Cottage decorating is usually a lot of fun! Cottages are not like the average and typical  homes, but are a lot more fairytale like. So when you are cottage decorating you should just let your imagination soar, though you might want to remember the one rule of cottage decorating, which states that simple is better.

In the old times cottages were used as the servants’ quarters on large estates.  Therefore, traditionally, country cottage furniture was mainly made up of unwanted pieces from the manor house.  This habit of taking discarded items and reusing them is still the prominent method of cottage decorating. And this is great news for those who are and a budget and looking for affordable cottage decorating ideas.

When cottage decorating and creating your own cottage look there are three key ingredients to achieving the prefect cottage design and they are:  white paint, slip covers and being creative!

By painting the various mismatched, damaged and old white the luster of your country cottage furniture will be restored. Also use white to paint the walls of your cottage, as this will brighten up the small cottage rooms and give the appearance of spaciousness.

Slip covers basically do the same for sofas and armchairs as white paint does for walls and furniture.  So cover the worn out couch or chair with a white or off-white sheet and watch it be transformed instantly into cozy and well kempt pieces of cottage style furniture. Worn out hand-me-down items and things found at various flea markets will just light up under nice clean, though you shouldn’t be too worried about a wrinkle of two in the sheet.  That way the living room of your cottage will look so much more homely and lived in.

And thirdly, when cottage decorating and planning the furniture layout of your cottage be creative and let your imagination run wild! For example, think about using some of the pieces of your furniture for things that they were not originally intended, such as using a an old piano chair as a side table or else along those lines.   You might also consider setting up displays of your favorite collection, such as a doll collection of a teddy gear collection, or removing the doors of your kitchen cabinets to display the cottage style plates and dishes.

Imagination and creativeness is also very necessary when shopping for country cottage furniture and in thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales. You have to view the items you find there not so much in terms of what they are now, but more in terms of what they can be transformed into, by restoration or clever cottage decorating design.

Cottage decorating ideas are endless and the only limit is your imagination.  However, you should take care not too get carried away and clutter your cottage as keeping lots of open space is essential to good cottage decorating.

Technorati Tags: Classic Cottages, Cottage Decorating, Cottage Decorating Ideas, Cottage Designs, Cottage Furniture Style, Country Cottage Furniture

And now it is time for another great cottage decorating idea…

The whole point of cottage style living is unpretentious enjoyment of home, friends and life. Unlike the big manor houses for which cottages originally housed servants, cottages not only are absent of dining rooms where 24 people can enjoy a regal 12-course meal, they rarely have dining rooms at all! In short, cottage style is about the way most of us live today, not about wanting to live the way the very rich lived yesterday!
Since cottage style derives from servants’ cottages, which were usually furnished with pieces cast off from the manor house, cottage chic unabashedly turns discards into desirable objects by reclaiming and re-presenting them in a new context. This is good news for those of us on a budget, and who among us isn’t?
Flea markets, garage sales and thrift stores are Mecca for cottage style decorators, who train themselves to view the merchandise they find there in light of what it can be, not what it was. An old painted bench can become a stylish cottage coffee table, an old mahogany corner cabinet can keep soap, towels and other bath necessities at hand, a piano stool with a wrought iron base can serve as a small end table, a largish piece of wrought iron can be affixed to the wall behind the bed to serve as a headboard.
Turning pieces from different eras and styles into a harmonious decorating whole by simply appreciating them is the heart of cottage style. Here are a few ways you can achieve a chic cottage look using decorating rather than renovating:
• Think white: White paint can cover a multitude of architectural sins. A too-small kitchen with dark, dated wood cabinets feels more spacious the moment the walls and cupboards are painted white. Inexpensive white slipcovers on furniture with stained or damaged upholstery unify different styles and brighten the living room. Even white sheets can be artfully draped over sofas and chairs to achieve the cottage slip covered effect.
• Showcase collections: Go through your belongings and select the ones you most love and enjoy. Even if you only have one or two items in a category that gives you pleasure, such as antique wicker baskets or wide-brimmed summer hats, put them out to enjoy. What you collect matters less than how you display it: Even three small antique bottles will appear charming on your kitchen windowsill when each bottle holds a single flower; a hat collection displayed on a wrought iron wall rack near the door lets you enjoy viewing your chapeaux even when you’re not wearing them. Removing doors from upper kitchen cabinets allows you to easily showcase pottery and china in a very charming manner.
• Focus on comfort: When buying upholstered furniture, look for pieces that appear “overstuffed” and inviting. Ignore inappropriate upholstery and finishes. A little white paint and a slipcover will change them instantly!
• Use accessories: Pillows covered in floral prints, vintage tablecloths and pillowcases, brightly colored Fiesta ware dishes and old china pitchers used as vases are just a few of the things that make a cottage feel homey. Again, don’t worry about using things that match; a floral throw pillow can coexist happily with a checked or striped one, and mismatched dining chairs look fine together when painted the same color. Remember… in cottage style, anything goes!
If you are lucky enough to have a weekend retreat or summer getaway cottage, keep the interior décor light, comfortable and whimsical. After all, the reason you purchased a cottage in the first place was to retreat from the stresses of everyday city life. Your cottage should never be a mirror of your home in the city. The country is a place to let your personality shine through in your decorating.

