Customer Reviews

Cottage Style: Ideas and Projects for Your World

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I am a huge country and cottage decorating book collector, and I have to say this is one of my least favorite of them. There are a few really nice pictures of cottage rooms to inspire you, but mostly the book is filled with cutsie cottage type projects to do, such as making a bench, and clocks. I prefer books with lots of pictures that I can pick things out of the room that I think are beautiful and worth recreating in my home. I also prefer to find these things at flea markets and antique stores, not make obviously homemade reproductions of them.

I loved this book. Most books and articles about cottage style are vague, never going into detail. This book not only explains how cottage style came about, but also breaks cottage style down into the elements of the style. I read it cover to cover, and now have a better understanding of what cottage style is. I more confident to make personal choices for my home, and still maintain the cottage feel, I want it to have. The rooms pictured in the book are classic cottage. I am very inspired by them, for rooms in my own home. Also, For the crafty person, that would like to make a personal piece for their cottage home, this books' Project section, has some great ideas and projects Anyone can do.

If you are familiar with the other books by Himsel and Farris, then this book will not disappoint!

Himsel and Farris wrote a series of books that follow the same format as this "Cottage Style" book. (By the way, the other books in this series are called: "Flea Market Style", "Garden Style", and "Cabin Style").

Anyhow, this Farris/Himsel book follows the following format:

.... First, it shows gorgeous photos of beautiful Cottage-Style rooms, with various colors & furnishings throughout.

... Second, the authors chose a few furniture pieces or accessories from each of the rooms and then they show the reader, in STEPS-BY-STEPS, how to recreate the given object. The directions are easy to follow. Measurements are given . The objects themselves could easily be used in any Cottage or casual home.

This team is , as always, very creative. The reader can tell that this team went through alot of trouble to re-create the furnishings and accessories. A well thought-out book!

(As you can tell, I'm a Farris/Himsel fan!).

The book had examples of decorated rooms but it also had too many pages devoted to what amounted to craft projects and furniture making none of which I would ever consider making.

Not an encyclopedia, but a short book with several easy projects. (I, for one, like the bench) Each section of the book is devoted to an aspect of "cottage style" (lighting, fabrics, etc) with a few simple project examples.