Innehållsförteckning för Romantic Cottage 2024 från Victoria

Dear Friends Many favorite books from early childhood captured my imagination as much through fanciful illustrations as with engaging text. In one of our oft-read volumes, Goldilocks enters a dwelling with the most inviting feather beds dressed in cozy handmade quilts and piled high with pillows. Grandmother’s house in Little Red Riding Hood nestles beside a babbling brook—an idyllic setting abloom with blossoms in every hue. And in the bedtime classic Good Night Little Bear by Richard Scarry, Father Bear peeks into a cupboard brimming with china to look for his son—the cub giggling from atop his papa’s shoulders while Mother Bear watches the nightly game with pleasure. The storybook charm that I remember so fondly from these tales inspires the contents of this Victoria Classics issue. Beginning on page…

A gravel drive leads to The Oaks, a traditional antebellum mansion in Texas. Built in 1850 for steamboat captain Robert Hodge, the aging structure was sagging from the weight of five layers of roof when Carolyn discovered it. She could see beyond the tumble-down façade to the beauty it could be. Ignoring the peeling paint, she imagined gardens and porches and her children playing in the yard. It took a work crew a full year to make the house habitable before Carolyn could turn her attention to making it a home. She had inherited from her artist-designer mother, Charlotte, an appreciation for antiques as well as for modern trends—and an ability for mixing the two. She also shared Charlotte’s affinity for French style, but it wasn’t until Carolyn visited Paris…

Dressed in shades of the same color, monochromatic gardens can be every bit as alluring as their multihued counterparts. The famed all-white English garden at Sissinghurst Castle, created by celebrated garden designer Vita Sackville-West in the 1930s, continues to enchant today. Carefully composed havens such as this landmark reveal the many shades within a single color family. Pink alone, for example, can range from soft salmon to bright fuchsia. In the absence of marked color contrasts, bloom shapes and textures take center stage. To create a multi-dimensional composition, spotlight an assortment of flowers within the same color family, and incorporate plants of varying heights and shapes. For example, the stately spires of purple delphiniums weave a rich tapestry of textures when combined with the shorter spikes of English lavender and…

As the heat of the sunny day fades to the cool of the evening, homeowner Anne Monfore offers cocktails to longtime neighbors whose children and grandchildren have grown up together, enjoying all the fun found in this close-knit community. She looks forward to these “porch parties” held during the summer season at her home, appropriately christened Mint Julep, as well as to the myriad activities offered here, from art classes and lectures to walks on nature trails. The cottage, built in 2004, mirrors the original Victorian dwelling, once known as Seldom Inn, which was destroyed by fire. “We used the same plan and footprint in rebuilding,” explains Anne, who has owned the property for more than thirty-five years. “All of the trim and fretwork was designed to replicate the original,…

“HOME IS A PLACE NOT ONLY OF STRONG AFFECTIONS, BUT OF ENTIRE UNRESERVE; IT IS LIFE’S UNDRESS REHEARSAL, ITS BACKROOM, ITS DRESSING ROOM.”—Harriet Beecher Stowe…

“I APPRECIATE THE LESS-STUFFY ATTITUDE OF HOW THE ENGLISH DECORATE—I’M DRAWN TO COMFORTABLE, INVITING ENVIRONMENTS.”—Lynne Taylor Stepping into Lynne Taylor’s Temecula, California, home, one feels an immediate sense of calm. Sunlight cascades through the large windows, while pale gray-green walls offer a serene backdrop to a thoughtfully curated blend of antiques and soft furnishings from her company. It’s a place to curl up in, to indulge in daydreams, to let the cares of the world dance away on a spring breeze. “My home is a hodgepodge of happy memories from past trips and bits and pieces of my grandparents’ home,” says Lynne. “My grandfather was a builder and, later in life, one of the first ‘fixer-uppers.’ ” Following in his footsteps—and relying on her nephew’s carpentry skills—she has transformed her…

Like a painter’s canvas, a garden comes to life with inspired imagination executed with artful horticultural brushstrokes. Paint a glorious picture in your landscape with harmonious blends of blossoms and foliage. Whether you want to create a vivacious border of blooming delights or a restful backyard retreat, color sets the mood. Tranquility takes flight in a vision of white and green, while saturated shades of pink and purple set a more vibrant stage. If you’re drawn to a particular type of flower, let it be the muse when devising a palette for your garden portrait. The many hues of Mother Nature offer a multitude of wondrous possibilities to explore.…

Alluring hand-painted metal trays, urns, and baskets cast a spell of history and the romance of bygone days. Painted with great skill, these prized collectibles are both decorative and functional, and typically feature floral or Eastern motifs. Toleware refers to objects, dating from 1600 to 1900, made of tinned metal lacquered and adorned with designs. John Hanbury, who began his metalware business in the Welsh town of Pontypool in the 1600s, is credited with inventing the method of japanning. This process is used to alleviate rust on metal by coating the painted surface with a mixture of asphalt and shellac resembling the glossy lacquer finish on Japanese trays. Distinguished by lacy, openwork rims, Pontypool trays continue to be some of the most sought-after tole pieces. The French developed their own…