I was extremely saddened when my favorite mag Cottage Living ceased production after it's December 2008 issue. I have subscribed since I bought my townhouse in 2005 and realized the magazine reflected my style perfectly. Each issue was treasured then, but even more so when Donald and I bought our first home, a cottage, last year. Saying it's arrival in the mail made my day is an understatement...Donald got a lot of entertainment from the production I made when he pointed out its arrival. He grew to like the mag too though, he even started flipping through it before I got home! I have torn out so many pages over the last four years. Thank goodness I have kept up with all the torn out pages and just recently compiled them in a 3-ring binder.
Some of my favorite issues ever have been published this year. In December (right before I found out about the end of CL) we began to transform our kitchen to look like the one below, from the final issue.
And just this past weekend I find out that another fave, Domino, is being shuttered too! How wrong is it that the magazines who "get" how the average household lives (pretty modestly) get sent to the graveyard in a recession when the mags with stuffy, expensive, same-old, same-old interiors get to live on?
So, with that said, I want the style I love to live on through this blog. Cottage style to me means functional, comfortable, a mix of old, new, modern and traditional. Here I will post some my favorite photos and ideas I've found, as well as projects I am working on at home and for friends. I welcome any questions you have for your own home. Just don't be surprised if my answers are pulled directly from a back issue of Cottage Living.
Cottage Living Kitchen
My Kitchen Before
Kitchen After
The pictures don't tell the whole story. We also added paneling to the ceiling (popcorn ceiling before) and a new stainless pendent light fixture. And I fretted over the bottom cabinet color for weeks! However it's still a work in progress....we still need new countertops, sink, and oven. I will post more photos as it continues to morph into the kitchen of my dreams. The copied kitchen of my dreams that is.
