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My English Country Cottage
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  • The necessity for mirrors

    Mirrors are the windows into the soul..oh no..that’s the eyes. Well, they are certainly the windows into our house. I adore our 17th Century Thatched Cottage, but it wasn’t built with light in mind. It is super cosy and on sunny days with doors and windows flung open it is bliss but on dark dank days the house is not my friend. I have come up with lamps and candles…

    July 4, 2020
    What Makes an English Country Cottage?

  • Cushion Comforts

    My love of my Kate Forman, Cabbages and Roses and Susie Watson cushions is not filed under my poker face folder. Cushions are the heart of the home…oh no, that’s kitchens, ok, cushions are the hug of the home. I almost defy you to find a photo of a country cottage that doesn’t have cushions somewhere in shot. Albeit, perhaps not the bathroom (although that’s a thought… maybe I NEED…

    June 20, 2020
    What Makes an English Country Cottage?

  • What makes an English Country Cottage?

    The article in Period Living Magazine (May 2020 with ME in it…well, ok,the house…) has made me think about what makes “Effortless rural style” (Period Living May 2020 about MEEEEE…the house). I was quoted as saying: ” ‘I wanted (to create) an English country homewith lots of textures, fabrics, rugs, thick curtains and comfy, sink-insofas.’  Thankfully they didn’t misquote me or force me to take them to court fordefamation of…

    June 4, 2020
    What Makes an English Country Cottage?

Latest Posts

  • Chicken à la Rue Des Vignes
  • The necessity for mirrors
  • The Glorious Salvia
  • Not Your Normal Brownie
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This is our stable conversion last year when @peri
This is our stable conversion last year when @period_living magazine came to stay. . Ok, they didn't actually stay, although I did need to fight down the urge to lock them in here and lead them into a world where they took photos of me and my cottage every day. A bit like the Hansel and Gretel witch only I don't eat them, they are just forced to make everything look beautiful 24/7. Is this so WRONG? . It pretty much looks the same this year, a little more cobwebby - I blame lockdown- a few less plants.. ahem.. I blame lockdown... definitely less blue sky... I blame... oh no, hang on! I blame JULY!!!. . I fear July and I are about to fall out. My only clothes left to me since my steady and loyal consumption of banana bread, choc chip cookies, Wotsits, Pimms and Merlot are my wafty white linens. Wafty linens make me shiver at the moment. They are contributory to the mad lady look (pretty, wafty, linen dress - with pockets obvs- complemented by sagging camo joggers underneath and topped off with a less large than it used to be stolen husband's lumberjack padded shirt). . Ordinarily I rock wafty linen in July (except the dress that yellowed in spectacular Havisham fashion), this is my moment. Instead I am stomping in padded clothing and muttering. It is definitely time to get a letter off. . Happy time to justify (my love) July. X . Photo ©periodlivingmagazine Styling @pippa_janey_stylist and photography @brentdarbyphotography #englishcottage #periodhome #countrycottage #seekthesimplicity #cottagelife #moderncountry #palletfurniture #cottagegarden #daybed #homesweethome #countryliving #englishhome #pallet #oldhouselove #mygardentoday #cottagestyle #cottage #cottagecharm #cottagechic #countrycottagestyle  #asecondofwhimsey #lovemygarden #englishcountrygarden #shabbychicfurniture #thatchedcottage #mycountryhome #geranium


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This is summery sweetpeas, daisies and lavender.
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This is summery sweetpeas, daisies and lavender. . OK? . No, my sweetpeas didn't suddenly bloom but I was forced to light the gorgeous candle of scented heaven because the day was soooo dreary. The lavender is last summers harvest that I am still touting about, it still smells amazing even if the colour has faded like the whites of my eyes... sorry.. blooms of my cheeks. . I am in need of great comfort today: happy smiley daisies and beautiful cheerful sweetpea scents will aid me in my end of primary school for my firstborn mourning. Well.. he still has a week and a half to go but I need rehearsal time. . I shall stare mournfully out of this window and marvel at the passing of the years: from a small batcape clad 4 year old into a... actually I think he would still wear the cape if it fitted - although he would argue about it a lot, even with himself!! I shall also be attempting to cook the extremely comforting chicken recipe that another mother facing the end of the golden years has created to cheer us all up in these dark, dark times (I know there is still a week and a half but it is very, very SAD ok?). Head over to my website to read @lucyhoylecooks gorgeous new brilliantly named pantry recipe "Chicken a la Rue Des Vignes". . Happy through the weeping window Wednesday. X . . . #countrystyleloves #throughmywindow #happyplace #kitchenwindow #kitchenwindowview #gardenview #simplethingsmadebeautiful #countryliving #periodhome #oldhouselove #oldhousecharm #gatherandcreate #cottagestyle #cottagedecor #cottage #cottagecharm #countrydecor #freshflowers #window #instawindow #flowersfrommygarden #windowview #realhomes #interiordetails #countrycottage #mywhiteco #rampantlyrustic


