Customer Reviews

The Southern Cottage: From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Florida Keys

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

 

 

Susan Sully's "The Southern Cottage" is a beautifully written book, illustrated with stunning photographs of eighteen charming cottages. In the spirit of full disclosure, my home is featured in the book (four pages of text and eight photos). I had never met Susan before she visited me last year. An officer of our local Preservation Society recommended my home, a mid-nineteenth century "story-and-a-jump" cottage rehabilitated to historic preservation standards, to her.

Susan's photos show my house as it is. All of the furniture and other items in her pictures are mine, ones that I use daily. Sometimes I sit in my parlor with Susan's book open on my lap, and think, "what a wonderful testimony to the love and care we've shown to this historic old house."

In addition to capturing the spirit of my house in photographs, Susan has written several pages describing the house (it belonged to my grandparents), our family history (including colonial settlers, sea captains, and shipwrecks), and life today on a barrier island.

So far I have read only a few other sections (each cottage has its own chapter), but if the book captures the spirit of every house as faithfully as mine (and I have every reason to believe it does) this is a book worthy of any bookshelf.

This was an absolute page turner for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful pictures and descriptive dialog. The photos were amazing and were varied with many interior, exterior and garden shots. The only dissapointment was coming to the end!

Ever since I purchased a turn of the century farmhouse I have been a bit obsessed w/ reading about the history and culture of the south. I enjoyed this book and the photos but most of all I love reading about the people who choose to live a simple life:)There is something magical about this way of life. I feel so lucky to experience living in a historic home and I enjoyed reading the reviewer's home featured in the book! OMG!!!! It is an honor! CONGRATS!!!! I googled and made trips to the local museum in my area and found my farmhouse written about in a history book and it is thrilling beyond words! Hope someday the author chooses to write "The Southern Farmhouse" Hint!:)

This is a lovely book of real homes. It is clear in each vignette that the homeowners truly love their houses and have decorated them wholeheartedly. I am sure that many designers were involved - they are really exceptional cottages - but overall, the sense is conveyed that the cottage is really and truly someone's home (or home away from home, as the case often is). I am designing our family's home, and I enjoyed "visiting" these cottages very much. So many of these books are inspiring in a "perfect ' kind of way - as in, I could never achieve this look, but it is beautiful! - but this books presents cottages that are closer to what we all might create in our homes.

I spent the best years of my childhood at my grandmother's in the summer on the porch. It was a small house built by my grandfather and my dad in the 1930s. This book took me back there, but also was a real inspiration. It was really neat to see what people had done with what some folks would consider throwaway buildings. I loved it.

Very nice book. I liked it so much I sent an additional copy to a friend in Georgia.

I'm always interested in how the wealthy spend their money. These "Cottages" are really something! Most people might enjoy thumbing through this book free at a library or on a friends coffee table.