Keys to Crafting the Perfect Home

Cynthia Tuverson shares her experience with home redecorating, remodeling and discovering the keys to crafting a perfect cottage or bungalow.

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• Follow your heart. Evaluate what is just another trend or expectation and what is something that you truly love.
• Experiment with different styles until you find one that makes sense for you. With this house I just looked around, and the moment I knew I could grow old in this environment I knew this was the right setting for me. 
• You don’t have to do anything in an overly expensive way. Spend on the things that really matter to you.
• Have the right people helping you. Everyone from Tumbleweed & Dandelion really understood my style and ideas, and they helped me with all the things I couldn’t do myself, like painting my dining room wall, executing vintage treatment and French glazes, and all the touches that make the design work.

Home Renovation

 

 

By Jickie Torres

Photography by Mark Tanner
Styled by Jacqueline deMontravel

Posted by Cottages and Bungalows

Art and Architecture: America’s Gothic Revival

Descending from medieval Gothic cathedrals and England’s Gothic Revival, “Carpenter Gothic” is a visually playful American architectural style. In her book Storybook Cottages, Gladys Montgomery explores the history, people and technology behind this picturesque style still beloved today.

{Credit in caption: Photograph by Brian Vanden Brink, from Storybook Cottages by Gladys Montgomery, © Rizzoli 2011.}

In beautiful photographs, architectural renderings and illustrations from pattern books of the time, Montgomery showcases the style’s hallmarks: steep gables, pointed arches, windows and doors, and elaborate gingerbread trim. From the tiny cottages at Oak Bluff, Massachusetts, that began as a Methodist retreat to the lavish Lyndhurst high-style Gothic Revival residence in Tarrytown, New York, Montgomery offers a lot both to readers who know and love Carpenter Gothic and to those who are learning of it for the first time.

Montgomery includes a section on the Carpenter Gothic garden as well as a few ideas on incorporating the style into your home, such as imitating its architectural elements—for example, make a headboard, door frame, or window with a pointed wooden arch. For more ideas, check out Montgomery’s book: Storybook Cottages: America’s Carpenter Gothic Style, published by Rizzoli New York, © 2011. Visit rizzoliusa.com.

By Hillary Black

Source: Victorian Home

How to Enhance a Historic Home

The right architect and contractor will enhance a historic home’s aesthetic integrity.

The true value of the renovation of an old house is not being able to tell that any alterations were made. Architect Carol Tink-Fox chose to put the addition on Kara Kosinski’s garage instead of on the main house to maintain what she calls the “cute cottage character” of the historic home. “By making a separate small building, we kept the new space historically in context,” she says.

Home Cottages

Here is what she did to link the past and the present:

• A steep-pitched roof and attic were added to the flat-roofed garage, which also has a historic designation.
• The home’s exterior color scheme was repeated on the addition and garage.
• Heavy-timber beams along the breezeway with diagonal braces evoke the feel of those of the main house.
• Windows and French doors open the guest room to the beautifully landscaped backyard. Because the garage is on a slab, unlike the house, there are no steps to go down to enter the garden.
• The old swing-style garage doors, which looked like barn doors, were replicated. Contractor Scot Lewis custom built the fully weather-proofed doors using tongue and grove pine with solid brass oil-rubbed bronze hinges.

By Nancy A. Ruhling
Photography by Jaimee Itagaki
Styled by Molly Kosinski and Hillary Black

Shared By Cottages And Bungalows

How to: Kitchen Sink Christmas Potpourri

Andrea Drexelius shares with us her recipe for a fresh Christmas potpourri blend. Add the soothing scents to your holiday decorations for a intimate feel.

From the garden:

Dried rose petals
Dried hydrangea flowers
Ponderosa and Myers lemon peel
Pink grapefruit peel
Lime peel
Orange peel
Rosemary leaves
Juniper berries
California Pepper berries
Eucalyptus leaves and flowers
Bay leaf
Thyme leaves
Sage leaves

From the cupboard:

Vanilla bean pod
Whole cloves
Loose black tea
Mulling spices

Mix together, then add a few drops of jasmine oil.

Recipe courtesy of Andrea Drexelius
Photography by Mark Tanner

Shared by: Home Cottages

Get the Look: Shabby-Chic & Vintage

Antiques dealer, Clara DiGiuseppe, shares the rules to follow to get her look.

• Don’t buy anything new. Shop flea markets and antique shops, and always opt for vintage versions of anything you want.
• If it’s painted, it’s better.
• Practicality should be your guiding principle. Make sure you only buy what you can use and have room for.
• Keep everything light. From furniture to textiles to the paint on the wall, keep your color palette light and fresh.
• Always keep comfort in mind to create a truly relaxing and stress-free home. I like comfy furniture that is already beat up so you don’t have to worry about it no matter what happens or what your children do.
• Stick to your budget. I really don’t have anything expensive in my house. If it’s too pricey, I refuse to buy it. Moreover, if you pay a lot, then in many ways you are stuck with it; you don’t feel like you can be creative and alter it or change it out if you are ready for something new.

By Jickie Torres
Photography by Mark Tanner
Styled by Jacqueline deMontravel

How To Winterize Your Summer Cottage ?

Follow these helpful tips to make a summer getaway house cozy all year long.

Cottages And Bungalows

1. STORAGE: Focus on key needs like storage. When considering a remodel, look for opportunities to enlarge or increase your storage space. Taking the time in early stages to strategize where closets and shelving can be added will serve your needs better in the long run.
2. INSULATION: Budget for insulation; it’s always money well spent. If you’re able to splurge in areas like new windows, prioritize investments that will add to the efficiency and the livability of your home over the decorative ones.
3. FLOOR PLAN: Be open-minded toward the floor plan. If you’re seeking a balance between comfort and efficiency while still maintaining the original cottage feel, try to view every architectural plan or change to the layout through this lens.
4. STAY TRUE TO YOUR HOME: Think about the things you truly love that drew you to the house in the first place and try to preserve them whenever possible. If it’s in the view, then make sure you don’t move a wall that will obstruct it.
5. NATURAL COLORS: Fill your cottage with a nature-inspired color palette; deeper hues reflect autumn and the seasonal changes you’ll see from your windows, while light, creamy shades create an airy, open feel.