Customer Reviews

Cottage Living: Creating Comfortable Country Retreats

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Because I so enjoyed the Better Homes & Gardens book "Cottage Style", this book by Ellen M. Plante sounded like an excellent addition to my personal library. However, her book was a disappointment to me. While I would be happy to stay at most of the featured vacation homes for a week or so if the owners invited me for a visit, very few of the pictures reflect the look of relaxed, romantic comfort that I associate with cottage style. She does feature a few interiors with the feel of Scandnavian country that I really liked, but none of the rest had much appeal for me. A fine book for people actually planning to build/remodel a vacation home, but not for those of us who buy decorating books just because we enjoy the pictures and like to dream.

This book far surpassed all expectations and is a book I am using a great deal. We live in a cottage in the Sierras that was built in the 1800's and what the book has helped me with, is better understanding how to make every room usable and how important wise and imaginative one has to be when designing storage in a small room, which is what older cottages are all about.

She clearly notes on the cover under the title "designing comfortable country retreats" thus it does have a serious country leaning. And I like the fact that she realizes that cottages in different regions of the United States be they Maine, the Rockies, desert or coastal or mountain areas, evoke different feels and needs.

While it is true she speaks of cottages as get away places, I also know that thousands of families here in the Sierras live year round in cottages, just as some do in the variety of coastal towns up and down California's coast. This is a book that can be used wisely by those who do not have a cottage as simply a vacation home but as their main dwelling.

I also liked the fact the author reminded the reader that a cottage is a great place to show off small collections be it shells, teapots, small paintings, quilts etc. That a cottage can become a small piece of art.

I have been looking for ways to change the overall appearance of my home and like the Cottage look. This book has been very helpful and informative for me to meet those goals. There are lots of color photos and suggestions to help anyone who would like to have the Cottage look in their home. I would highly recommend this book.

This book was entirely photographed in the UK. I expected some US and other countries to be included. The photography is fascinating but the information was a bit boring.