Creating An English Cottage Christmas
We are so excited to announce that in addition to our regular weekly blog posts, you can now enjoy additional weekly posts from our guest writers! We have invited the most clever crafters, masters of interior design, star bloggers and style experts to the pages of our blog.
Let’s kick off our first guest article by introducing you to Kathryn Decher. We have referred to her as “Miss Kathy” here on our blog. She is the interior designer at Vintage 61 Storehouse (one of our fabulous retailers) in Pennsylvania.
Kathy has the most charming cottage-themed goodness in store for you, so snuggle up with a warm cup of cocoa and read on!
Say, “Hello” to Miss Kathy!
Hello everyone! I am Kathryn Decher, and I am the interior designer at Vintage 61 Storehouse in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania. Every month, we go live on the MMS MilkPaint™ Facebook page to bring you the best in decorating, painting and all things MilkPaint™.
Before we dive into our cozy cottage-themed post, let me introduce you to the rest of our team at the shop.
Laura Hughes and Yvonne Herring are the mother/daughter visionaries and shop owners. Laurie Minnick is our MFA of all things craftsmanship and “Get It Done.” Our talent continues with the vintage knowledge of Donna Derfler and our social media and events guru, Ashly Ann. The precision of business and brush are executed with our other mother/daughter team Christina and Kyra Filiash, and together we bring you our monthly “Live” with MilkPaint™.
This month, we brought you a teaser for our upcoming Holiday Open House and the English Cottage Christmas Charles Dickens, embedded into our subconscious understanding of a Christmas home.
Let’s dive more into the concept of English Cottage Christmas, touch on “Cottagecore” decor and show you ways you can bring this charming style into your own home this holiday season!
An English Cottage
If I were to say to you, “Imagine an English cottage”, you might envision the dream-like paintings of Thomas Kinkaide with their thatched roofs crafted by hand, tiny windows with thick wooden divided light and a fragmented glow from a single candle. If I remind you of cobblestone roads and narrow sidewalks, connected homes whose front doors empty straight onto foggy paths, you may think of little pub-filled towns where mysterious stories are whispered. But, if I had said to you, “Christmas in England”, you could almost paint that picture yourself.
Universally, we know the cozy invitation of an English cottage interior and the warmth of a British Christmas. You’d be inside, with a Christmas tree. There would be a toasty fireplace and the warmth of timeless décor. This English cottage style can be found on the moors, in the village, a London apartment or even your own home.
Cottagecore
Have you heard of “Cottagecore”?
Cottagecore is a full-person embodied aesthetic from clothing to interiors to personal branding. The New York Times described it as a “reaction to the hustle culture.”
This very homemade, crafted and sustaining lifestyle became very popular on social media during the 2020 Covid lockdown. Stuck inside with our own four walls, we were forced to re-evaluate home. No longer the space we breezed through on our way too busy schedules, the home became our full domain. It was our office, our classroom and our restaurant. As a result, a longing for comfort and the craft of home took center stage for many.
So how do we break down Cottage Style in home décor?
I invite you to re-visit the interiors of Laura Ashley or April Cornell in your mind (or your Google search). I also invite you to see how we created an English Cottage Christmas at Vintage 61 Storehouse.
Elements of English Cottage Decor
Wallpaper
First, let’s start with wallpaper.
Wait, did we just say wallpaper?
Yes, wallpaper! It’s back, it’s varied in design, it’s versatile and it’s even peel-and-stick!
We found the most delightful floral wallpaper with a soft green background. It is because of this green that we reached for MMS Milk Paint’s “Boxwood.”
A grand open shelved hutch was the first to experience the renewal of MilkPaint™.
Bone china lines the shelves, and an English Tea assortment is ready for a teapot complete with silver cozy. (Definition: A tea cozy is a cover for a teapot designed to insulate the pot, keeping the inside tea hot.)
Silver, Pewter and Stoneware
Silver, pewter, and brass are some of the design signatures of the English cottage, along with bone china, stoneware, heavy fabrics and wool. These forged, foraged and crafted elements of nature are the quality signatures of the British as well as the Cottagecore lifestyle.
Tartans
Although cottage and Cottagecore can result in many execution possibilities, we opted to lean towards the historical use of tartans and the mismatch of plaids and floral. It is the saturation of texture and tones that ground this room in coziness. When layers are placed in a well-crafted space with a well-positioned floor plan, the mismatch is forgiving and even expected due to the timelessness it invokes.
Painted and Non-Painted Furniture Pieces
We refinished this roll-top desk in Boxwood. A careful selection of painted and non-paint sections of the desk were chosen based on the mechanical need to free up the operation of the rolling top. Any added paint would have risked seizing up the free-flowing movement.
Additional areas were selected to visually balance the use of paint and non-paint. For those seeking to create such a look on any piece of furniture, it’s important to use restraint. Too much patchiness of materials or overuse of tones and colors can lead to a more “crafty” look instead of a refined, balanced piece of furniture. Be your own curator and take things in steps, so you can easily judge how far is too far.
Our trestle dining table is also a two-toned furnishing with a natural wood top and a painted base.
Dressed now in Schloss, the incredible detail of this carved base can come to life, with its defining shadows now visible. The original dark wood could never have allowed these shadows to elevate the carvings. This is one of the main reasons a movement towards painted furniture took hold. Now, what felt dated and heavy feels lighter and sculptural.
Boxwood finishes out our furnishings with a distressed treatment on the dining chairs. Time would have brought these chairs the well-lived patina of use. With selective sanding and the use of hemp oil, we have created this patina sans time. Finishing off our tablescape is a variety of tartans and linen, bone china, and pewter. Afternoon tea is ready. (Or is it a dram of wine?)
Boughs, Branches and Botanicals
Our hearth is filled with the textures of woven baskets, and our mantel draped in garlands of evergreens.
The English love the spoils of the forest and the garden. A bounty of branches decorates the Christmas cottage, and florals billow from pottery when the gardens bloom. Cutting gardens are a staple to the cottage life, and pressed botanicals to brighten the rainiest of days.
Wool plaid blankets and outdoor wraps are at the ready, as well as boots and umbrellas.
So many details live inside our leaded stain glass entry, and Christmas will be here soon.
Be sure to watch our original Live, posted below, to see Laura take you step-by-step through the MMS MilkPaint™ process. Her expertise and tips will have even the newest painter creating in no time.
Please join Vintage 61 Storehouse for their “Vintage Holiday Open House”
We will also be presenting an early preview of the massive Christmas makeover at Vintage 61 Storehouse on our Facebook page November 5th, at 3:00 pm EST.