Wednesday, January 7, 2004

Updating your cottage state of mind

Simple cottage styling blooms with myriad fresh looks

In 1848, architect Andrew Jackson Downing bid readers of The Horticulturist to practice “beautiful and appropriate architecture. Do not build your dwelling places like temples, churches or cathedrals,” he implored. “Let them be, characteristically, dwelling-houses ... let the cottage be a cottage.”

There’s a lack of pretension about cottage style. It is what it seems — straightforward and practical, with an enduring simplicity and grace.

Like the architecture from which it derives, cottage furnishings are compact, informal, crafted from indigenous materials, and in harmony with their surroundings — whether by the sea, nestled in the woods, or adding heart to a historic downtown neighborhood or a new “cottage community.”

It is the way cottage’s endearing characteristics tap our most basic concept of shelter that leads so many of us to strive to recreate its feeling in our homes. But with its myriad forms of expression, cottage is more a state of mind than a geographic location or architectural style. How we express it becomes our own personal vision of comforting shelter.

“Unlike some styles that come and go, cottage endures, though each generation endows it with its own expressions and icons,” says Karen Sexton, creative director for furniture manufacturer, Lexington Home Brands. “Shutters, gingham fabrics, and farm animals still have their devotees,” she says, “but new twists on cottage can lend the style a cleaner, even urban, sophisticated feel — a sense of calm, of less is more, a reminder that nurturing the relationships within its walls is what cottage style is really all about.”

The clean, cottage canvas

Few styles are truly so versatile. With its simple lines and subtle contours, cottage style is an easy canvas upon which to draw. And its adaptability allows it to change as our lives and tastes evolve. Adding to its appeal, today’s savvy furniture designers update cottage designs with features that fit the needs of contemporary life — such as a granite-topped sideboard and a wine storage cabinet — as well as offer a rainbow of finishes to mix and match for a personalized look.

Waverly, the nation’s best-known decorating resource and lifestyle authority, illustrates the fashionable style directions cottage can take by blending its newest home furnishings line, Breeze, from Lexington Home Brands, with an eye-catching mix of comfortable Waverly woven and print fabrics. Here are some ideas for giving your cottage retreat a modern day flavor:

• Urban Warmth. For a fresh, urban approach to a traditional look, show off oyster white painted furnishings paired with Waverly’s “La Belle Campagne” cranberry and white toile against warm yet dramatic red walls. Balance the strength of red with an ebony accent, perhaps Breeze’s rattan bed or a livingroom cocktail table. Tie in rattan with tropical wall décor and plants, but, for this look, keep accessories minimal. Red walls and traditional prints are warm and inviting, while the black lends an updated punch. Contemporary, uncluttered, striking.

• Jet-Set Chic. For a more daring, urban look, let ebony furnishings dominate, using a white piece as an accent. Sophisticated, inviting, dramatic.

• Tropical Retreat. Transport your cottage to an upscale tropical locale. Keeping walls and floors neutral (think khaki, sisal, or subtle cabana stripes), dress a white-painted bed in soft yellow and green leaf print fabric, such as Waverly’s “Wailea Coast.” Keep accessories airy, natural, and tropical. A handpainted trunk in soft yellow can add a subtle accent as well as a place to store extra bedding to ward off real or imagined ocean breezes. Clean, calm, casual.

• Home Sweet Home. For a tranquil cottage look, pair white-painted furnishings with softly colored walls; or add zip with crisp red striped and sweet floral print fabrics set off against contemporary khaki walls. Simple, charming, easy to live with.

• Eclectic Accent. For a more eclectic look, break up the “suite” feel of furnishings by including a contrasting material, as with the rattan bed above. Or substitute a piece in a different finish or accent color, then anchor the accent tone by repeating it in fabrics and accessories.

However you interpret it, the simple, clean lines of cottage style work on many levels. It’s an excellent beginning palette for those seeking to test their home decorating talents (and a look that will adapt as your life and locations change). Cottage also mixes easily with accumulated furnishings to update an existing room, and it can provide a fresh way to express yourself in a downsized environment.

To view innovative Waverly Breeze interpretations of this versatile style and for further details on finishes, paints, and fabrics, visit www.lexington.com.

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