Innholdsfortegnelse for Vintage Cottage 2022 i The Cottage Journal

Homes with Heart Welcome to this special issue of The Cottage Journal, where vintage décor is beautifully showcased in homes across the country. Within these pages, you’ll find that the heart of vintage style is a passion for the past. In each feature, you’ll get to know homeowners and collectors who highlight their home’s unique history and decorate with pieces that hold a story and capture the imagination. In this issue, we traveled to one of the best-known sites in the country for antiques shopping, Round Top, Texas, where Jennifer and Jim Nicholas welcomed us into their stunning farmhouse and guesthouse constructed from a silo. Check out their inventive renovations in “A Change of Pace” on page 31 and get inspired to book a unique stay in their silo, “Home…

When it comes to decorating, Jennifer Kitchens loves to take what she has and brainstorm creative ways to give it new purpose. Unafraid of a challenge and armed with her eye for design, she set her sights on the ultimate project—transforming what once doubled as a smokehouse and washhouse on her family’s farm into a guest cottage. The farm has been in Jennifer’s family for more than 100 years, and its location in Round Top, Texas, combined with her job at Old World Antieks and her love for one-of-a-kind pieces, ensured the dwelling would be filled with vintage charm. Redesigning the building was no small feat, but the entire family worked together to bring her vision to life. Since the house was originally constructed on a dirt floor, Jennifer’s husband…

When Patty and Scott Herron came across the early 1900s cottage in La Grange, Texas, that would become theirs, Patty’s father recalled fond childhood memories of daily strolls by the home as he walked to school. They purchased it in 1995, and as Patty began the process of furnishing and decorating—one that continues today—it was only fitting that she started with family pieces, the foundation of her thoughtfully collected aesthetic made up of gathered vintage charm and creative heartfelt presentations. “It all started with getting hand-me-down furniture and décor from my parents, grandparents, and great-aunties,” Patty says. “We’re talking things that were stored in one of the barns on my daddy’s farm. I’ve just built on that. Decorating has been a continuous process since we moved in 27 years ago.…

After more than 25 years, Rhonda Montgomery’s garden doesn’t need much in the way of new shrubs and trees, but every year, she looks forward to shopping for annuals. They’re destined for the antique iron and concrete urns that she places strategically in the landscape. “Years ago, I knew I wouldn’t have help with the garden—my husband doesn’t do yard work,” she explains. “Since I wanted to have something blooming all the time, I bought all these fabulous urns at estate sales. My plan was to get the yard looking good and then I would just put plants in the pots.” Executing the first part of her plan—getting the yard looking good—proved to be more of a challenge than she had anticipated, though. Two years after the Montgomerys moved in,…

Before Trish Failla and her daughter, Taylor, launched Vintageblessings, an online source for antique textiles, they were enthusiastic collectors who enjoyed finding pieces to add to their ever-growing collection. The pair began by selling a variety of vintage wares in a booth at their local antiques mall until they discovered eBay in 1998, which proved to be the perfect marketplace and allowed them to start selling worldwide. So, they shifted their business online and narrowed their focus to heirloom quilts and linens. “Every quilt that I come across, I think about the person who made it and [their] life,” says Trish. “I think that the history is important—and that [collectors] have something that’s one of a kind, not mass-produced.” Trish’s love for quilts is heavily influenced by her late grandmother,…

Visit Beth and Fred Singer’s three-story guest cottage on Nantucket, Massachusetts, and you may find it difficult to believe that the structure was built in 2008. “The design team was inspired by my client and her great-great-grandfather,” says interior designer Anne Dutcher, who has worked with the Singer family on multiple projects, including the main house that sits alongside the light-filled cottage. “His name was Edwin Amesbury—he was one of six sons, who all became sea captains.” The family history was an important part of the design process, which Anne approached with the intention of preserving the homeowner’s family history and honoring the island itself. From the open living room to the dreamy master suite on the third floor, a mixture of Beth’s family heirlooms and antiques sourced from around…

Connecticut-based artist Priscilla Hillman decided it was time to downsize. “I always felt lonely living in such a big house,” admits Priscilla, who designs resin figurines. “In my previous home, I was forever thinking, ‘Where is everyone?’ Of course, they were just on another floor, but they seemed far away.” So, Priscilla came up with an idea. She and her husband, Norman, had previously purchased the adjacent property with its once-quaint carriage house. Although the rationale for the acquisition was to expand their garden vista, the converted carriage house on the acreage was sitting empty. So, why not move in? Before she and Norman could make the leap into less space, Priscilla needed to do a complete makeover of the structure, which meant taking a major step back in time.…

Drawn from the natural splendor of France’s picturesque countryside and rural life, the French-country design aesthetic embodies a rustic yet graceful appeal that exudes warmth and comfort. Known for its predominant use of natural materials both inside and out, the style doesn’t follow strict proportions or rules; rather, it conveys an add-on quality that seems to have grown and evolved over time. Features such as curved windows and dormers, rough-hewn exposed beams, wood and stone floors, and either slate or wood-shake roofs lend a timeless quality to any abode, whether new or well established. Homeowner Betty Ferguson can attest to the timelessness of the French-country aesthetic because her home displays all the hallmarks of this endearing style. Tucked discretely off a busy thoroughfare, it has stood in quiet solitude since…

For many gardeners, a yard covered in trees might be enough to cause trepidation, but not for Lanis Littlefield. Instead of cutting down all the trees in her full-shade yard and starting fresh, she simply made do and created a shade garden oasis. “Since there was so much shade, there was very little grass and no plants other than the original shrubs that were planted in 1926 when the house was built,” she recalls. “It was basically a blank canvas. I knew it would be a challenge, but I knew if I wanted a garden, it would have to be a shade garden.” So, shovel and trowel in hand and with no specific plan in mind, Lanis got started, tackling one area at a time. “When I started seeing the…