Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2017 i The Cottage Journal

Beautiful is a word that conjures up many expectations. It is one of the highest praises given and exudes the essence of lofty perfection. Using the word “beautiful” in a book title sets its expectation even higher—for how could one have the audacity to proclaim that there is something on every page that encapsulates such a declarative word? Author and interior designer Mark D. Sikes dares to profess his designs as such. The masterful artistry in his book Beautiful: All-American Decorating and Timeless Style (Rizzoli, 2016), does not disappoint. The book and its preceding blog, Mark D. Sikes: Chic People, Glamorous Places, Stylish Things, came to be as he pursued his passion to curate all things beautiful. This universal idea of beauty is translated into the pages of this tome…

The expansive pastoral beauty and coastal living charm surrounding a colleague’s river cottage in northern Virginia so impressed designer Melanie Whittington that she bought a place nearby. “My friend and colleague Judy Rhodes invited me to the river cottage one weekend back in 2001,” recalls Melanie of her first visit to the Northern Neck peninsula near the Chesapeake Bay. “I had no idea how beautiful the area was. As you turn off the interstate, it’s all wide open pastoral fields, lots of agriculture and history, and, of course, water.” Paying tribute to the area, Judy’s farmhouse-meets-nautical theme found its way into the latest incarnation of her house, noting vintage rattan chairs, a rope-based standing lamp, and a life-size carved wooden farm cat share space in the living room. Judy and…

Although Margaret Lloyd’s garden is in drought-stressed Santa Barbara County, California, it looks as luxuriant as an old-fashioned English cottage garden. Her secret? A lavish abundance of succulents and drought-tolerant natives as well as exotics that Margaret has combined with the eye of an artist. She began creating the garden five years ago when she and her husband downsized to a two-bedroom house in an old, established neighborhood. They built retaining walls at the back and front of the property and brought in truckloads of rich soil to level the slopes and to improve the native clay. To create more space for outdoor living, they expanded the original small backyard patio and built a large fireplace in one corner. “We entertain a lot,” says Margaret, “so we need yard space.”…

Designer Chris Hutcheson and her husband, John, knew when they pulled up to the quaint 1920s cottage on a side street in Smyrna, Georgia, that it could be their dream cottage. They also knew it would need plenty of work. “As soon as we drove up to this house, I felt like I was home,” says Chris, who had a vision of a comfortable space that would offer a respite from her busy job as part owner in Dear Keaton, an online interiors business, and John’s work as a contractor. She and John wanted every inch of the cottage to be updated with a neutral flair that would accent their collections and antiques. They set out to carefully plan the renovation so they could maximize storage, include additional lighting, and…

With an aging mother and a gaggle of grandkids nearby, Dona Bullock found herself in the market for a new home that would better accommodate her changing family dynamic. After nearly five years of living in an apartment just a short bike ride from her mother, Dona set her sights on the housing market. When eight months of looking for just the right type of home where she could live as her mother’s caretaker proved fruitless, Dona decided her best option was to build. Soon after, she found the perfect neighborhood and the best available lot, and was finally ready to make her customized dreams a reality. As fate would have it, the community’s developer actually went to school with Dona’s mother and, at 84 years old, he decided to…

“The point of interior design, really, is to add an unexpected touch to something ordinary.” —ASHLEY GILBREATH As a little girl Ashley Gilbreath played designer and decorator with her sister and, over the years, her play turned into her passion. She worked in residential design in New York with Richard Keith Langham and later moved to Atlanta to work in hospitality design. It was there Ashley met a Southern gentleman she would marry. The couple later moved back to his hometown of Montgomery, Alabama, where Ashley established Ashley Gilbreath Design. After a few years, the couple experienced the loss of premature twin babies, and they were heartbroken. Ashley says, “I needed something to use to take my mind off me. So I decided to open a shop, even knowing retail…

Like anything else authentic, whenever you see a true, bona fide cottage that’s as quaint as it is inviting–you know it. It just so happens that this charming abode, with its picket fence and arched arbor above the entry gate, perfectly displays all of the style’s attributes. In fact, being located in Kennebunkport, Maine, the gray cedar-shingled dwelling not only has appeal going for it, but also takes full advantage of the surrounding views of Cape Porpoise Harbor. Lovingly renovated by the current owner, who is a real estate developer and hotelier, the cottage reclaimed its intended allure through both a sense of nostalgia and great timing. “Although the homeowner had built several houses in the area, he jumped at the chance to buy this little gem once it came…

This picturesque property along the Gulf Coast was a dream find in an ideal community for homeowners Al and Julie Barnes. In fact, it was the lot and location rather than its 1950s ranch-style home, that first made their hearts sing. But once the couple’s artist daughter, Emily, had a look, she sold her parents on the vision of a pearly palette punctuated by colorful canvases. Two Alabama Gulf Coast firms were tasked with transforming the basic brick home into a classic minimalist abode packed with personality, Clay Adams of Walcott Adams Verneuville Architects of Fairhope and John Grant Gordon of JG Gordon of Orange Beach. They set to work opening up the floor plan, infusing wall-to-wall white, and then selecting furnishings that would elevate the house from cold and…

Mary Catherine Folmar and her husband, Tyler, renovated their kitchen about seven years ago when they first moved into their house. Mary Catherine says, “I love a white kitchen, it’s light, bright, and clean. And since this kitchen was not so big, having it light makes it seem more open.” They kept the hardwood floors, staining them dark to contrast with the walls and cabinets. Corian, a solid surface material, was chosen for the countertops and the top of the island. Mary Catherine loves the look of marble, and the Corian pattern White Dove accomplishes that look and feel without the worry of the high-maintenance natural stone. For the backsplash, however, she decided to go with tumbled marble thinking stains would be less likely. Cabinets line two walls of the…