Hope you enjoyed that! Don\’t forget to subscribe to the RSS!

Technorati Tags: Classic Cottages, Cottage Decorating, Cottage Decorating Ideas, Cottage Designs, Cottage Furniture Style, Country Cottage Furniture

Cottage decorating can be very appealing particularly for individuals who live in the city. After all, when the hustle and bustle of the city has made it’s way into your house who wouldn’t feel the urge to make life less complicated with country decor?
A big principle of decorating in a cottage style is to make your place look like it has a lot of space. In order to do that you need to get rid of all that stuff you don’t really need. Recycle and reuse everything that may serve as a storage container to hide those items that you do keep. Suitcases and old hatboxes may make ideal storage containers and also add decorative appeal
Rather than throwing out your old broken furniture, why not repair it? Showing love to an older piece of furniture is part of the appeal of cottage decorating. Consider simple, bold colors that are consistent throughout your space. White is constantly a fine selection when talking about cottage decor. An all white theme is fresh and clean, it can make your home seem more spacious and serve as a great pallet for your personal touches.
Floral patterns, simple embroidery and vibrant colors will likely be your mainstay for decorative quilts, pillows and throws. Use your unique creativity to add your own personal charm to the interior decorating scheme. Shop at yard sales and flea markets for anything from window drapes to towels. Art festivals and colleges often offer wonderful works that can be bought very reasonably, and you could get a real gem from an artist that later becomes well known.
Ferret out the best finds as this style of decorating looks great when you use mismatched furniture and accessories that you don’t buy in a department store. Old architectural pieces, needlepoints and lamps can all add to the shabby chic appeal. And also you will be certain your accessories and furniture aren’t the same pieces you see in every other home
Finally, but most significantly to cottage decorating, bring the feel of a country day to your home. Add softness along with country ambiance to your design with a container garden. You might grow herbs properly in your window – they look great and you can employ them in your cooking also. .
Cottage decor is the contrast of eclectic decor. It works with vintage used furniture that still looks great. The unique and interesting country cottage in the city is a terrific style to come home to.

Technorati Tags: Cottage Decorating, Decor, Decorating, Home Improvement, Interior Decorating, Interior Design

Classic cottages make for wonderful holiday homes and they are the perfect choice for a country romantic getaway.  They offer the perfect balance of peaceful relaxation and aesthetic enjoyment that anyone could want in their quest to get away for the hustle and bustle of everyday life.  When we speak of classic cottages it is cottages in the United Kingdom (UK), Ireland and Wales that come to mind most ready, although the classic cottages in France and Tuscany are also quite famous.  A great book to get if you just want to familiarize yourself with classic cottages is Brian Coleman’s Classic Cottages .

And if you are looking classic cottage rentals for a family or romantic vacation, or if you are in the market to purchase your own classic cottage for a summer home the list of helpful links below will definitely steer you in the right direction:

-    Classic Cottages in the UK
-    Classic Cottages Design
-    Classic Cottages in Wales and Scotland
-    A list of Romantic Classic Cottages

And happy classic cottages hunting!

Technorati Tags: Classic Cottages, Cottage Decorating, Cottage Decorating Ideas

The three key ingredients to any great cottage furniture style are slipcovers, white paint and being creative.  It is thus that white covers on sofas and couches can hide flaws in the upholstery, painting walls and furniture white gives rooms and old, mismatched and damaged country cottage furniture new life, while keeping everything white also ensures that it all matches and creates unity.

