Colette van den Thillart's Muskoka Cottage

Good morning, Everyone!

Hope you all had a great weekend..........busy, I'm sure, as there is so much to do at this time of year!  

You may be asking yourself who Colette van den Thillart is!  Or maybe you already know!  You know who Nicky Haslam is........right?  He's the London based interior designer who is all over the news these days with his wonderful interiors and design books.  Well, Colette is his Creative Director at his firm, NH Design in London.

She's a Canadian who honed her design skills while studying overseas and after meeting Nicky in 2002, became his Creative Director.

Today's cottage is her family cottage that she enjoyed while growing up.  As the family enlarged, so did the cottage..........and Colette spun her magic throughout.  See the video below for more details on how it all came about.

Tomorrow I'll be sharing her London home.  And now that she has returned to Canada to live, on Wednesday, I will feature her fabulous home in Rosedale in Toronto!

Enjoy!  And have a fabulous day!

Love this curved backsplash!

To see more on how this cottage came together, see video below.

http://houseandhome.com/tv/segment/relaxed-traditional-cottage

House and Home

Friday's Featured Friend

Now here's a girl who knows how to sit down and put her feet up!  Have a relaxing weekend!

Pinterest

Float In Cottage

Good morning, Everyone!

Here is the last of the cottages I am featuring from the same Maine compound I mentioned on Monday. They are from Cabot Cove in Kennebunkport, Maine and the whole compound is as charming as each cottage.

This cottage, with it's nautical touch, is a total charmer.  The rooms are very small, but big enough to accommodate the necessities.  The smaller, the cosier.

The rest of the cottages and designs can be seen at cabotcovecottages.com

Enjoy!

What a great night table in a small space!

Coastal Living

Cabot Cove Cottages, Kennebunkport, Maine

Sweet Dreams Cottage

Carrying on from yesterday's post, here's another cottage from the Maine compound.  These cottages are all designed by interior designers and their use of color, fabrics and placement of furniture completely enhance these small, but very cosy, rooms.

Enjoy!

Coastal Living

Cottages, Cottages, Cottages.........

I think I'll do a series on cottages this week since it's that time of year again.

Normally, this long weekend in May is the unofficial start of summer in the Maritimes.  However, this year it was unusually cold (with snow in some parts) and instead of getting our gardens started and opening up the cottages, all of that has been put on hold for now.

Nevertheless, it has me thinking about cottages and I thought I would share some with you.

A few years ago, Coastal Living featured a group of small cottages in Maine that were privately owned and beginning to look run down.  So, a group of 16 interior designers were hired to refurbish the cottages and prepare them for summer rentals.

Each cottage is quite small and each interior is completely different........I thought it was a brilliant idea and fun to see what each designer was able to come up with in such a small space.

Today's cottage is called 'Sleepy Hollow' and was designed by popular Maine designer, Tracey Rapisardi.  Tracey uses pastel colors, likes to re-cycle and upcycle, loves florals and painted furniture and produced a delightful, cosy cottage anyone would enjoy!

Check back tomorrow to see another of these charming cottages!

Have a great day!

Coastal Living

Friday's Featured Friend

Have a fabulous and colorful weekend everyone!  I'll be working with textiles all weekend - time for some new cushions!

Pinterest

A Shingled Southampton Home

Here's another house from the past!

It's from a House Beautiful article in 2002 and the home is owned, and was decorated by, Katherine Bryan...........along with some help from her friend, the late Mark Hampton.

The Sandinavian design and the grey blues used throughout, give the three-story, 12-bedroom home a classic, airy and fresh look that is as timeless today as it was then.

Artist Lucinda Abbe painted the floors and the wall garlands.......and with ginghams, tickings and rag rugs scattered about, it's a picture of casual, relaxed comfort and pretty to boot!!

Another example of America's favorite color scheme - blue and white.

Enjoy!

House Beautiful

Women's Portraits

Thought I would share some of my favorite women's art with you today..........I love women's portraits in decor and all of these images are just some of my favorites.......I particularly like the Martha Walter piece and think it would look great in our summer living room.

The Fernando Botero piece is whimsical and would be appealing in any room setting.

Hope you enjoy!

Henri Matisse

Paul Cesar Helleu

Martha Walter

Nicky Haslam's mother

Frederic Whiting

Dame Laura Knight

Frank Cadogan Cowper

Edouard Manet

Charles Wysocki

Tarsila do Amaral

Henri Matisse

Fernando Botero