January 5, 2008
Janice Gibson

Cottage Style Decorating ~ Dream, Design, Do
Create a Personal Retreat for Cottage Living

Imagine the serenity you will find as you surround yourself with treasures you love, creating a personal retreat both within your home and in your outdoor spaces.

Cottage style decorating solutions are done with style and ease. Create your own personal cottage style with simple elegance and enduring charm. It's all about you... your fun sense of style, humor, and the relaxing comfort of your living space.

Your home should be a complimentary reflection of your taste and personality. We are here to assist you in finding and using just the right furniture, accent pieces, and accessories to compliment or help you to create your own personal, unique cottage look.

Cottage Style Defined

The term cottage can be credited to the English and was used over a century ago to describe the small humble dwellings of native farm workers. Nowadays it applies more to a casual, eclectic style of interior decorating that involves a sense of family history, charm, and coziness.

To step into a cottage home is to step into a warm and inviting space that envelopes you like a favorite old sweater and jeans worn on a chilly autumn day. It's a bohemian style of decorating where almost anything goes, hardly anything matches, and your imagination and ingenuity promises a surprise around every corner ventured.

What is Cottage Style Furniture

Whether you're fortunate enough to possess antique furniture with family history or pieces you've picked up at your local antique or thrift store, antiques are a fabulous start to achieving a cottage look.

Feel free to mix rustic tables and chairs with a time-worn patina with new fabulously distressed pieces made to look old and well loved. Who cares if your furniture doesn't match! The Europeans are famous for this eclectic look and it's been catching on here in America in recent years.

Tuck a secretary or rattan writing desk under a sunny window for an intimate place to write bills and correspondence or to work on your laptap.

Use an antique trunk for a coffee table and stack up old suitcases to use as an end table and top with a pretty brass lamp.

Replace your old lamp shades with more ornate ones or dress them up by hot gluing a tassel and decorative braids and fringes on it.

Drop leaf tables are fantastic for displaying collectables and give you extra room for guests at dinner time.

Hide electronics behind the closed doors of a French country style armoire and use the area on top to add greenery to your room. Plants bring the outdoors in and really brighten up a room.

Textiles Add Appeal to the Cottage Look

Another fun tip for cottage style is to mix patterns on your pillows and linens. Yes, it's perfectly fine to mix fabric styles like stripes, plaids, and florals. The rule to follow here is to make sure that the predominant colors are carried throughout your fabric choices.

Floral prints and pillows are terrific English accent pieces. If you're not lucky enough to have wood or tile floors, you can always put a Persian or antique looking floral throw rug on top of your carpet.

Can't afford to upholster or replace your sofa and chairs? Not to worry. Slipcovers will do the trick of disguising unsightly or out of place furniture quickly and affordably. Stick with neutrals and add punches of color to your sofas, chairs, and bedding with decorative throw pillows. Break out your old quilts, lace tablecloths, and chenille throws and toss them over upholstered pieces for added tactile appeal.

Cottage window treatments should be kept to a minimum whenever possible to let the natural sun light in. Rely on roll-up shades for privacy in the evening or in the bedroom. Lace panels and swags or a simple white cafe curtain with an interesting border or fringe are perfect for a relaxed cottage look.

Hang large ornate mirrors directly across from a sunny window with a nice view to make your room look bigger and brighter.

Get your antique linens, embroidered doilies and table scarves out of storage and place them on tables, chairs, and under lamps.

Stack old books or display your favorite collectable on them. For an adorable tabletop vignette, take a dainty antique floral teacup and place it on a doily with a vintage hanky tucked in it. Lay it on an old book or two with an ornate framed photo of a loved beside it. Complete the look with a great antique lamp with decorative beaded trim on the lampshade.

Get those wonderful collectables out in the open! Cottage style is about familiarity and eye appealing combinations of items collected over the years.

Vintage trophies, beautiful silver pieces, candlesticks, and crystal bowls and vases all have wonderful gleaming surfaces.When placed in groups around your rooms they are visually stimulating to the eye and add contrast. Fill long stemmed compotes with potpourri, feather balls, or fresh lemons to add height to your displays.

To show off family photos, choose several of your old black and white photos or have your beloved photos reproduced in black and white for a nice cohesive graphic touch. Place them in ornate frames with a similar look or finish to them and hang in a grouping on the wall. They can be hung at different heights or simply lined up horizontally and spaced evenly along a wall. You can also place photos on a fireplace mantle, piano, or tables for a homey touch. Painted portraits are very appealing and can be hung in most any room.

The English cottage look is filled with gorgeous old china displayed on walls or in china cabinets and curios.

Staffordshire ceramic pieces are highly collectable and bring a touch of whimsy to your interior. The English adore their pets and farm animals. Framed prints, paintings, pillows, and ceramics with images of horses, dogs, and cats and other creatures can help define your cottage home.

Just get started and have fun with your cottage decorating. Indulge yourself in a lifestyle meant to bring lots of relaxation, comfort, and pleasure. Enjoy!.