What Is Cottage Style?

Recently, our members talked about what cottage style means to us. These are some of our thoughts:

• Light, soft, and romantic colors with chic but practical and cozy furnishings

• Anything that has a romantic, soft appeal

• Well-worn or reused vintage looks using painted pieces, pale floral fabrics, and pretty accessories to achieve a soft, casual, romantic feel

• A very comfortable, relaxed decor ... fabrics from roses to stripes to gingham, lots of painted wood furnishings, a mixture of old and new, colors from primary to soft hues

• An eclectic mixture of antique, vintage and new ... a style that embodies simplicity, practicality, diversity, and flexibility

In the end, we agreed that cottage style encompasses so many different looks that it’s difficult to define. However, for us cottage style is about handmade or found objects crafted or refurbished with loving care and individual style. It's about color and texture. It's about mixing the old with the new. It's about combining beauty with practicality. It's about what home means to each of us.

While there are many different faces of cottage style, they all have three things in common: coziness, charm, and comfort. Perhaps this annotated list will help differentiate those different faces.

• English Cottage Style — an English garden feel with overstuffed chairs; lots of roses and other floral patterns, especially for drapes and pillows; floral or transferware china collections; bold but faded hues; often solid color slipcovers and upholstery

• French Cottage Style — traditionally a Provincial look, often with warm shades of yellow and blue or yellow and red; more recently, a Parisian feel that’s softer, more restrained; whole cloth quilts; toiles and small, one-color-with-white prints; mirrors; monogrammed antique or vintage linens; tole trays and chandeliers; unusual, often one-of-a-kind pieces

• Swedish Cottage Style — an elegant but austere look; windows are often bare or covered in simple linen; blue and white ticking; simple accessories; no clutter; soft, grayed shades of blue and green

• Beach or Lakehouse Cottage Style — an easy, breezy feel with lots of white, usually mixed with blue; washable canvas slipcovers, softened with gathers; seashells and boats; wood floors painted white; hand-me-down or flea market furnishings; pretty florals, stripes, and checks

• Country, Farmhouse, Rustic, or Camp Cottage Style — a weathered look with practical, often primitive pieces; patchwork pillows and quilts; gingham, ticking, and small floral fabrics, including feedsacks; practical collections such as bowls, platters, and pitchers; white ironstone dishes

• Vintage Bungalow Cottage Style — simply charming 40s cottage look with built-in bookcases and interior French doors; often neutral paint scheme; solid color fabrics with lots of texture; large flowery prints make bold statements; painted brick; framed botanical prints

• Shabby Cottage Style — a soft, feminine feel where pink and white reign; chippy paint on flea market furniture; rusty ironwork; lots of roses; rumpled slipcovers; solid cotton, linen, and matelasse with floral pillows

• Romantic Cottage Style — a relaxed Victorian feel ... nothing stuffy here; whites, pastels, roses, and ruffles abound; teapots and teacups in chintz and rose patterns; collections galore; hooked floral rugs; fabrics blend but don’t match; lots of layers

Although we lean toward the Shabby and Romantic faces, you’ll usually find a good mix of the various cottage styles among our listings. If we don’t have what you’re looking for today, we’re likely to have it in the next week or two, so be sure to check back often to see what’s new. Meanwhile, why not visit our forum and tell us what you’re looking for? Could be, one of our sellers is thinking about making something similar or would be willing to do a custom order for you.