Innholdsfortegnelse for Romantic Cottage 2020 i The Cottage Journal

Inside the 1931 Williamsburg Revival cottage that sits behind the gate is a home that at first glance is unmistakably traditional, but look closer and you’ll see that each piece of furniture, every accessory, even the plants in the garden have been carefully chosen to create a warm, personal, and inviting home for Tricia and Benjamin Carswell. Tricia’s decorating approach is inspired in part by renowned interior designer Bunny Williams. “She mixes old with new and everything is comfortable, eclectic, and yet it all fits,” Tricia explains. “I like being able to point to something and say that we purchased it on a trip, or a friend or relative gave it to us. Pulling out family monogrammed or embroidered napkins and partnering them with antique crystal and silver goblets is…

The Hansens are only the second owners of this unique, storied property. Diana says that she had the special opportunity to visit with the original owners while they were still living and learned a great deal about the home’s history. Once home to artists Eleanor and Georges Bridges, this 1921 studio cottage influenced by Greek and Spanish architecture is full of character and rich in history. Diana learned from Eleanor that when the couple was studying art in Europe, they befriended authors Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, who both came on occasion to visit their little cottage. Diana says the Italian-style gardens would have been set for a party, lined with tables and lights, and lively music would have filled the night air. Almost a century later, the Hansens…

Few places across the United States conjure a more immediate romantic notion than the idyllic island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. There’s something undeniably magical and majestic about a towering coastal lighthouse anchored near a sparkling shoreline surrounded by tall island grasses blowing in the breeze. Artist Nancy Walton has found a way to capture a piece of that magic in her plein air watercolor paintings by the sea. “Sometimes I’m in control, and sometimes the paint’s in control,” she says. “That’s how you come up with these wonderful results.” Nancy has been working in watercolor since 1991. “I started my journey into painting in my early 30s after being in the field of decorative arts working primarily with oil,” she says. “When I started in watercolor, I was hooked.” Over…

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…

When Salt Lake City, Utah, residents Patti and Curt Hussey began thinking about where they wanted to retire, they had their hearts set on moving back to the South. “I actually saw a spread about Fairhope in Cooking with Paula Deen magazine and decided to go check it out,” Patti recalls. “When I came down here, I was in a little dream world. I called Curt and said, ‘You just can’t believe this place; it’s just like a little paradise.’” Patti returned to Salt Lake City, and two weeks later, the couple came back to Fairhope ready to house hunt. Now, more than 10 years later, the city that captured their hearts and imaginations still makes them feel like they’re on vacation every day. Looking back, the couple recognizes the…

Tucked behind a 1950s ranch-style home in Montgomery, Alabama, awaits a charmingly quaint cottage garden. Rows of manicured boxwoods offer structure to the garden’s interior sections while ‘Limelight’ hydrangeas line the exterior. Designed with the concept of outdoor rooms, the garden is grounded in architectural construction. Homeowner Elisabeth Byram and her husband, Jim, designed the garden in 2005 with the help of Mike Kaiser, a landscape architect based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Charles Harwell of Harwell’s Green Thumb Nursery in Montgomery. The concept of the space was formed after the Byrams’ only child left home for college. “When he went to college, I said, ‘I’m going to birth a yard,’” Elisabeth recalls with a laugh. “It was just a heartfelt love of wanting to create a space that I could…

When interior designer Margaret Chambers thinks of romantic style, she thinks of timeless beauty. “Romantic is a little bit from the past,” she says. “It’s made the test of time.” It’s no surprise, then, that she turns to the past when it comes to designing her clients’ spaces. Utilizing the enduring appeal of the handmade, Margaret’s designs feature a spirit meant to stand up to time, rather than following the current trends. “All of these beautiful, handmade things—furniture, fabrics, needlepoint, tapestry—have a history and a warmth and character to them that you can’t reproduce by machine,” she says. Crafted with a careful attention to detail, these spaces exemplify the timeless, classic charm that characterizes romantic style, providing plenty of inspiration for anyone who wishes to introduce this beloved aesthetic to…

Imagine walking through acres of roses, inhaling their intoxicating fragrance with every breath. From May through November, that’s a near-daily routine for Danielle Hahn and her family, owners of Rose Story Farm in Carpinteria, California. They grow roses for the florist trade—not the uniform, scentless hybrid teas that dominate the business but the luscious, aromatic, old-fashioned kind you normally find only in home gardens. Seeking the country life for themselves and their two sons, Danielle and her husband, Bill, bought the 15-acre farm in 1998. In addition to aging lemon and avocado trees, the property included dilapidated laborers’ cottages, a decrepit Victorian house, and a Spanish Colonial Revival barn. Today the avocado trees have been replaced with improved varieties, the restored barn houses the farm offices, the Victorian house is…

A Study in Romance Pages 15–20—Interior designs by Margaret Chambers, Chambers Interiors & Associates. Camp Street Charm Pages 21–28—Architectural designs by Andrew Stout, Stouthaus Architecture, LLC. Renovation designs and development and interior designs by Ann Williams and Eleanor Williams Hohnstein, WilliamsWorks New Orleans. Interior and exterior paint from Sherwin-Williams. Rugs and linens from Virginia Dunn. Page 22—Pair of iron console tables and lamps, coffee table, and small acrylic table from Kathy Slater Design Collection. Pages 23–24—Red lacquer desk from Kathy Slater Design Collection. Page 25—Kitchen faucet from Kohler. Iron barstools, coffee table, and console table from Kathy Slater Design Collection. Modern white sectional and armchair from Virginia Dunn. Page 27—Bed and bedding from Virginia Dunn. Page 28—Bathroom fixtures and hardware from Kohler. DesignRail® black porch railing by Feeney Inc. Oyster…