Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2021 i Country Living

If you ask a dozen people to describe how the ideal country house should be decorated, you’ll get as many different answers. For every person who prefers a period home with primitives, there’s another who favors a farmhouse with flea market finds and a third who craves a cottage with kitschy collectibles. But if you ask the same people how the ideal country house should make you feel, the answers are far more universal. Because that’s what it really all comes down to, isn’t it? A kick-up-your-feet, linger-a-little-longer sort of feeling. At Country Living, we often talk about whether a home passes the “no-coaster test.” In other words, do you feel like you could put a drink down on the coffee table without scrambling to locate a coaster? Ideally, the…

Keys & Tags Before suites could be accessed with one simple swipe, hotels secured rooms using materials with a little more personality (and much higher patina potential). Most commonly made from brass or leather, detailed key tags—and the skeleton keys they accompanied—became their own pieces of travel art. Keys with embossed leather tags (the precursors to the bright plastic tags popularized by midcentury motels) can be found for $75 to $150 each, while rarer finds, like the green fringed fob shown at left, can go for hundreds of dollars. For something more affordable, stick with round brass tags (top left, bottom right), which served as identifiers for both rooms and luggage. Matchbooks Originally distributed by hotels, restaurants, and other businesses at the height of the smoking era, these pocket-size souvenirs…

№ 1 Window Shade To add camp charm to a window, sew a channel that is slightly larger than your curtain rod at the end of a blanket. Thread the rod through the channel, and hang. Roll up blanket, and hold in place with a length of rope. № 2 Fireplace Surround Layers of stripes add interest to a plain white fireplace. Start by taping off brick-width stripes with painters tape. Paint stripes using acrylic or exterior paint. (See color suggestions at left.) Once dry, carefully remove tape. № 3 Trunk Give your coffee table the arts-and-crafts treatment by first painting a rectangular wood trunk white, then use the same taping and painting technique as the fireplace surround on each end. № 4 Headboard For a five-minute headboard DIY, attach…

When it comes to home insurance, it’s as important to consider what’s in your rooms as much as the structure. Antique furnishings and collections may require additional coverage. For tips on this, as well as helpful advice on keeping an older house in up-to-date shape, visit geico.com/living. Contact your local GEICO agent to help ensure you have all the insurance coverage you need for your home, car, and most sentimental hand-me-downs.…

Inspired by: the farmlands of Oregon’s Willamette Valley Local Flavor: Of all the blackberry varieties grown in “the nation’s berry basket,” the most beloved is the only-in-Oregon cultivar, the marionberry. Its sugary yet tart taste inspired marionberry pie, a local dessert with a thick filling created by the berry’s firm texture. Ours adds the sweetness of pears, another of Oregon’s most abundant crops. Recipe, page 97…

Aroom without books is like a body without a soul.” While the sentiment behind this phrase (commonly attributed to Roman philosopher Cicero) is some 2,000-years-old, the words feel more relevant than ever. In this era of the ephemeral, transitory tidbits of information and decluttering at all costs have fallen into favor at the expense of a happily hoarded home library. But building a personal collection of books is character-building in the richest, truest sense. As is the case with any well-designed room, the personalities in the pages (Jane Eyre, Mr. Darcy…) invite you to sit and stay awhile. But here’s the plot twist: Perfection has no place here. Like the most memorable and relatable literary characters, the most interesting bookshelves are beautifully messy and a tad unpredictable. Symmetrical stacks? No,…

THE MAGPIE Dandy Wellington Harlem, New York SARTORIAL START: There’s a history of fashion in my family. My mother got her wonderful sense of style from my grandmother, an expert tailor who had a business in Jamaica re-creating dresses seen in fashion magazines like Redbook, and she raised me in Harlem surrounded by the art, music, and fashion of Black culture. ALL THAT JAZZ: My personal style leans 1930s and was largely inspired by Jazz Age apparel arts drawings from illustrators like Laurence Fellows, though they never featured people of color. So I started Black Apparel Arts (@blackapparelarts), an arts challenge with a mission to expand representation within the canon of the fashion illustrations so many of us in the vintage menswear community love. CAP IT OFF: I have about…

“I TELL COUPLES TO COME DRESSED TO IMPRESS. That means both the guests and the grub,” says designer Lela Rose (lelarose.com), who enjoys the casual and carefree nature of a potluck, a communal food tradition that dates all the way back to the 16th century. And while “anything goes” is the guiding principle of these gatherings, Lela has a few guidelines to guarantee shared-dish success. First: Presentation matters. This is no place for sauce-stained Tupperware. Break out your prettiest pottery or most seasoned cast-iron skillet. Second: Creativity counts. Lela’s go-to crowd-pleasers include Grilled Apples with Prosciutto and Honey, Flower Focaccia, and a Mixed Berry Pie with Rye Crust embellished with the words “Potluck Palooza” (see recipes, page 91). At the end of the night, the prize potluckers win—what else?—a well…

