Indholdsfortegnelse for Country Cottage Christmas 2020 i The Cottage Journal

Each year, our readers inspire us and joyfully invite us into their homes all dressed for the holidays and many celebrations of the season. We are very excited to share this issue of The Cottage Journal featuring several examples of country styles that evoke a perfect blend of warmth and joy. This special issue shares the cozy, more casual elements of vintage décor, and it’s filled with personal stories and stunning looks that capture a truly warm holiday at home. Page after page, you’ll visit homeowners who have perfected a collected cottage style with various Christmas themes that will hopefully spark ideas just for you! From rustic abodes to shiny new cottages, the featured homes were photographed with you in mind so that you might try a fresh idea or…

For homeowner Crystal Cox, the search for Christmas décor is a year-round event, thanks to her love for secondhand treasure hunting. “I am a thrifter for sure,” Crystal says. “I buy Christmas items from thrift stores throughout the year for the following Christmas.” Her resourceful finds are layered in with newer elements creating a cozy, lived-in look that exudes an undeniable warmth and holiday ambience. The two-story Craftsman-style home in North Alabama was built in 2015. Crystal and her husband, Eddie, and their beautiful blended family moved in during the week of Christmas in 2018. After nearly a year of waiting, it was finally time to decorate the house for the season. “I start decorating at the beginning of November,” Crystal says. “Once Halloween is over, I am ready for…

The holiday season might just be Alieta Casey’s favorite time of year. With a deep love of entertaining, the Caseys have friends and family from all over come together to celebrate Christmas in their home during the month of December. In fact, Alieta specifically designed her home to be the perfect space for entertaining friends and giving guests a warm welcome from their first steps inside. Built in 2015, the Caseys’ Craftsman-style cottage is packed with character and cozy motifs. The large front porch was a must-have for Alieta, who notes that she wanted a porch large enough for a swing. Entering the home, family and friends are welcomed by an inviting foyer with white wainscoting and toffee-hued walls. Alieta filled the space with a variety of holiday décor that…

“I had always looked at homes like this in magazines,” Monica Yeager says. So, when her dream home came on the market in 2014, she and her husband, Jim, jumped at the opportunity to purchase it. The original owners spent a lot of time in Europe, Monica says, and designed the house around their travels to reflect the places they’d been while abroad. The home’s French-country architecture adds a uniquely European flair that the Yeagers marry with modern elements to create a space that feels both fresh and casual. “I think the original owners had a lot of European and French-country [furnishings], but I kind of wanted to mix in some more modern furniture, too, so it kind of has an eclectic look,” Monica says. With the help of designer…

Tiffany Castleberry knew when she and her husband, Hillary, moved into their Alabama home that it called for a Southern farmhouse style—and that was fine with her. “I’ve always loved that farmhouse style doesn’t have to just fit into one box,” Tiffany says. “I feel like you can take the style and make it your own.” And that’s exactly what they did, adding shiplap-style walls and fresh paint to create a backdrop that would showcase personal touches and creative DIYs by Tiffany. And when Christmas comes around, her creativity reaches new heights, resulting in a cheerful atmosphere with all the charms of home. While Tiffany uses many of the same elements from year to year, she tries to incorporate new pieces to freshen up the look and create something unique.…

With a name like Joy, designer Joy Lewis can’t help but look forward to celebrating the holiday season with her husband, Peter, and their three young children. “We all love Christmas,” she says. “Peter and I value simple, nostalgic spaces where we can enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning and hot cider with friends in the evening. The kids, naturally, value the fun and surprise of the holidays. It’s a balancing act to make it enjoyable for everyone.” The Lewises’ home was built in the 1960s in a traditional Fairfax, Virginia, neighborhood, and when the young couple moved in, the changes they made were mostly cosmetic. Joy embarked on giving the house a face-lift by painting all the walls white, removing the carpet in favor of wood floors,…

Layered with Love Pages 39–40—Front porch wreath from Lynch Creek Farm. Pages 41–42—Coffee table from Wood Works by Jared. Page 43—Kitchen sink from Sinkology. Page 45—Artwork above dining table from Pallets and Peonies Sign Co. Page 47—Bedding from Beddy’s. Page 48—Master bedding from Piper Classics and AntiqueFarmHouse. A Festive Family Affair Pages 49–58—Interior designs and decorations by Tiffany Castleberry, My DIY Happy Home blog. Pages 50–51—Vintage-style bell garland from Target. Birchwood bead garland from Shady Oaks Farm. Page 57—Bench from Wood Works by Jared. A Collected Cottage Christmas Pages 59–70—Interior designs and renovations by Ashley and Brian Johnson, 86 & Everette Design Co. Naturally Yours Pages 83–92—Interior designs and decorations by Joy Lewis, Joy Lewis Design. Wide-Open Spaces Pages 93–102—Interior designs by Cindi Jones, Savvy Shoestring Interiors. French-Country Christmas Pages…

When Cheryl “Cece” Krecsy built her new home in British Columbia, Canada, she had already discovered her love for white but had yet to take the full leap. “I found that I could feel calmer and more organized in my home without a lot of color and distraction,” she says. “It was an environment that suited my personality.” So, she took advantage of the opportunity and went all in, creating a home that captures the spirit of a snowy scene but with all the coziness and warmth of a haven in the countryside. It’s a spirit that is only heightened at Christmas, when carefully selected greenery softens mantels and tables, creating a textured backdrop for the vintage touches Cece loves to incorporate. “Sometimes, I go total vintage, and I use…