Slipcovers are to upholstered furniture what white paint is for walls and wooden furniture.  In other words, they can be used to rejuvenate county cottage furniture found in flea markets and old attics, since a white or pale cream cover or sheet will doubtlessly breathe new life into these pieces of cottage style furniture and make it all the more unique.  When cottage decorating you also want the rooms to look lived in, though not unkempt, so do not worry about the wrinkles in the covers or sheets.

And with the layout of the furniture you should stay in tune with your creative or artistic side.  Here you might want to also think about using certain items for purposes other then that which they were originally intended for. Some cottage decorating ideas here would be to turn a chair into a side table, use old cupboards as display cases for your quaint saucers and teacups, while you might also want to set up display of a vintage doll or teddy bear collection.

Also when cottage decorating remember to keep the window accents as few and simple as possible to let the air and the warmth of the sun in undisturbed. Keep vases filled with flowers on the windowsill and lacy curtains flowing in the breeze, but otherwise try to keep everything as undisturbed as possible.  And when choosing covers for your upholstered furniture consider the tea-stained look, as it lends itself beautifully to cottage style furniture in creating that special cottage look. The only thing that really limits you with cottage decorating and choosing your cottage furniture style is your imagination so let it run wild!

Technorati Tags: Cottage Decorating, Cottage Decorating Ideas, Cottage Furniture Style, Country Cottage Furniture

Country cottage furniture is, of course, the key ingredient in cottage decorating. It is not for nothing that the cottage style decorating is considered one of the best home interior decorating styles. The cottage decorating style is known for allowing much creativeness and artistic expression and the best vehicle in achieving this is through the choosing and adaptation of country cottage furniture. In the past the people living in cottages, most commonly the servants, made the needed pieces of country cottage furniture themselves from their masters’ discarded items, while today one can purchase these pieces as antiques at either the more upscale antique stores, or at flea markets, local stores or online as a more cost-friendly alternative.

The most obvious pieces of country cottage furniture are of course linen chests, wrought iron headrests, hard wood closets and overstuffed sofas, but apart from these there is a whole assortment of other just as quaint cottage style pieces. One such piece is the bamboo chair, which is sturdy and strong and fits into most cottage decorating concepts quite nicely.

Country cottage furniture pieces are, of course, beautiful to behold in their original state, as true relics of the past. However a novel and creative idea might also be to paint for example and old linen chest a bright, vibrant color, which is a great solution when trying to restore and old chest in need of repair. Other items that you might consider painting when cottage decorating may include lamps, dining chairs, dining tables, old wicker baskets, room dividers, and so on.

And even if you are just looking into country cottage furniture to decorate you house or apartment you are well advised to invest some money into antiques, as they really do add warmth and that cottage-cozy feeling to the place. Sometimes it is enough to merely add such small antique accents as box country cottage furniture, an antique child’s doll dresser, a leather wood table or wood rolling knob calendars.

In the old earlier cottagers created country cottage furniture which best suited their needs and lifestyle at the time. This was done quite rationally and no piece of furniture was out of place in old time cottages. So when choosing the country cottage furniture to decorating your cottage you should also remember to be rational. In cottage decorating less is more, mostly because of small rooms and the need for them to appear more open lest they start to seem too cluttered and thus oppressive.

Technorati Tags: Cottage Decorating, Cottage Decorating Ideas, Country Cottage Furniture

Historically, cottages were used as servants’ quarters on much larger and richer estates. The traditional country cottage furniture was therefore mainly comprised of unwanted pieces from the manor. And as it was then, so it is today that cottage decorating ideas are often based on taking discarded items and reusing them, which is very favorable to those who are scouring for budget-conscious cottage decorating ideas.

In cottage decorating it is thrift stores flea markets and garage sales where the most value can be gotten for little money. You must, however, view the items there in terms of what they could become and not so much what they are, as many are usually in need of restoration. It is also possible to mix and match and so an old bench ca be transformed into a chick coffee table and an old dark wood bookcase can easily become a linen closet, a piece of wrought iron can be restored to serve as a headboard or a piano stool become an end table. Cottage decorating ideas are, as you notice, endless, though you should always take care not to clutter the cottage too much. Open spaces are essential when cottage decorating.

At the heart of all cottage decorating ideas is taking items of country cottage furniture from different historical times and tastefully combining them to create your own cottage decorating style. And below are just a few cottage decorating ideas to help you achieve that chic cottages style:

The first and foremost of cottage decorating ideas is to think white. This means that it is best to paint the walls of the cottage white, as this color can cover a lot of cottage design flaws. For example, a dark kitchen can immediately be made more spacious and pleasant if the walls, and possibly the cupboards, are painted white. Another cottage decorating idea is to slip cheap white covers over the damaged the pieces with damaged or stained upholstery. You can achieve this cottage design by simply draping white cotton sheets over the sofas and armchairs.

