The Cottage Journal Summer 2015

This season we celebrate our fifth summer issue, and we are delighted to present a collection of homes with colorful inspiration. Whether intense or soft in tone, each declares the personality of those who live within. One of my favorites is “Green and Serene” on page 37, which carries the color story throughout the home and is a reflection of its surroundings in upstate New York. Yellow and white never looked better in “An Unexpected Delight” on page 83. This sunny kitchen boasts a bright floral rug that gives you an “in the garden” feel and begs for bare feet to enjoy. Our backyard bouquets are creative too, as our stylist brings you simple arrangement ideas in “Flowers of Summer” starting on page 107. The summer garden section in this…

“Nothing betters coming home to a colorful space that feels like a true reflection of my personality,” writes British design blogger and newly minted book author Will Taylor. Will (or Mr. Bazaar as he’s affectionately known online) launched his popular decorating blog, Bright.Bazaar, in 2009 and has since become an industry expert in all things bright and cheerful for interiors. In his recent book, Bright Bazaar: Embracing Color for Make-You-Smile Style, he pushes back against the world of subtly neutral décor to inject vivacity and pigment into homes from the front door to the back garden and every space in between. Arranged in three chapters—the first aiming to familiarize readers with color use and conquer tonal timidity, the second proposing color palettes, and the third taking a room-by-room tour through…

Originating in China, the striking cobalt blue pigments were first seen adorning white pottery and porcelain ceramics as early as the ninth century. The intricate blue decorations were expertly applied by hand and became highly coveted as China opened trade with Europe, making a limited number of pieces for royalty. Much to the delight of the middle class, transferware was introduced in the 17th century, which allowed potters to quickly produce the treasured blue-and-white ceramics at more affordable prices. The revolutionary technique of transferware was developed in Staffordshire, England, making the city the epicenter of pottery production and development for more than 200 years. The process consists of transferring a pattern from an engraved and inked copper plate to a special sheet of paper. The paper is then applied to…

mad·cap /'mad'kap/ adj. 1. amusingly eccentric. Located in High Point, North Carolina, Madcap Cottage is the brainchild of John Loecke and Jason Oliver Nixon. “It’s not just a design shop or studio,” Jason says. “Maybe it’s best described as a laboratory. We are always in motion with constant change, trying to keep the feeling fresh for our clients.” Potted plants and windows filled with a flower garden of handcrafted violets, butterflies, and lanterns announce the arrival of summer for Madcap Cottage shoppers. Inside, the inventory is a kaleidoscope of colors. Both vintage and new items are arranged throughout the shop in vignettes to inspire. The usual home décor items such as fabric and wallpaper abound, but it’s the one-of-a-kind goods that delight and surprise. You might not have thought to decorate…

When the Mulkin family reflects on summers of lakeside fun, there’s no question those daydreams are splashed with sunny shades of pinks, blues, and yellows. Within the joyful walls of The Sugar Shak, children have grown, stories have been told, and sun-soaked memories have certainly been made. This was the vision Joanie Mulkin had when she first laid eyes on their quaint vacation cottage more than seven years ago. In need of “a lot of love” but full of charm and loads of eclectic furnishings, the home became a creative project for Joanie and her young children. “I let my kids pick out the colors, and we set about painting everything. The walls, the furniture, the ceiling; there was nothing paint couldn’t fix!” she recalls of the hues that range…

“ No matter where I work, I’m influenced by what’s out the window,” Jack Fhillips says. In Manhattan his palette is gray and white; in Bermuda it’s sand, sea glass, and pinks. For Black Squirrel Farm, his 123-year-old home in upstate New York, he looked out the windows at the “gorgeous greens of pines and evergreens” and brought those hues indoors. “My attitude is, when you’re surrounded by nature that way, you need to make it flow inside,” he says. Because the house has so many big, double-hung windows, the interiors receive lots of light, allowing Jack to use an intense dark green in the living room and dining room. For the rest of the house he collected dozens of green paint samples from all the area paint stores and laid…