The Cottage Journal Spring 2018

Spring is here! Welcome to the season of fresh new inspiration at home. Gardens are in bloom in this issue, and each has its own style. “Create Your Garden” on page 111 features a stunning courtyard garden of hardscapes and blooming annuals and perennials that burst with color while a fountain bubbles from the center. “A Garden to Nurture,” page 115, is a lovely cottage garden with charm-filled outdoor rooms, from the terrace lined with manicured boxwoods to a cozy dining oasis just off the kitchen and, of course, a gorgeous wall of ‘Limelight’ hydrangeas. One of my favorite features in this issue highlights the magic that happens when a place inspires a space. “A Breath of Fresh Air” on page 41 features views of the waterway nearby and was…

How do you feel when you walk into your home? Energized? Peaceful? Content? Or do you instead feel overwhelmed, tired, and stressed? Our homes have the potential to inspire and comfort us, but they can also drain or unnerve us. Physical clutter is mental clutter. With spring right around the corner, I challenge you to ruthlessly declutter your home. It sounds like a grand challenge, I know, but little by little, you have the power to transform your home from a place of chaos to a place of rest and rejuvenation. Begin by tackling the heart of the home: your kitchen. It’s where you spend a majority of your time and can often be the most cluttered place in the house. First, start with one particular space (a drawer or…

Don Wooters and Fiona Newell Weeks became business partners after they realized that they shared a common dream: to open a shop that would foster the creation of beautiful and unique living spaces. The two had worked in interior design separately, with Don working his way up through retail furniture sales and Fiona having started her own design business 15 years earlier. It wasn’t until they met at a show house Don was running that their talents came together. “Everything seemed to fall into place, and within a couple of months, we were opening our doors,” Fiona says. Now, the two run Dwelling & Design, an interior décor shop and design center in the historic downtown area of Easton, Maryland. Inside, customers can find a flawless fusion of style that…

John Loecke and Jason Oliver Nixon, the delightful duo behind the interior design firm Madcap Cottage, are anything but ordinary. The pair dares to mix but never match in their designs, remaining united through the use of common elements in the décor and furnishings. The two own four stores with locations in High Point, North Carolina; New York City, New York; London, England; and Naples, Florida. In their new 250-page book, Prints Charming, they detail how to integrate patterns of every kind—from wallpaper to upholstery—into a cohesive but eclectic style, highlighting an easy way to revive your space this spring. The Madcap men dispel the myths of how and when to use pattern and print. A combination of stripes and florals find their place in the rooms designed by John…

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Melissa Payne Baker and her husband, Rick, weren’t in the market to buy a house when a family member showed them what would become their dream home. “We had a 6-month-old at the time, and I thought, ‘We won’t move again,’” Melissa recalls. But a twist of fate changed their plans about six months later. The home’s original contract fell through, and when Melissa stumbled upon the house yet again, she knew it was meant to be. After moving in, the Bakers found that there wasn’t much they needed to do to make the home their own. The open-concept floor plan allows plenty of room for their son, Payne, to explore and play, in addition to doubling as the perfect space for entertaining, which the couple does often. All that…