Another of the great cottage decorating ideas is to showcase your collections in the cottage. To do this, first go through your possessions and pick the ones you treasure most, such as an old summer hat or a wicker basket. The next step is then to display these things in the most effective way. So for example, you might want to keep the wicker basket filled with flowers by the front door, keep your summer hat on an iron wall rack, or use antique bottles as vases. And a great way to showcase your period pottery and china is to simply remove all the kitchen cabinet doors.

When cottage decorating comfort should always be your primary goal. So one of the cottage decorating ideas to remember her is to, for example, choose sofas and armchairs that look full and therefore inviting, and don’t worry so much about the upholstery designs and how they will fit into your cottage style as you can just cover them with a white slipcover and they will be transformed and will fit just about any cottage decorating style.

The next cottage decorating idea is to accessorize, tastefully but heavily. Some ideas that will instantly give your cottage a more homely feel is to use vintage tablecloths and pillowcases, use old china water pitchers used as vases, have pillows covered in floral print. Here also, do not fret over having matching pillows, for example, or even the same dining table chairs as in cottage decorating anything is allowed.

Those are just a few cottage decorating ideas, and you can get many more in magazines and books such as Cottage Living or the Shabby Chic Treasure Hunting and Decorating Guide . And always remember that when cottage decorating the rules are few, and it is a great personality to allow the really you to come out and play when scouring and implementing cottage decorating ideas.

Technorati Tags: Cottage Decorating, Cottage Decorating Ideas

Cottage decorating can be heaps of fun! That is mainly so because cottages are not like normal, run-of-the-mill homes but have an undeniable fairytale vibe about them.  Moreover, they are usually utilized as vacation or holiday homes, or rented as such, and therefore the creative side of cottage decorating is just some much more pronounced.   However in cottage decorating there is one rule that should be kept in mind and that is that simple is better.

Generally speaking, cottages usually have smaller rooms than the average house, which means lower ceilings and smaller gardens.   When cottage decorating one has to, therefore, keep in mind these facts and strive to keep each room as uncluttered as possible.  By doing so the cottage will appear larger, roomier and also in reality be more spacious than expected. Using bright colors in cottage decorating will also give the illusion of greater spaciousness, while filling it with too many pieces of country cottage furniture will just make it too cluttered.

Very important with the small rooms of cottages is that you should start in the middle of the room and work outwards when cottage decorating.  This middle space should be kept as clear as possible to enable unhindered movement across the room, as well as give the sense of openness to the room.   When searching for cottage decorating ideas you should also remember that no matter how much you adore that special piece of country cottage furniture this love will not last if you keep tripping over it when moving around the cottage.

As for the special little tidbits of decorations, one suggestion is lacy and light window curtains, which perfectly accentuate the cottage windows. And for something more modern you might consider, for example, bamboo stick shades, which are a nice addition to more classic cottage decorating.

Those wishing to partake in more classic cottage decorating, or upscale cottage decorating, will want to consider basic and simplistic pieces of antique country cottage furniture, which usually consists of tough and long-lasing pieces made of dark wood.  There is quite an assortment of different items of country cottage furniture out there, such as window boxes, chests and other pieces that once adorned classic cottages and with a more traditional cottage design.

One thing to keep in mind with upscale cottage decorating is that you should leave not only the center of the room open, but also some open space along the walls, on tables and so on. Upscale cottage designs are based on cottage decorating with just a few beautiful and sturdy pieces of country cottage furniture and you should avoid having too many pieces of furniture when going for this cottage design style as that would take away from its impact. After all upscale cottage decorating is not so much about the price, but more about the style, so it is not advisable to spend large amounts of money that is just not stylish or tasteful. And remember that tasteful decadent and upscale items can also be gotten for a steal if you checkout little local stores, antique shops and online sellers.

You show also remember that cottage decorating should reflect the inhabitant’s personalities to make all the more cozy and homely.  And, try to keep the natural surroundings where cottage decorating.  In beach cottages, for example, you might therefore consider some palm tree or driftwood accessories as well as a lot of light and bright colors. And always remember that cottage decorating can and should be a lot of fun and the added bonus is that it can very often be done quite nicely also on a budget.

Technorati Tags: Cottage Decorating, Cottage Decorating Ideas