My Cottage Style

With my River Cottage project complete, I am feeling adrift and unfocused.  For almost a year I spent every waking minute drawing floor plans, searching for just the right furnishings and accessories, rearranging bookshelves night after night, trying out different bedding combinations, hanging pictures...all the fun things involved in getting our cottage ready for its new role as a guest house. 

I've decided to reminisce about all the fun I had accessorizing River Cottage by  blogging about it and showing some of my favorite finds.

I worked really hard at finding bargains for the home's interior since the renovation had been fairly expensive.  This small sofa from World Market was exactly what the livingroom needed.  It is so well made and reasonably priced. Its slipcover has already been through the wash several times and still looks like new.  The pillows are from the Potterybarn outlet in Memphis. 

I can always count on TJ Maxx for the coolest lamps. These seemed perfect for the beachy bedroom.

I have collected pitchers for many years.  My original collection consisted only of  white ones. Lately I have not been able to resist the brightly colored ones.  These are all from TJ Maxx and were so very cheap. I just love them.

I have a favorite antique/junk store in my town.  I seem to always leave there with yet another old frame. They have come in handy for all the art prints I have collected over the years. This crab print was from a Seaside trip many years ago.  A nice frame guy at Hobby Lobby cut a mat and glass to fit the print and the frame.  I love the way it turned out.  The perky pitcher is, once again, from TJ Maxx. 

I have a weakness for tables. These were practically free at my local junky antique store.

This farm table looks old but was actually made recently. It was another discovery at my favorite junking spot.  I catch all these great deals because this place is right on my way home from work.  You notice quite a mix of seating options.  I just combined all the chairs from around the house, and the look worked for me.  I was thrilled to find the directors chair covers on clearance at Pier 1 last fall for $14.95 each.  I think they had originally been about $48. 

Since space was limited in this bedroom, I knew that wall-mounted fixtures would work best.  By choosing the Lowe's version instead of the ones I loved at Potterybarn, I saved almost $100 per fixture.

This quilt is one of my most recent purchases.  I discovered it online at Urban Outfitters.  I loved it so much that I ordered two more.  There were so many fun color choices, and the fabric is unbelievably soft. Yesterday I decided to order one more, only to find that they are now out of stock.  They were such a popular item that I'm hopeful they will bring them back for spring.

If you are shopping on a budget as I was, perhaps this post will give you some ideas for creating just the look you want without breaking the bank.