The Cottage Journal Decorating 2014

Coming home to rooms of inspiring color can mean warm and cozy or spirited and bright. Whatever your tastes, this special decorating issue explores many styles from the front entrance to your private retreats. In this issue we have included several designers who have shared their insight on designing comfortable rooms and inspirations for additional ideas. Gazing at paint swatches and loving them all can make decorating a room intimidating. Luckily now you can test small samples before making a big commitment to a total room change. An interesting study in a cottage with lots of color is “Finding the Silver Lining” on page 59 with all of its beauty from room to room. The master bedroom suite has a soothing effect with its use of soft paint tones, fabrics,…

* Twenty-five years after receiving a corkscrew as a gift from his parents, Gordon McGee can’t help but continue to hunt for new and interesting styles. His collection started because he admired not only the corkscrew’s beauty and unique craftsmanship but because they were easy to collect and gave his travels an added since of purpose. “If you go back in time, 100 or 150 years ago, wine was not very popular in the Deep South,” he says, noting consequently most of the corkscrews he’s found were in antiques shops outside the South and in Europe. “For me it was all about the hunt.” Instead of storing his collection in a drawer or cabinet, hidden from sight and most likely collecting dust, Gordon thought to frame portions of his collection…

*Paige Albright, owner of Paige Albright Orientals, specializes in a wide variety of antique Oriental rugs and believes, “There’s a story in every stitch.” She admits rugs are practical, providing insulation, but notes her clients are more influenced by their beauty and history. The stitches of the famous Pazyryk Carpet certainly have tales to tell. Found in 1948 in Siberia, the rug is credited with being the world’s oldest surviving woven carpet. Literally frozen in time, it is thought to be from the 5th century BC, and it’s debated whether it originated in Armenia or Persia (Iran), two prolific centers of carpet production. Along with Turkey, these areas are still hubs for the carpet business today. “Rugs are classified by the name of the regions where they were woven,” Paige…

*Tucked away from the Florida sun, this shady Seagrove Beach cottage welcomes friends and family for afternoons of fun. The cottage’s crisp white exterior shines bright against its vibrant red double doors that open to an inviting screened-in front porch boasting a rich family history. Lucy Armour says she and her husband, Jim, love decorating with things they’ve inherited from their families. Stepping onto the spacious front porch, the familial love is obvious, as the majority of the furnishings have been passed down from their grandparents. Not only have the Armours furnished the space with family treasures, the porch also pays the family another special tribute. “Jim’s grandparents had a house in the same spot ours is in,” Lucy explains. “We had to tear it down, but when we rebuilt,…

*Have you ever been to a party where, instead of everyone congregating in one room, they moved freely from space to space as though the entire house was planned that way? For Judy Horton and her family, their open and inviting home fits this description to a tee. Designed by architect Bill Ingram, this abode exudes an understated elegance that immediately puts anyone who walks through the front door at ease. “From the moment we moved in, our intent was to make it comfortable,” Judy says. “We wanted it to not only reflect a timeless style but to also accommodate whatever kind of get-together we were hosting—whether it was a cozy group of friends or a larger gathering.” Masterfully furnished and appointed by Richard Tubb and fellow interior decorator Gary…

Though the story of the stately English Tudor home that Shannon Murphy and her husband, Steve Bakir, share with their three children begins with a sad tale—the original house was damaged by fire after it was struck by lightning—the new-and-improved version stands as a testament to the good that can come from a bad event. Choosing to look forward rather than back, Shannon and Steve worked with a crackerjack team for a near-total renovation that allowed the pair to design a custom home that suits their active family to a tee. Among the spaces gained with the redo is a spacious eating area adjacent to the kitchen. In the kitchen, the range is tucked into a brick alcove lined with a tile backsplash. White Alabama marble forms the countertops, and…