• in season• ZUCCHINI TRY IT IN Pan-Seared Gnocchi with Parmesan-Roasted Summer Squash and Herbs (recipe, pg. 93) SHOPPING TIP Stock up on smaller zucchini (five to six inches long), which roasts up nicely, as it has fewer seeds and less water than oversize ones. • in season • MUSHROOMS TRY THEM IN Grilled Mushroom Panzanella with Tomato Vinaigrette (recipe, pg. 93) SHOPPING TIP Look for fun varieties like oyster, Hen of the Woods, and chanterelles, which have varying textures and flavors (peppery and earthy for chanterelles and spicy and nutty for Hen of the Woods). • in season • CAULIFLOWER TRY IT IN Roasted Curried Cauliflower and Green Beans (recipe, pg. 93) SHOPPING TIP Any cauliflower will do! The green, purple, and yellow varieties all taste the same. Look…

POTLUCK PALOOZA PAGE 42 Flower Focaccia WORKING TIME 25 minutes TOTAL TIME 1 hour, 40 minutes (including standing and rising) MAKES 6 to 8 servings 1 cup warm water1 teaspoon sugar1 teaspoon rapid-rise yeast (from one ¾-ounce package)2 ½ cups bread flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for work surface1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more for panToppings: olives, thinly sliced bell peppers, sliced red and green jalapeño peppers, cilantro leaves, chopped fresh chives 1. Stir together water and sugar in a glass measuring cup. Sprinkle yeast over top and stir to dissolve. Let stand until bubbly, 4 to 6 minutes (if yeast does not bubble, discard and begin again). 2. Lightly grease a bowl. Whisk together flour and salt in a second bowl.…

PRESENTED BY SHERWIN-WILLIAMS is thrilled to be partnering with Country Living on an inspiring before-and-after renovation of lifestyle blogger Victoria Ford’s dated Dutch Colonial-style home in Cary, NC. Below, we go behind the scenes of the spaces that were featured in the May (bedroom and bathroom), July/August (shed), and September (living room) issues and on CountryLiving.com as Victoria shares her thoughts about the Sherwin-Williams paint color choices. Keep an eye out for the kitchen and breakfast room in Country Living’s December issue to see more Sherwin-Williams colors revealed! BEDROOM Victoria and her husband, Marcus, focused on creating a quiet bedroom retreat by picking a restful palette that includes a light blue for the walls. Darker blues in the rug and quilt bring the room a tone-on-tone look. “Soothing with out…

OBJECT LESSON: Nichols & Stone’s Windsor Chairs WHAT TO KNOW: In 1762, the Nichols brothers opened their Westminster, Massachusetts–based Nichols Brothers Chair Manufactory, employing village craftsmen to hand-build wood chairs, including the Windsor, a style that had been recently brought to the colonies by English settlers. At the turn of the 20th century, they expanded into a new factory in Gardner (aka “Chair City”) to be near the railroad, and a few years later, Charles Nichols, then at the helm, teamed up with investor Reuben S. Stone to create Nichols & Stone. As one of the largest manufacturing facilities in New England, they specialized in a wide range of Windsor chair styles (more than 100!) crafted mostly of yellow birch and hard maple woods. In 2008, L. & J.G. Stickley…

Heather Taylor’s name has become somewhat synonymous with suppertime. Her line of handwoven textiles (heathertaylorhome.com) featuring chirpy checks, plaids, and stripes evokes a warmth and nostalgia that feels like the aesthetic equivalent of comfort food. It’s no surprise that Heather’s own Sunday dinner traditions—enjoyed alongside husband Alex and daughters Scarlett (6) and Goldie (4)—serve up the same sort of fresh familiarity, with neighbors casually dropping by for early evening gin and tonics, recipes passed down from both sides of the family, and the harmonies of the Beach Boys humming in the background. Food is typically served family style on simple white ceramic plates (jennikayne.com) embellished with rosemary clipped from the garden. (Scarlett has been known to practice her penmanship on the placecards.) Still, despite Heather’s California-casual approach, she says there’s…

Cover Photograph by Helen Norman. Masthead PAGE 2 “Haney” fabric in Emerald; fabricut.com. A Quick Study PAGES 19–20 “Oyster White” flat Emerald Interior ceiling paint, “Endless Sea” satin Emerald Interior wall paint, and semigloss Emerald Urethane trim paint; sherwinwilliams.com. Custom built-in cabinetry by Joenate, Inc.; joenate.com. “Ochre” wall sconces in brass; brookeandlou.com. TV frame in antique gold; decotvframes.com. PAGE 20 “Portsmouth” chairs; arhaus.com. Handmade kilim pillows; resipsausa.com. “Sara” rug; rugs.com. “Kit” oval mirror in burnished brass; burkedecor.com. “Sidney” wall sconce in brass; paynesgray.com. “Cayman Cork” wallpaper; serenaandlily.com. PAGE 22 “Endless Sea” satin Emerald Interior wall paint and semigloss Emerald Urethane trim paint; sherwin-williams.com. Dorchester “Bonsun” wicker chairs; paynesgray.com. “Sheila” pillow cover; minna-goods.com. “Viola” rug; rugs.com. Hotel Collectibles PAGE 26 “Faber” herringbone flooring; duchateau.com. PAGE 27 Vintage keys; ebay.com/str/colreb1, ebay.com/str/samsthisnthat, vintageparamour.etsy.com, and davescollectiblesRR.etsy.com. PAGE 28 “Beekman” sconce; hudsonvalleylighting.hvlgroup.com. “Fermoie” sconce shade; theshadeshop.com. Vintage hotel silver; hotelsilverandmore.etsy.com and…