Annie Selke

I wanted to share my recent discovery of Annie Selke, the designer behind Pine Cone Hill and Dash & Albert Rug Company. Before I knew of her cottage style brands, I saw a home she designed in a recent issue of House Beautiful. I was immediately drawn to all the blue and beachy casual feel to the home. And I loved the nontraditional use of a striped cotton rug and cotton fabric on the chairs in the dining room. It wasn't until a couple of weeks later that I put together that the designer used her own fabric and rug lines in that home. I realized this when visiting Pembroke Antiques on Hwy 100. I was drawn to the bed linens (a lot of blue) and also noticed the store carried the Dash & Albert rug line that I had admired in magazines. I mentioned this to the lady helping us and she picked up the same House Beautiful to show me that they carried the designer's products....and that the store could order any of the rugs we saw online. I was so excited! As soon as we got home I researched the brands and discovered Annie Selke. How cool that she is not only a talented designer, but also has developed her own popular (and well published) bedding and rug line, and has partnerships with Calico Corners and Vanguard furniture. That's success! And, I think it's cool that her work has a unpretentious casual feel that's refreshing. 

Needless to say, we are now the proud owners of a Dash & Albert rug! It was surprisingly affordable....$385 for a 9x12.  

Check out Pembroke (such a cute store!) for smaller versions of the rugs and a good selection of Pine Cone Hill bedding and pillows. 

More Annie Selke designs

About Annie Selke

Click here for the Dash & Albert site

Click here to see her Calico Corners line

Oh and what do ya know...a March 8 article on Annie Selke in the Chicago Tribune! I seriously just found this!

Cottage Living

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.