposed or covered in creamy, lime washed plaster.

While you might not live in a 17th-century home, that doesn't mean you can't borrow from their style. Wrap existing ceiling beams in weathered wood. Or go faux and add decorative beams to a plain ceiling.

Replace your fireplace mantle with an antique railroad tie. Or use one to accent a cased opening.

Consider blue stone floors or hand-laid bricks to add warmth and charm to your kitchen and entryway.

2. Furniture

Investing in rudimentary furniture is a practical way to infuse your house with primitive style.

Go thrifting to find antique Shaker dressers and cupboards or buy new pieces with a heritage look. Characterized by straight lines and round wooden knobs, Shaker furniture is function at its finest.

Use a three-legged milk stool to corral books at your bedside. Surround your dining table with Windsor chairs.

You can also be on the lookout for modern furniture with old-fashioned joinery. Exposed mortise and tenon joints have an immediate historical feel.

3. Accents

Start small by choosing rustic, natural accent pieces. You can mix them in sparingly for modern country decor or be more period appropriate.

A rough wooden ladder can hold blankets in the living room or towels in the bathroom. The warm wood and organic shape juxtapose nicely with both stark white and homier patterns.

Use linen for your linens.

Manufactured from flax, linen is one of the oldest textiles still in common use. Tea towels and curtains are easy to swap out. You can also get linen bedding and linen slipcovers for your couch.

Add simple molding throughout your home. A peg rack in the entryway is stylish and useful. Frame your windows with straight cuts instead of mitered edges.

Change out some of your lights for more historically accurate sconces and candelabra chandeliers.

These are small touches, but they add up for a big impact.

4. Start Outside

Revamp your front porch and your exterior to reflect your bucolic design aesthetic.

Rocking chairs on the porch are a classic image of country living. Choose a ladderback chair with a caned seat for the most authentic effect.

Use some antique stoneware jugs as planters or to hold stems of greenery. You can up-end a large crock for a clever side table to hold your Mason jar of iced tea.

Primitive Decor is Timeless

Primitive decor remains a prominent design choice because of its timeless appeal. Whether your home demands it for historical reasons or you're just drawn to its simple beauty, there are easy ways to bring the past to the present.

Are you outfitting your home in the primitive style? Check out our home decor. We have a selection of handcrafted Amish furniture and a changing lineup of one of a kind antiques.