English Cottage Decor

[catherine]

A few of us here still have homes that are works-in-progress and some of us love the English cottage look (I'll speak for myself--I love the English cottage look).

I found this article to have some good thoughts on the elements of English cottage that can be applied anywhere.

(Frankly, one of my favorite ideas listed is also the least accessible--I would love to have a thatched roof--I wonder if there are any roofers that do thatched roofs in VT?)

https://homeaddict.io/30-ways-to-ach...-cottage-look/

[Tybee]

Re thatched roofs, check this one out:

https://www.hendricksarchitect.com/a...-roofing-today

I did not realize that any of the mushroom cottages of Charlevoix had thatched roofs, that is very near where I used to live.

Apparently Rob Roy of cordwood building fame also incorporates them:

https://www.pressrepublican.com/news...15908400d.html

[JaneV2.0]

I've grown fond of cottages in my dotage, and this article is full of reasons why. I especially love the walled gardens, with a voluptuous abundance of plants (no anal-retentive gardens there!), the all-important view, patterned furniture, well-designed wallpaper, and, of course, An electric kettle. The Smeg one is pretty sweet.

[rosarugosa]

I love cottages, although I probably would not want to live with a real thatched roof. Have you ever seen Santarella in the Berkshires? It is such a cool property. I stood outside of it to take a picture just last year. It isn't a real thatched roof, but has oodles of charm:
https://housatonicheritage.org/place...yringham-mass/

[iris lilies]

A few of us here still have homes that are works-in-progress and some of us love the English cottage look (I'll speak for myself--I love the English cottage look).

I found this article to have some good thoughts on the elements of English cottage that can be applied anywhere.

(Frankly, one of my favorite ideas listed is also the least accessible--I would love to have a thatched roof--I wonder if there are any roofers that do thatched roofs in VT?)

https://homeaddict.io/30-ways-to-ach...-cottage-look/

good Article although the author was reaching in some cases I think. “Cottage core “is a current hot trend and “iFarmhouse” is out. Another hot trend is “ Grandmillinial” which seems to be a mix of traditional and contemporary in other words it is a typical “transitional “style. I have yet to see a grand millennial room I do not like

My cottage has some features of a classic English house but of course the walls are straight and it has 8 foot ceilings, not 6 foot ceilings with beams and plaster and etc. Also our windows here are SHIT. Someone here 10-15 years ago went through this house and and pulled out all the windows and put in new shitty vinyl windows with that fake muntin grid stuff. They were probably nice double hung windows. But I try to ignore that because no house is perfect.

I do mourn my dark oak floor that we stripped and now it’s light along with all the other oak floor in here. I love the wide pine planking I see in East Coast houses. At least, I think it is pine, those floors are gorgeous.

Cottage core should be supposed to be as authentic but appropriate as you can make it. We have to avoid being overly twee or kitschy. I think Catherine and Rosa have cute little houses and Rosa has mentioned her low ceilings, and I think Catherine may have that too. That’s classic cottage stuff. Low ceilings are the definition of COZY.

There is one interior design forum I frequent that banned the word COZY because it’s way overused and it’s just kind of stupid most of the time, but COZY is absolutely appropriate when talking about cottage decor in English cottages.

[iris lilies]

We watched the thatchers at work when we were in Romania. The big city has a wonderful architectural park containing cottages representing all the major cottage styles of the region. Many of the roofs are thatched. That was just about my favorite place to visit in Romania.

[catherine]

good Article although the author was reaching in some cases I think. “Cottage core “is a current hot trend and “iFarmhouse” is out. Another hot trend is “ Grandmillinial” which seems to be a mix of traditional and contemporary in other words it is a typical “transitional “style. I have yet to see a grand millennial room I do not like

My cottage has some features of a classic English house but of course the walls are straight and it has 8 foot ceilings, not 6 foot ceilings with beams and plaster and etc. Also our windows here are SHIT. Someone here 10-15 years ago went through this house and and pulled out all the windows and put in new shitty vinyl windows with that fake muntin grid stuff. They were probably nice double hung windows. But I try to ignore that because no house is perfect.

I do mourn my dark oak floor that we stripped and now it’s light along with all the other oak floor in here. I love the wide pine planking I see in East Coast houses. At least, I think it is pine, those floors are gorgeous.

Cottage core should be supposed to be as authentic but appropriate as you can make it. We have to avoid being overly twee or kitschy. I think Catherine and Rosa have cute little houses and Rosa has mentioned her low ceilings, and I think Catherine may have that too. That’s classic cottage stuff. Low ceilings are the definition of COZY.

