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SENTIMENTAL VALUE Greetings, friends! Welcome to this special issue of The Cottage Journal where we’ve curated a collection of beautiful Southern homes layered with stylish cottage charm. Hospitality is one of the quintessential elements of Southern culture, and in the pages to come, we’ve been graciously invited to peruse stunning home interiors, gardens, and heirloom collections from our featured designers and homeowners—spanning from Texas to South Carolina. Growing up in Alabama, I watched my mom take great pride in frequently opening our home and garden to family and friends. Casual chats on the sofa felt special thanks to a gorgeous tray of homemade goodies, family dinners called for a themed tablescape, fresh flowers and produce from her backyard garden always found their way to the table, and an ice-cold pitcher…
Hannah McClain likely didn’t realize when she came across vintage Pyrex at a yard sale in 2016 that a new passion had been sparked. “One of the sets was still in the box,” she recalls. “The seal hadn’t even been broken yet.” The encounter planted a seed that, over the last few years, has blossomed into an impressive collection spanning decades of patterns, shades, and shapes. It’s a sight that’s common in many homes across the country, as vintage enthusiasts find themselves drawn to the iconic and colorful pieces that remain functional decades after their creation. Surprisingly, though, the Pyrex line began not in a kitchen but in a lab. In 1908, Corning Glass Works developed a glass dubbed Nonex, which was formulated to withstand changes in temperature for use…
Recently single with her children just out of the house, Frannie Martin was ready to embrace this next phase of life in a new home she could make her own. “The market in Nashville at that time was extraordinarily competitive, and I was determined not to settle for something I didn’t really love,” she says. Knowing she wanted to be in the historic and quintessentially Southern Belle Meade neighborhood, Frannie rented in the area for two years until she stumbled upon the 1953 cottage-style abode that would become the perfect canvas for her late mother’s colorful paintings, passed-down pieces, and bold contemporary additions. “I happened to catch a realtor putting a sign in the yard,” Frannie recalls. “I asked if I could see it and put a contract on it…
Seated in the Green Hills area of Nashville, Tennessee, this Southern charmer received a fresh zest for life—packed with color, comfort, and loads of sentimental heirloom pieces—thanks to interior designer Anna Lattimore. “When we started this [design refresh], their youngest was about to graduate high school, so they really wanted to invest in the house and make it exactly what they wanted,” Anna says of the homeowners. “We’ve been calling it the ‘empty nest prescription.’” One of the key elements in Anna’s design process is to incorporate a blend of old and new pieces, so when she meets with clients, she likes to take inventory of any special heirlooms or antiques to integrate into the updated floor plan. “We may end up moving them around, which is what we did…
According to Katie Davis of Katie Davis Design, her clients’ ranch-style home in Texas just needed “a little bit of love to make it more ‘them.’” With a floor plan that left sight lines wide open, paint colors and floor finishes were at the top of the priority list. “We were brought in to really make sure that all those decisions flowed together,” says Katie. Because the clients’ previous home had featured mainly muted, neutral furnishings, they gave Katie and her team free rein to introduce more personality—a task Katie was happy to embrace. “I think they were drawn to us because of our use of pattern,” she says. “They were ready to add [more] pattern and color into their space.” The design team did so without going overboard, weaving…
Desiring to be closer to their children and grandchildren, these empty nesters moved from Tampa, Florida, to an elegant English Tudor-style home in Greenville, South Carolina. The structure boasted great bones, but its interiors—which hadn’t received much attention in recent years—needed extensive work. Interior designer Caroline Brackett, principal and owner of Caroline Brackett Studio of Design, was more than up for the challenge. “We changed a lot of the interior footprint of the house while maintaining the integrity of the original architecture,” says Caroline. Throughout these changes, the architecture remained the primary inspiration point for the design choices—guided by the homeowners’ collectibles and Caroline’s affinity for bringing a fresh take to traditional style. The result is an aesthetic that feels both visually impressive and welcoming. “We’re really good at having…
