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!
Welcome to our Summer issue! We always like to include cottages along the water, and this issue is certainly no exception. Our staff is drawn to sites near the lake or beach and to the dreamy dwellings nearby. From visiting with guests and playing in the water to finding a quiet spot to read, we all enjoy the long, warm days of sunshine—and maybe a little extra vacation time. In “Escape to the Lake,” page 33, a renovated 1960s cottage becomes an oasis complete with pier and boathouses. A breezy porch swing is the perfect hideaway for a nap in this family’s second home. You will also love “Beach Cottage Getaway” on page 57, featuring an island cottage off the Georgia coast that has space to entertain after the walls…
When it comes to candy-colored exteriors, charming architectural details, and idyllic storybook neighborhoods, there’s no place that suggests cottage living quite like the communities found along the coastline. We look to beachside communities like The Cottages at Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina—nestled between Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina—for those classic cottage charms that welcome summer with a sunny hello. Mark Ballard, the chief marketing consultant for The Cottage Building Company, says the camaraderie and style found in their thoughtfully planned neighborhood is no happy accident. “From the wide, welcoming front porches to the common spaces, everything was designed to facilitate interaction and create a sense of community,” he explains. These charming coastal cottages hold an endless supply of design inspiration. And while you may not feel…
Zoe and James Zilian started Farmhouse Pottery in their basement studio with a single wheel and kiln. But it didn’t take long for people to realize that they had created something special. Now, the Zilians’ pottery is sold in retail stores throughout the country, and in 2014, they opened their own cottage-style storefront in Woodstock, Vermont. Handmade pottery and other products cover the sleek, whitewashed shelves and tables inside the shop, every piece showing their commitment to quality. “Since each piece is handmade, there is an authentic, artisan quality to them that informs our creative process,” James says. In addition to the pottery line, the shop offers a diverse selection of homeware. “While pottery will always be at the heart of this company, we’ve also expanded into a full lifestyle…
Born and raised in Mississippi, interior designer Meg Braff is much like her style of decoration—filled with grace and charm. Known for her inventive use of bright colors and bold patterns, Meg has kissed the days of neutral and bland design goodbye. In her first book, The Decorated Home, Meg shares her advice on creating rooms that are livable yet attractive. With over 200 pages of eye-catching, cheerful rooms that will have you inspired to decorate your space all over again, this book covers the fundamentals needed to give your home added pigment and flair. In the first few chapters, you will get to discover the two basics of Meg’s style—color and pattern—and how to use those two powerful tools together for a striking design impression. Meg holds the key…
Julie Dodson notes that everyone has a different perspective on how we use color and how it influences the design process. “For most of my projects, I prefer using pops of color playing off the natural light,” she says. “In a few instances, I’ll pick a color from a painting or a fabric color choice and repeat it throughout.” While Julie draws color inspiration from art and textiles, she reached out to two industry colleagues to get their perspectives on color, which are quite different from her own. Each one shows how color influences their design aesthetic. SEGRETO FINISHES: By incorporating paint color on specialty cabinetry and woodwork or coordinating it with same-shade fabrics, one can create a calm, timeless flow throughout, and interiors can be kept updated. Leslie Sinclair,…
As the Southern heat reaches blistering highs in the summer, there’s no better place for cottage living than right on the edge of the water. That’s what inspired this city-dweller to purchase a lakeside retreat in 2013—a perfect vacation home for entertaining during the hot summer months and the ideal spot to gather for football games in the fall. With rustic wood ceilings and floors, barn doors, and an expansive two-story back porch, the humble getaway embraces the beauty of its surroundings and brings nature indoors. “We have beautiful mature landscaping with tall trees and lots of shade on this eastern-facing lot,” Andrew explains. “Something is usually in bloom, whether it’s azaleas and dogwoods in the spring, hydrangeas in the summer, or camellias in the fall and winter.” All the…
