The Cottage Journal Autumn 2011

Fall is my favorite season. The air is crisp, and all around us nature is preparing a colorful display as she changes her summer finery to the rich, deep hues of autumn. As a child, I loved raking fallen leaves into piles just so I could jump into them and hear the crunch. On our front porch, plump pumpkins of every size and shape, saucy scarecrows, and even hay bales drew us heart and soul into this glorious time of year. With this issue of Cottage, we want to inspire you to celebrate every space in your home, taking cues from nature’s bounty. Autumn brings to mind not just golden sunshine against a deep blue sky, but breezes that gently sway wind chimes on the porch and carry a relaxed…

Your home should be your sanctuary—filled with comfort, peace, and love. Perhaps as you consider these ideas, they will inspire in you even more creative ways to make your home your own. Let your personality shine throughout your living spaces in every keepsake, pillow, and photograph. A cottage is welcoming and a comfortable place to rest. It’s time away to relax and breathe in the fresh air.…

The homeowner says key elements gave her a place to start developing her design scheme—a piece of furniture, a color scheme, a pattern, a lampshade. Little things often inspire an entire space, she says, such as a gray and yellow pillow and a yellow area rug in the living room. Stripes are part of the “signature” of this charming home. After researching countless blogs and design magazines, the owners decided to create this metallicstriped hallway. It proved to be a time-consuming task, but the payoff was well worth it. They also carried the stripes into the living room by using vertically striped draperies. colorful touches With a degree in graphic design and fine art, the homeowner has an extensive collection of her work from college. She found the perfect place…

Cool, crisp fall evenings are the best kind. You find yourself calm and relaxed and longing for the laughter of close friends. To throw a simple dinner party, just drape your breakfast-room table in burlap, put together a beautiful, fresh arrangement gathered from your yard, and pull out the casual autumn china. Let its pattern do the talking, and simply accent with colored glasses and a great centerpiece. Make one of your favorite comforting meals, put on some soft music, and you have pieced together the perfect intimate fall dinner. As the “heart of the home,” the kitchen should be a space you adore spending time in. It’s one of the toughest rooms to design because it must be functional and roomy enough to cook in and to serve a…

The Sticks and Stone cottage in Carmel, California, earned its name from the thorny rough-hewn exterior granite quarried from a nearby monastery. In the Carmel tradition, the vertically hinged casement windows swing open to capture the breezes, and the split Dutch-style doors open to the air but keep pets on the side where they belong. The low-sloping roof is nearly flat, in contrast to the steeper-roofed cottages in the neighborhood built to the storybook tradition. The low roof, the spreading base of the granite chimney, and theconnecting stonework in the garden make it a home rooted to the earth. One of Carmel’s earliest residents and its mayor, Perry Newberry, built the home and is credited for protecting the city’s many trees. Trees around Sticks and Stone have matured to canopy…

Start with one piece you love, and build everything else around it—that is often the advice for planning a room. The homeowner did just that. She chose the bright Beethoven piece by Stephen Kaufman (Andy Warhol’s first assistant), hanging it over the mantel to inspire the rest of this colorful cottage, then pulled the electric turquoise color to use in little pops throughout. personal pieces When designing your space, always remember to make it personal. Every piece, knickknack, or accent should mean something to you. The couple fell in love with this salt and pepper chess set they found in San Francisco years ago. Now it has a permanent spot in their living room. Every room, cubby, and corner in your home should tell a story about your family. Whether…