There is one interior design forum I frequent that banned the word COZY because it’s way overused and it’s just kind of stupid most of the time, but COZY is absolutely appropriate when talking about cottage decor in English cottages.

Yes, we have low ceilings, and ceiling fans, which are a really safety hazard when we have almost any of our friends come over in the summer when the fans are apt to be on--I feel like we should provide construction helmets at our doorstep. We joke about our Scottish/Irish heritage, where so many people are "wee." My 2nd son is the giant in the family at 5'8". So the low ceilings don't bother us.

Regarding the floors, we are refinishing them and staining them. the same honey pine they are now, but I am intrigued by the idea of painting the floors. I probably would never do it, but I've seen painted floors and they do make the place look so clean.

And regarding the windows, I feel your pain. The previous owners of our house did the same thing, but I don't know what kind of windows they replaced--maybe they weren't anything special either. But I would really love lattice grillwork, if it weren't for the fact that it would probably hinder the view of the lake. My great-aunt's cottage had Craftsman touches and her windows were rather tall, and the diamond panes were only at the top, so you could still get a good view out the window. I can't have tall windows here.

rosa, I love the Santarella houses! But I have to admit, I like the exteriors more than the interiors. Especially the main floor--I feel they tried too hard to incorporate modern touches that would appeal to their clientele, but a barn door in that enchanting cottage--I don't get it. If I'm ever in Western MA, I might check it out--that is a beautiful part of the state. I spent a couple of summer vacations in Great Barrington with my family when I was young.

[jp1]

The word cozy reminds me of nyc real estate ads where it’s a euphemism for ‘really small’.

I like the idea of thatched roofs but I imagine that would be a tremendous fire hazard where we are so probably a really bad idea.

Personally I wouldn’t want small rooms/low ceilings for everyday but don’t mind it if it’s a vacation experience. One of my favorite things about our townhouse is that the bedrooms upstairs all have vaulted ceilings. Even my 9x11 office feels really roomy with that ceiling since the only furniture is a modest sized desk and my mom’s gorgeous cedar chest. It has 4 foot tall wainscoting that gives it plenty of cozy charm and makes the ceiling not feel absurdly tall.

[iris lilies]

Speaking here of low ceilings, I am adjusting to my Hermann house and its 8 foot high ceilings. It’s remarkable how these low ceilings change the scale of furniture and I’m not even talking about furniture in height.

I have two contemporary chairs that looked fine in our city house. They are stupidly wide, so wide my brother called them “bariatric chairs. “Ha. Anyway, they sunk into our city house living room with it’s 11 foot ceilings and were fine. In our Hermann house they are just giant chairs, sized for Edith Ann. I’m going to give them away and that was my plan from the beginning, but I appreciate having them for a short time in Hermann because they illustrate the scale problem

I also have another piece of furniture that was small, a chest of drawers, in my city house. In my Hermann house it is significant in size.

These 8 foot high ceilings are a game changer.

My condo has 9 foot ceilings and to me that extra 12” makes all the difference, it is lovely and spacious. In my condo I can jam my giant Victorian secretary in and while it dominates the room and it comes within literally half an inch of the ceiling, it still is not too much because I make it the focal point.

[rosarugosa]

Speaking here of low ceilings, I am adjusting to my Hermann house and its 8 foot high ceilings. It’s remarkable how these low ceilings change the scale of furniture and I’m not even talking about furniture in height.

I have two contemporary chairs that looked fine in our city house. They are stupidly wide, so wide my brother called them “bariatric chairs. “Ha. Anyway, they sunk into our city house living room with it’s 11 foot ceilings and were fine. In our Hermann house they are just giant chairs, sized for Edith Ann. I’m going to give them away and that was my plan from the beginning, but I appreciate having them for a short time in Hermann because they illustrate the scale problem

I also have another piece of furniture that was small, a chest of drawers, in my city house. In my Hermann house it is significant in size.

These 8 foot high ceilings are a game changer.

My condo has 9 foot ceilings and to me that extra 12” makes all the difference, it is lovely and spacious. In my condo I can jam my giant Victorian secretary in and while it dominates the room and it comes within literally half an inch of the ceiling, it still is not too much because I make it the focal point.

They all sound like cathedral ceilings to me! We have 7' on the first floor, and second floor is 6' at the tallest, then sharply sloping downward. Luckily, I am short, so I bang my head less often than DH.