Innholdsfortegnelse for Autumn 2017 i The Cottage Journal

“I treat the process like decorating. I do a mix of colors, textures, and sizes…I look for pumpkins with interesting organic stems, which happen to be on trend again.” –ALISON GIESE, Burke, Virginia Celebrating fall is in large part a celebration of coming home after summer’s dalliances and explorations. In this issue, we look at cottages that make home décor a reflection of travel adventures as well as passions for collecting and refurbishing. In “Clean, Serene, and Classic,” page 29, blogger Yvonne Pratt of Stone Gable American Farmhouse Living fills her home with tones of white from walls to accessories. The fresh style is a labor of love for Yvonne and her husband, who say they may never be finished with their home projects. For another creative DIY, don’t miss…

Northeastern Virginia’s colorful fall display is very distinctive, and it’s a natural glory that interior designer Alison Giese likes to exploit in her cottage décor—especially with her favorite holiday coming. “The fall is very specific here,” says Alison, who lives in the Fairfax County town of Burke with her husband, Ben, and their three young daughters. “The beginning of fall brings the cooler weather, the beautiful colors, and the anticipation of the upcoming holiday season. It’s so easy to decorate for it here, as we have such a true fall.” For Alison, fall décor begins with the home’s front stoop, where she likes to make what she calls her “fall statement.” She stacks graduated flat-topped pumpkins in neutral hues and surrounds them with colorful ones of different shapes. She also…

“I like things out where I can see them and use them. I’m a maximalist.” —MORGAN MURPHY A kitchen renovation was on Morgan Murphy’s long list of things to do upon purchasing a home in the neighborhood where he grew up. But when rats fell out of the ceiling along with 10,000 or so acorns, the renovation quickly moved to number one. “The kitchen looked like the museum of natural history, but nasty,” says Morgan. Painted bright blue with 1970s appliances, he proclaimed he wanted to take the room back to its original 1930s style. Everything in the kitchen had to be replaced, including the ceiling joists, but Morgan didn’t want to change the room’s dimensions. “This house doesn’t lend itself to an eat-in open concept,” he says referring to…

For everyone who regrets letting summer go, there is a solution. With a pair of scissors and a little forethought, the embers of summer can endure to perk up your home with their sprightly brilliance throughout the year. When the last rose of summer is withering and the final flowers in the garden are slowly bowing out, dried flowers are mementos of a past season. Make a few snips now, and those flowers will be with you forever. Exactly when the scheme for drying flowers began, nobody knows. But the tradition undoubtedly has deep roots. For as long as civilizations have been growing flowers, gardeners have sought to preserve their glory. Dried flowers were found in Egyptian tombs as proof that the art of preserving occurred at the time of…

Today, handmade items such as tableware and utensils are a rare luxury. But there are craftsmen trying to keep alive the art of creating metal objects by hand, also known as smithing. Ben Caldwell of Nashville, Tennesee, is an example of such an artist. Using mostly copper and sterling silver, Ben produces beautiful, handmade flatware, ladles, coffee scoops, bowls, and wall hangings that have developed a devoted following. “There are times where you need a special gift,” says Ben, “and that’s when people come to me. I provide the special thing at that birthday, anniversary, or wedding. To be incorporated into people’s lives as the person who created this special present is just really cool.” Ben got his start in metalsmithing in 1998 when his father, a noted collector of…

Ah bookcases! In many ways they define us. When I am at someone’s home I am always curious about what they choose to put on their shelves. It’s not being nosy on my part. I think of a bookcase as a résumé of the people that live there. They can hold a lifetime of stories—not just serve as a storage warehouse for books. Framed pictures that celebrate milestones and artifacts from family history or travels are a great accompaniment to share the space. As I’ve mentioned before, my husband and I have designed and built many homes together. We learned from our first house that bookcases were a coveted feature when selling the house. As a result, I have become a shameless hoarder of books. And with each new house,…

A garage with a carriage house above was supposed to be a temporary home for Patsy and Jeffrey Schmidt of Christiana, Tennessee. They would live there with their daughters, Emme Grace and Rayley Beth, while the main house was under construction. But when their third daughter, Maggie, was born with Down syndrome, everything changed. “I had a gift shop and did interior design for almost eleven years,” says Patsy, “and after I saw all the time the therapies were going to take, I closed it six months after she was born.” Without Patsy’s income, the couple couldn’t afford to build the house they had planned. Then inspiration struck: if they converted the garage to living space and flanked it with wings, they would have a classic symmetrical design that looked…

There’s something special about autumn that draws us to gather around the table. A new crispness in the air, a fresh dose of warm color, and a cozy nod to the rustic, earthy elements that find their way into our homes to bring added delight in preparing a table for friends and family. Whether your dining space is indoors or outdoors, more intimate or set for a crowd—you’re sure to be inspired by these tips in creating your own table that welcomes both the season and your guests in style.…

For more than 20 years, Trés Taylor worked as a biochemist hardly thinking about a career in art, but after a visit with Southern artist R. A. Miller in 1998 he felt inspired. He quit his job and began his journey as a painter. “I was a deer in headlights,” Trés recalls. “But it saved my life. I’m standing here (in this studio) because I decided to pick up a paintbrush one day. I took a risk.” Taking risks, he says, is what his journey has been teaching him, over and over again. “I feel that our whole purpose on this planet is to just keep taking risks and pushing ourselves, because you’ll discover things about yourself,” he says. Trés’s work focuses on spirituality, love, peace, and joy—and his journey…

Lancaster County in southern Pennsylvania, sits on the Susquehanna River and has been called the “Garden Spot of America.” Originally home to several Native American tribes, the area was settled in 18th and 19th centuries by Germans searching for freedom of religion. French Huguenots, English, Welsh, Scots, and Irish all followed and found their way to Lancaster, many sustaining themselves by farming the rich soil. The city of Lancaster is the county seat and one of the oldest inland towns in the United States. The red-brick Central Market building is the focal point in town. North of the city, Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum is a living history museum preserving the culture of the Pennsylvania German rural community life from 1740 to 1940. For an Amish experience explore the…

Yvonne Pratt has always loved decorating, but she realized early on that as much as she enjoys color in other people’s houses, she prefers the serenity of whites and neutrals for her own home. “I like a calm look,” she says. The spacious country home near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, that she shares with her husband, Bobby, has a semi-open floor plan, so sight lines travel through several rooms. “You have to go through a lot of things visually, and you don’t want it to overwhelm you,” she says, “so the calmer and more neutral the palette, the better.” Even seasonal decorating obeys the quiet-neutrals rule. For fall, autumn leaves pressed between glass and a few pillows embroidered or printed with pumpkin designs nod to the season’s traditional earthy colors, but the…