The Gardeners Morning The robins song at daybreak Is a clarion call to me, Get up and get in the garden, For the morning hours flee. I ca...
Two weeks ago I received a very bitter sweet phone call. My friend, neighbor and business partner called to tell me they were moving. Bitt...
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I really should title this post "trust your gut!" That said, I have a feeling that I'm going to get some push-back from a lot some of you regarding a recent design decision, but I'm trusting my gut and I'm hoping I can walk you through my design thought process! As mentioned in my last "around the house a.k.a. keeping it real" post HERE I said that our next big project was painting the exterior of the farmhouse. The whole exterior doesn't need painting, just several walls that have taken a beating from our New England winters. The barn (thankfully for the pocketbook ;) is in good condition. The barn is stained and the house is painted; the stain has held up much better than the paint (all paint and stain colors are on my sidebar if interested.) Although we have not done this, it is a common practice here in New England to keep a painter on retainer to come paint one side of your house each year. The scraping commences. (f.y.i., that is my antique yogurt pot that stands in the front bed which has been placed on the grass, on it's side, to keep it safe- it is not one of those half pot thingys that people lay on the ground and plant flowers in :) Before the scraping, the first thing the painters did was remove all the shutters. And, unbeknownst to me... I loved it!!! I was shocked, but the farmhouse suddenly felt clean, crisp and fresh... and I felt like I could take in a big breath. Our gorgeous, unusual, antique wavy glass windows suddenly took center stage and the whole house seemed to relax a bit. I realize this might look a bit naked or unusual if you live in the south or in a metropolitan area, but if you drive through rural New England you will see antique house upon antique house with no shutters. Before removing the shutters for painting, the windows in the ell between the barn and the farmhouse always bothered me. They didn't have shutters which I liked conceptually since the ell was added after the house and had different windows, but not visually. But, now that the shutters on the main house are off it all "feels" right to my eye and my gut! I looked at the house from every angle, close up and at a distance. After discussing it with Dan, we made the decision of no shutters! We realized that when we drive around New Hampshire that the antique houses that we are drawn to have a look and a feeling of authenticity and we could now see that the look and feel we loved was the look of our farmhouse without shutters. And hey, I can always put them back if we were to change our minds, but I love the way the house looks and feels. Before I gave the "no-shutter" word to the painter, I wanted to make sure I was 100% with the decision. I had the thought that I should look at photos of farmhouses and cottages that I have collected over the last couple of years, and I'll be damned, but literally 99% of them had NO shutters! Who-knew??!!! I was seriously giggly giddy! I had just never looked at my saved houses from that perspective. It was quite a revelation for me and a validation of "trust your gut!" The front face after scraping and with the shutters removed. The house with black shutters. Classic. I do think it looks really pretty with shutters, but something about it also seems a bit formal for this simple farmhouse. When we initially had the whole house painted 7 years ago HERE I remember not being able to get the shutters back on the house fast enough, but thinking about it now the house wasn't landscaped and I was coming from a metropolitan/suburban situation and that was the norm for my eye. After living here and seeing so many antique houses without shutters my aesthetic for the farmhouse has shifted. I have taken drive-by photos of antique houses that I love, but can't quite put my finger on what makes me so captivated by them. I would bet that if I went back to look at all of those houses they wouldn't have shutters! Don't get me wrong, I love shutters, but for now the house looks and "feels" exactly as it should to me. I should also note after getting several comments on the shutters, that the shutters are antique and were original to the house (maybe not to 1853, but perhaps turn of the century?) The top of the shutters are stationary and the bottoms had movable louvers for air flow. They were initially operable to close over the windows, but when the storm windows were installed (prior to our owning the house) they were then attached directly to the house. And, yes- the house will be remain white! As I mentioned in the beginning of this post we are only painting several sides of the house. photo by Micheal Partenio Here are some photos of my saved favorite farmhouses, all of which unbeknowst to me until today do not have shutters! photo via photo via photo via photo via photo via photo via photo via photo via photo via photo via photo via photo via If you would like to read about the history of exterior house shutters this is a really good (and humorous) blog post about them HERE.
