The Cottage Journal Spring 2015

One of the things I enjoy most about our magazine is sharing the unique stories waiting just inside each cottage doorway. Every home has a story— a story that is told through special artwork, collections, furnishings, and the life that flourishes within. As you read through this refreshing spring issue you’ll find homes that are not only beautiful in style and rich in décor, but homes that are laced with a myriad of mementos that offer personal reflections of their owners. “A Story Behind Every Souvenir” on page 47 is an excellent example of a storied cottage. It is truly a retreat that tastefully showcases its owners’ love of travel. With an understated interior color palette, the focus falls to their collections of precious personal items acquired from excursions across…

English biscuit maker Joseph Huntley had the advantage of owning a shop located across the street from a regular stop of the stagecoach line where passengers were ready customers. Traveling by stagecoach in the 1800s in England was rough enough for people, let alone perishable cargo like biscuits. Huntley soon realized the biscuits needed some kind of protective packaging for safe travel, so he began placing them in metal tins. This simple idea led to the formation of two companies: Huntley & Palmer, biscuit company, and Huntley, Bourne, and Stevens, a firm of biscuit tin manufacturers founded by Huntley’s son. With their success, many imitators followed them into the biscuit tin business. In the late 1870s the tins were embellished with colorful decorations and often formed into unique shapes such…

For Boston-based interior designer Erin Gates (the voice and creative talent behind the wildly successful design blog Elements of Style), the story of a design is just as important as the look. “Each place I’ve called home had it’s own look, furniture arrangement, and color scheme,” she says. “But what all these spaces had in common was their role in sheltering me and my life story.” It’s her personal touch and honesty that has kept readers flocking to her site for the past eight years. “(Design) is all about respecting how you live and not trying to create a space for some person who lives in a magazine,” she says. “If it isn’t designed to function for you, it won’t ever feel right or look its best because it will…

As you step inside this charming shop in Fairhope, Alabama, you’ll be greeted by a range of high-end furnishings, home décor, and a rainbow of luxurious bolts of fabric cascading down the walls. You’ll also be welcomed with a smile by the chic young shop owner, Elisabeth Hays. At just 24 years of age Elisabeth took over Tricia’s Fabrics and Furniture in 2010 where she worked for three and a half years after studying art at Auburn University. She reopened the home interiors shop under the name Lulu & Me, noting friends and family call her “LuLu.” Lulu & Me specializes in fabrics and furniture, and the open concept of the shop allows clients the creative freedom to create a custom look. “We have a very educated clientele,” Elisabeth shares.…

“There is no time like spring, when life’s alive in everything.” —CHRISTINA ROSSETTI…

Painting often requires that artists focus on light as much or even more than the subject, and the same approach rings true in this charming cottage. Laura Blackstock, a painter, and her architect husband, Joel, bought their 1940s cottage from the daughter of its original owners 22 years ago and have since carefully crafted a serene home. “It’s small; it’s a very simple house. I think of it like a little farmhouse or lake house,” Laura says. “It’s very simple, but the windows and the light are just spectacular.” That farmhouse simplicity feels enchanting in the space. Joel appreciates clean lines while the blending of antiques and rich textures appeals to Laura, and in this cottage all of those elements come together to create a home that is simultaneously peaceful…