Country cottage*

I went to stay at my friend's country cottage on Saturday. She wants me to help her plan her interior schemes, so inevitably I've been giving cottage style some thought. Seemingly I can't escape it - it's featured everywhere in the interiors press right now. I wonder why that is? Maybe it's because the clocks changed and we're all thinking about cosying up indoors next to the open fire. And country cottages are most definitely snug. [I am 5'9 and discovered their low ceilings and small proportioned rooms were not really designed for tall people].

Modern rustic is one of my favorite styles right now [especially for kitchens] and this would be the obvious design approach. A cooler scheme [pale gray's, white washed floorboards, cute chandeliers, distressed furniture and small florals] is another approach. I saw two great design approaches for cottages in the Dec 09 issue of Living Etc. Sarah's converted Tudor cottage caught my imagination not just because she has chosen to put a highly modern interior in an 15th cottage, but more for her playing with scale [the white Panton chairs and floorsize Anglepoise lamp are super-size, but they work]. Maybe country cottages aren't that predictable after all.