This cottage, called Faerie Door, is something right out of a storybook! Located in West Overton, Wiltshire, UK, this cottage is available to rent! Isn’t it just so romantic? Since the home…
Can you make your home more homely and cosy? With these tips for dressing a cottage you too can have that snuggly feeling in your own home. Regardless if it's a terrace, new build or indeed a cottage.
Television personality and style aficionado Neale Whitaker and his partner David Novak-Piper have created a home filled with art, stories and bonhomie on the NSW south coast.
I fell in love with this pretty stone cottage in a tiny village on the Normandy coast.
Since I'm away at the beach, I figured it was a good time to show some seaside cottages. Not the Newport variety, but actual cottages. The book 'Cottages by the Sea' by Linda Leigh Paul features a number of amazing cottages in Carmel, California. I had 2 favorites that I want to share with you. The house seen at the top images of the post is called 'Hansel' -aptly named, don't you think? The street side is a quiet, almost fairy-tale cottage. The handmade quality of the finishes just adds to the charm. The designer, Hugh Comstock, designed the place in a folk tudor style to showcase his wive's 'Otsy-Totsy' dolls in 1924 to show to potential buyers as they had overflowed their own home. The interior is small at 300 SF but adorable. Efficient little beach cottage perfect for 1 or 2! I love the soaring ceiling. Thats a guest loft up the ladder from the living room. Less of a cottage than a small house, the second project is more my speed to actually live in. I love this house! The Hasenyager House was built in 1931 by MJ Murphy in a French Tudor style and was restored in 1987.The house, typical of the time period, features forest-green painted steel windows. You know I love those! I especially love this large rounded bay window in the living room seen above and below. The garden is divided into 'rooms' and features a treasure trove of plants - roses, lupine, forget-me-nots, wisteria, iris, rhododendrons, lilacs, lavendar and rare trees. A perfect cottage garden! The interiors are still cozy but not as tiny as the hansel house. I love the wood floors and beams. The kitchen is obviously from the 1987 remodel but I don't mind it -the white cabinets and appliances are very beachy and I love the addition of the beautiful rugs and blue cabinet. This is a book that is definitely worth checking out!
Come take a look as I take you on a tour of my cottage garden year in review. There's so much to see as the garden changed throughout the year.
Humble and beautiful in their imperfection, little cottages with hand-made details call to mind the tales of the Brothers Grimm and other fairy stories, making us long for an adorable abode to call our own. These tiny houses provide inspiration to simplify and live smaller, and they’re definitely fun to look at. So make yourself […]
Humble and beautiful in their imperfection, little cottages with hand-made details call to mind the tales of the Brothers Grimm and other fairy stories, making us long for an adorable abode to call our own. These tiny houses provide inspiration to simplify and live smaller, and they’re definitely fun to look at. So make yourself […]
Bountiful home gardens in Maine were brought to life by a couple who have poured their hearts into their home’s landscaping.
There are few things I than a cozy cottage. Click the pics to peek inside!
A thatched cottage at one of the two Church Cove's near Lizard in Cornwall, UK.
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From a quaint fisherman's cottage in Port Isaac to a Georgian townhouse overlooking Falmouth Harbour, we've rounded up the finest houses currently for sale in the southwest
This house costs nine hundred million pounds.
A home is very often an extension of who we are and this gorgeous farm cottage is definitely a case in point. Owner Rosheen is a seasoned globe trotter and ex Jozi girl who, to her surprise and delight, now calls the Klein Karoo home. Danielskraal Farm, Calitzdorp to be exact. The bejewelled cottage is tiny …
I love a good English cottage. This one, a holiday rental in North Cornwall called Under the Rose Cottage, stopped me in my tracks. So charming!
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Fancy calling this idyllic country cottage home?
Rose cottage
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Beatrix Potter, the children's author and illustrator for the Peter Rabbit books lived in this Historic Farmhouse called Hill Top House in Cumbria, England.
POPSUGAR is a global lifestyle media brand with content encompassing entertainment, style, beauty, wellness, family, lifestyle, and identity. POPSUGAR's team of editors, writers, producers, and content creators curate the buzziest content, trends, and products to help our audience live a playful and purposeful life.
As I walked into the health food store, my eyes started darting from aisle to aisle wondering where the supplements were to calm a person down. Then I started wondering where the supplements …
