What's new in country style

Retro clocks
If you don't have a rooster to wake you up in the morning, you might consider one of these vintage-inspired alarm clocks.

All three are styled to look as though they've been waking you up for years.

Left to right: Westclox's Big Ben has been a classic since the design was patented in 1908. This model was designed in 1939 by American industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss. Restoration Hardware, $49.

Seth Thomas is best known for the tower clock at Grand Central Station in New York City. Seth Thomas's Waterbury looks great in a traditional setting with its heavy cast-metal body. Eatons, $45.

In 1675, Charles II of England introduced long waistcoats, and it became popular to wear watches in those waistcoat pockets instead of around the neck. This Silverplate Pocket Watch Alarm Clock looks gentlemanly on a bedside table. Scantrade, $150.

Lamp and table from Pack-rat.

Country colour a late century overview
Choosing paint colours is never an easy task, but the experts at Benjamin Moore have made it simpler by creating a new line of colour collections.

Our favourite new collection is, of course, Casual Country. We asked Benjamin Moore to help us compare how colours in country decor have changed over the last few decades.

What we discovered was that the colours themselves haven't changed, but how they're categorized has. In the 1970s, paint colours were sorted into spices, fruits and jewel colour families, while today Benjamin Moore divides the colours into decorative collections.

The soft tones of Antique Rose, Mayonnaise, Butter Cream and Rocky Road are our favourites from the Casual Country paint collection.