Something a little different today, a visit to Rose Hill Cottage (from the delightful movie The Holiday) inspired a House and Home segment. After a few very busy weeks, I indulged in a bit of an afternoon escape re-watching this charming movie. It reminded me of how important it is to keep our homes comforting and inviting. No velvet ropes here as I often say. Every room in my home is lived in. I like it that way. People welcome, dogs welcome, stitchers welcome. A bit of thread here and there means I have been busy doing what I like to do. Since little of that has been done here lately, I am looking forward to it!
The English Cottage style (not to be confused with the current trend of the "cottage core" style) is one that has been built and developed over time. An interior type of decor that is often pieced bit by bit after living in a space and finding how you use it, how it is best used. We want to keep it all functional, no matter what the size. We want to consider natural light and the moods of the room in different times of the day.
As a result of this little movie, and as I look about my house and home, I see elements as viewed in this movie that echo that feeling. While I am not English styled, my rooms have been curated over 48 years and that provide a similar sense of well-being.
You can escape within your own environment as well. If nothing else, the pandemic isolation revealed the positive and the negative elements of our home. Husband here watched too many kitchen remodels. As a result, I have a white kitchen, shiny stainless steel appliances, and black granite counter tops. To me, a big, hulking, gas enameled cook-stove, the other appliances could or could not match, a white enamel sink with drainboards, and painted cabinets, much like those above would have suited me just fine. I digress, he lives here too. Oh well, in my next life......I like a space that appears to have been accidentally put together while actually being carefully planned. That is my comfort zone. While I enjoy a visit to a home with no defined walls, the open concept so popular now, it would not work for me. I need boundaries and definitions for my rooms. I need doors. I need window coverings, and rugs, and stuff. Books and baskets are made to be used. (IMO)
Making your home inviting, purposeful, and welcoming is an individual choice. We all have wants and needs that define our lives, no matter what chapter of your life you may be experiencing.
- So, as you gaze around your space, can you identify an inherited item? A gifted item?
- Do you have a favorite chair? Are there nice poofy and comfortable pillows here and there, perhaps ones you have designed, or sewn, maybe embroidered? To invest is nice down pillows and make or purchase new covers for said pillows is a reasonable investment. I am in the process of finding the right size to replace the bricks that came with the new living room sofa. Yikes, why oh why do they think these are good? Anyone know? Please enlighten me.
- Is there a space to put your feet up to read a book, read a movie, or knit a shawl?
- How about lighting? It is my preference to have little lights in many places. I am not keen on overhead lighting. There is a coziness to mood lighting. Of course, task lighting is essential, but a lamp in a dark corner or parked on a little table by the entrance to your home says welcome to guests and to you. My entrance hall is narrow, therefore a shelf and lamp serve as my table and I often use a candle there, a battery operated candle or lamp work well.
- As you may have derived, my home needs to welcome me and my guests. I plan to stay here, as long as possible, and escape now and then by finding just the right book or movie to help me do just that. *my nod to English cottage style is this placard. After watching so many English television shows and movies, the name I had carried in my mind for so many years became real.
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