The Cottage Journal features decorating ideas, style tips, creative inspiration, and delicious recipes - and now you can enjoy every single page on the tablet! Create a warmer, more magical home with the beauty of nature and The Cottage Journal!
The darkness surrounds you with peace after a busy day of work or outside activities. For me, it brings back a favorite childhood memory of visits to my grandmother’s. The window would be raised, and I would lie under a light quilt gazing out toward the starry sky. I would often share my thoughts with the moon, who I assumed was smiling back at me. A bedroom chest of drawers passed down from a grandparent or other family member, a wooden toy truck a neighbor made—these are the ties that remind us of the simpler days of childhood and bind us to our collectibles. Or we may go antiquing to find similar pieces or slightly aged quilts and pillows crafted by hand and full of character. Throw open the windows,…
Cottage Idea Bring joy to a home without spending much money by adding pops of color throughout with accessories, fresh flowers, fruits and veggies, and even extra throw pillows. Cottage Idea Keep comfort in mind when planning a space to relax. An antique daybed, a swinging daybed, and a plush chaise lounge find the perfect homes on porches and balconies. Welcome GUESTS OF MANY CREATE happy, fun SPACES BE open AND free FULL OF hospitality Relax AND FIND solace KICK UP your feet Special LITTLE TOUCHES MAKE A home joyful Cottage Idea Think of special ways to make your backyard a “secret” haven for you to enjoy. Add a fence, a small gate, a brick or stone wall, or perhaps just some shrubbery for extra privacy.…
Style Idea Use tiny vintage stools to build interest on a shelf or table top. Parisian blue accents against weathered whitewashed wood, splashes of color from blooming plants, shelves of miniatures suggesting they were discovered at the marché aux puces, and the black and white bistro-tiled floor in the kitchen all suggest that the homeowners have a foot on the other side of the Atlantic. They do, in Paris. In contrast to their urban apartment there, the grounds of their Utah cottage are surrounded with spacious gardens, greenery, outdoor sculpture, and the reflected blue of the swimming pool. The furnishings tell the story of their travels: comfort living in small cozy spaces, a love of art and artful objects, and mastery of the art of storage—key to successful cottage living—…
An older home is intriguing because it carries a sense of past residents and interesting moments shared within the walls. The pink bungalow on what Carmel locals call “Professors Row” tells the story of an early wave of Carmel residents, the academics. Pink Cottage is also known as Celia’s, named after Celia Harris, the cottage’s original owner and one of the Berkeley professors that came to establish Carmel’s lively discussion groups. There, in the spacious living room, she hosted the West Coast’s most prominent thinkers. Owners Lois and Jack Prentice lovingly care for the cottage and have continued Celia’s tradition with their involvement in the Carmel literary community, their love of books and the arts, and their commitment to cottage preservation. Artful cottage dwellers, they maximize storage with antique chests…
Style Idea Charm, whimsy, and romance abound in the cottage’s careful storybook detailing, such as the random shingle pattern, pastel color palette, split Dutch-style door, and sawn curves of the door and window frames and bargeboards. A COTTAGE’S sunny cheer INVITES YOU TO enjoy the day, ESPECIALLY nestled INTO A MOUND OF pillows Favorite fairy tales often begin in a cottage. Carefully inked drawings show sweet homes with roses and vines climbing the walls; steep, shingled roofs; carved decorative bargeboards; frames around the doors and windows; a split Dutch-style door; and a cobbled walkway. For the romantically and literary minded, it is a wonderful thing when art and imagination affect bricks and mortar. Such storybook cottages are one attraction of Carmel, California. Fanciful meets stucco, bricks, and shingles in this…
added touches To make the cottage feel more like home, the host family thoughtfully chose each painting, print, and knickknack at a special place. Fluffy white linens and plush robes are simple things that make guests feel welcome. When decorating a cottage for guests to enjoy or for you to escape to on special weekends, it is important to consider every detail. A beautiful bathroom with special amenities that make guests feel pampered. A kitchen filled with fresh fruit, bagels, muffins or pastries, and coffee or hot tea for guests to enjoy first thing in the morning. A bedroom with the inviting warmth of extra blankets, the luxurious feel of crisp clean sheets, pens and paper, and books or movies to curl up and enjoy. It’s the little things that…
