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Country is the new Pop?  Standardization has been around since people learned they could make money off of sheet music and consolidated the recording industry.  If you are putting up big money it is better to be safe than sorry.
 
If you want to make a commercially-acceptable song you have to write it that way.  Same set of concerns, same responses for a style.  Then use the same instrumentation, same chord structure.  Nashville etc. sound that way because it is an assembly line product.  That can be good or bad, depending.  Just about every west coast "name" used the Wrecking Crew.  Even bands (see Beach Boys).  The west coast pop sound was the Wrecking Crew studio band(s) - session musicians.
 
But we are getting pretty far afield from the OPs request of mixing techniques.
 
The biggest problem w/ home studios is there is no one to learn directly from.  You have to read or come to forums to glean a little new info.  The best thing about home studios is it doesn't cost $100 @ hour to learn.
 
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