Friday, September 25, 2009

My Cottage Look!

Not always Chic...but comfortably lived in!



I loooove what I call the 'Cottage Look'!!! It definitely
is my favorite style, no matter where I see 'THE LOOK', it
doesn't matter what it's called, Shabby Chic, French Country
or The Cottage Look, to me it's BEAUTIFUL, it means one of
a kind decorating with vintage beauty mixed in with varying
shades of WHITE!!! Wait, that isn't always the RULE!
Clean, tasteful and ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL or cluttered, rusty
...and ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL! What about WHITE??? Color is not
forbidden! My rule is...Always use what you have, and only
have what you believe to be BEAUTIFUL!


Nothing to matchy, matchy and if it is, it must be vintage
or 'Hand Made'. We all tend to be collectors of stuff! Beauty
is truly in the eye of the beholder, which also makes the
cottage look more appealing to us. I know that someone may
enjoy 'MY COTTAGE LOOK', but their 'Cottage Look' may be
totally different, making it their own beautiful style and
oh so different! Which is why it's so inviting to so many of
us! It's always different in every home, making it so much
fun for us to take a peek and see what's going on in yet
another 'Cottage Home'!!!

I will tell you right off the get go, that my house is lived
in and if there's a shelf, it's full and our Grandkiddos, are
not forbidden to play here, it's kid friendly, so excuse my
Granddaughters books or a toy here or there, but this is
MY COTTAGE LOOK, comfort is as important to me as the warm
cozy feeling of the look itself!

Here's a portion of my living room, the chaise lounge
is a vintage shorty, that I looove! (I bought it years
ago at the antique mall I had a booth in), The mid century
lounge chair & ottoman with white leather pads are a favorite
of mine (found at a thrift shop a couple of years ago), the
shelf unit was from the 70's, (very ugly), stained almost
black, with gold marbled mirrors in the back, without glass
in the doors or the beautiful green knobs (garage sale find),
the french lamp was an antique store find (I just had to have)
I found the green glass shades at a garage sale a few years
later!!! Beautiful rose trays (a thrift store find)!

The gorgeous vintage window paned door in the background
was a find from a house in a nearby town, it was the
original outside door to that house. I had it cut to fit
the opening from my living room to my family room. It
truly gives these two rooms a warm feeling from the past!

What I really want to share with you, is how I painted my
living room walls...My wall paint isn't stark white, I
call it lace, I found a stencil I liked and painted
using white acrylic paint around my whole living room,
giving it a beautiful background to my 'Cottage Look'!
If you've been thinking it's hard to get the look you want
start small, maybe just painting and start picking up a
few garage sale finds that warm your heart, before you
know it, you'll have a room full of treasured objects that
define your own style and 'Cottage Look'!

5 comments:

delightw said...

It looks great!I love this style too although in my home I have modified a bit and I use lots of jewel tone colors.

Covered in Chocolate Bakery Shoppe said...

Oh Deb it is beautiful! I totally love. When I had my 3 story Victorian Home I had a ball going with period pieces and expanding on it. Now I'm sorta cottage/bungalow look. Since we have a little bungalow

Jeanie - Dark Horse Arts and Gifts said...

What a lovely space you have created for yourself! Cozy, warm and elegant. Great job :)

Diane ~ said...

love your cottage look!! we also find old treasures & incorporate them into our home.Most recently Art came across an old victorian front door with window pane glass in it; brought it home & painted it & it's now the door for our hobby room (his ham radio, mine, jewelry)
Thanks for sharing the photos & stories about your charming abode!

Unknown said...

Love your blog - especially the "humble abode" pics. :D I love your idea of painting lace on the walls!! Maybe someday, if I ever paint walls again (oh my achin' back) I'll have to try that!!