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So sorry, these flowers are still alive so warrant
So sorry, these flowers are still alive so warranted another outing. . I thought they were rather beautifully complemented by my new oh it's so sweet and tiny and looks so perfect that I can't light it Shropshire candle that the beautiful @homecountycandleco added to my enormous box of "research and development" candles of joy which are definitely for other people. . Shropshire is Sweetpea scented and utterly heavenly - it provides the gorgeous scent that I am incapable of growing myself. Year after year I plant sweet peas seeds & year after year I spot leaves that definitely absolutely look like sweetpea leaves & year after year they turn into weeds. . I will not admit defeat, I will not be thwarted... although I might resort to stealing... we were on a public footpath that took us through a beautiful farm (which I hate doing as I always feel like I am trespassing and I would hate to have people walking through my land - I get furious enough with the pigeons & rooks) so I really don't enjoy doing this. However I discovered the most extraordinary display of everlasting peas which were in the verge. I had to forcibly restrain myself from gathering the lot cackling loudly & legging it through their fields (maybe with one of their fabulous peacocks tucked under the other arm for good measure). . Will "but my new candle smelt so good your honour, it MADE me do it" stand up in court? . Happy Thievery Tuesday. X . . #sweetpeascent #cottagewindow #prettyblooms #slowfloralstories #oldbooks #gardenflowers #kateforman #floralcurtains #cottagestyle #cottagedecor #cottage #mygorgeousgaff #ihavethisthingwithflowers #countrycottagestyle #countrycottages #redroses #interiordetails #englishcountryhomes #myenglishhome #englishcottage #englishcountryliving #myperiodinterior #lovemyhome #loveofcountryhouses #countryfeatures #caughtflowerhanded #countrycurtains


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We left the security of our cottage yesterday and
We left the security of our cottage yesterday and ventured forth... into the woods. . Yes...ok, we are not overly ambitious (we super definitely wanted to text/email/register interest with our local pub - not our actual local but the one we like the best that we have decided is our 'local', given that they are all a few miles away I think that we are within our rights to choose our own local) but us country mice got scared and scurried into the forest. . We may be country hampered but I have heard of this new trend for forest bathing. I have to admit to a tiny snigger (mainly because woods and forests are places to keep my children happy these days) but yesterday I had to slap myself in the face with a bramble (oh, no, that's right, the woods did that). This was amazing. . The sunlight brilliantly dappled through the trees, the gothic inspired wind couldn't reach us and we spent two happy hours creating a frankly brilliant den with moss carpet and impenetrable defences (girl, boy). . We emerged with scratches and vaguely bleeding legs, I sported a teeny gash above my eyebrow and our hair was full of twigs with the children baring their teeth, discussing what they were going to do with the deer skull we had found whilst we hoped not to encounter anyone on our return journey. . Given that we had similar thoughts leaving the homestead (when did I last shower? Oh my hair has things in it, my son is wearing joggers with a polo top and baggy jumper.... Oh I am in full khaki with the shorts that look like the fly is undone) it didn't seem so bad. We didn't see a soul and I think forest bathing might be the future... just possibly without the deer skeleton. . Happy middle of nowhere Monday. X . . #sunshineandflowers #thisprettyengland #hollyhocks #cottageliving #mygardenthismonth #ruralliving #mybritain #englishcountrygarden #gardenliving #englishcottage #thatch #actualinstagramhomes #outdoorliving #cottagecore #housestyle #country #countryliving #countrycottagestyle #countrycottages #countryhomes #thatchroof #countryviews #countryside #cottagelove #realhomes #idyllic #cottagegardenstyle


