Cottage Home Designs

Small cottage house plans are ideal in the present economic and climatic situation since they are inexpensive to build, heat, and maintain. In an era in which frugality and wise use of resources is replacing boastful strutting and ostentatious display, the cottage lifestyle is coming more and more into its own. Here are some ideas which you can incorporate into your own cottage house plan, or improve your existing cottage home.

The essence of cottage interiors is the blending of the familiar with the fresh - with matching your grandmother's heritage silverware with your contemporary style plate or an antique chiffonier with up-to-date casements. Mixing the old with the new adds patina and personality to a cottage home and makes a unique statement about the owner. It says "home" instead of "look how rich I am!" In the same way, bold wallpaper and paint styles can be used to create a feeling of open space in smallish rooms, especially when the walls reflect decorative patterns repeated on rugs and furnishings. Again, the idea is not to create a mishmash but rather a blending of disparate elements. Bookshelves, knick-knacks, small decorative elements - even children's artwork - can be brought together to make cottage living feel as comfortable and familiar as wearing an old favorite jacket or hat. Old style pictures in old style frames, collectible plates, even quilts can be hung on walls. Dried flower arrangements in vases or folk art sculptures can be used to decorate table tops.