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Hello cheeky Trev's dinner triangle bell up stagin
Hello cheeky Trev's dinner triangle bell up staging my mirror of much light and star of today's blogpost on my website. . It's not all about you little voice saving triangle of melodic beauty @tjm_products, today I am focusing on the humble mirror on my website. How it has saved my sanity from the dark dark days - I mean mid winter although July appears to have had a personality transplant and gone all goth. . Perhaps I need to take my dinner triangle outside and ring it constantly until teenage July stops playing The Cure and starts swaying to Ella Fitzgerald. Come on love, buck up, we haven't got all month, my lovely Dahlias are taking a hammering and even some of my Hollyhock army suffered casualties yesterday. . Whilst we wait for July to GROW UP, please take this opportunity to head over to my website (www.myenglishcountrycottage.co.uk), pour a cup of tea or perhaps even a medicinal gin and allow my mirrors to shine some much needed light into a dark, dank day. . Happy unseasonal Sunday. X . #halllighting #hallwaydecor #hallway #smallhall #frenchlighting #brickfloor #strawbags #curtainsdesign #countryliving #myenglishhome #entrancehall #myperiodhome #hallwayinspo #oldhouselove #oldhousecharm #vintagemirror #cottagestyle #cottagedecor #cottagehome #cottagecharm #cottagefarmhouse #countrydecor #countrycottagestyle #cottagelove #englishcottage #loveofcountryhouses #countryfeatures Dinner triangle bell part of a collaboration with @tjm_products


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Oh hi July!
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Just checking in to see how you are?
Oh hi July! . Just checking in to see how you are? Thought I would share a sunny shot, full of the abundance of JUNE, just a few roses, hydrangeas, daisies, lavender, fresh new bayleaves, naughty hollyhocks... all nurtured and loved and SHONE upon by JUNE. . Really great work yesterday, definitely some minutes of constant sunshine, very impressive. I totally understand that you have a few hard acts to live up to: March, April, May and June were all blessings in these troubled times. . But no pressure July, please don't feel the need to be competitive, don't endure the mantle of heat and rays alone. . Know that we are all behind you (including the usually rainy months of March, April, May and June) and know that we totally support you in your weather choices. . Absolutely. . Utterly. . Although if you don't drop the wind I will get VERY ANGRY and I am now up to full capacity with my Hollyhock army (see the menacing sergeant scowling through the window) and my Hydrangea reserves are looking pretty feisty. . Just toe the line my love, nothing to worry about- just gentle, seasonal persuasion. . Happy stick to your seasonal strengths Saturday. X . #saturdaysunshine #cottagewindow #beams #rockinghorse #oldbooks #gardenflowers #kateforman #floralcurtains #cottagestyle #cottagedecor #cottage #cottagecharm #countrydecor #countrycottagestyle #countrycottages #redroses #interiordetails #july2020 #myenglishhome #englishcottage #englishcountryliving #cottagechic #lovemyhome #loveofcountryhouses #countryfeatures #curtainsdesign #countrycurtains


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I was taking a firm stance with July.
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July neede
I was taking a firm stance with July. . July needed to know that IT IS THE BEST MONTH OF THE YEAR (my birth month AND the summer holidays) and that it is ALWAYS sunny (apart from last year but I have edited this aberration from my head). . The month of July is sunny and a time for alfresco living. That is LAW. I was possibly high on paint & shaving foam fumes (more art & craft home schooling paper marbling) but decided that I would not tolerate even the slightest waver from July so day 2 & she needed to understand & buckle down. . I laid a glorious alfresco summer dining experience, went inside to get my phone to capture this exemplary example (yes it's a tautology but I MEAN BUSINESS) of July Living to teach July simple behavioural patterns & whilst indoors witnessed the poor blessed (& remarkably speedy) DPD driver spot the table and obvious signs of MECC life (I wish I had a better acronym), slat the parcel at the doorstep & leg it like a child with really scary parents on sports day. . I didn't have the heart to yell after him that it was for the farm next-door, I needed to focus my ire on July, I think a few motivational speeches and "how to July" photos and we should all be firmly back in the slightly enlarged lockdown bosom of THE BEST MONTH OF THE SUMMER. . Happy focus on sunshine Friday. X . Head over to my website (link in bio) to look at some beautiful sunshine shots from @flowersandlifestylebymargot and read all about stunning Salvias. I have to buy some today now (no, I am definitely not easily influenced... ok, yes I am). . . #outdoortable #englishcottage #joyfulmoments #countrycottage #seekthesimplicity #cottagelife #fridayvibes #summertable #inthegarden #cottagegarden #summerinthecountry #countryliving #instagarden #oldhouselove #mygardentoday #cottagestyle #cottage #cottagecharm #cottagechic #countrycottagestyle  #asecondofwhimsey #lovemygarden #englishcountrygarden #shabbychicfurniture #thatchedcottage #mycountryhome #appletree



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