Why Cottage Modern?

I started this blog as a way to chronicle the updating of our new (old, but new to us) home.  When we bought it, it was a love at first sight thing, even though it was SO evident that there were going to be years of upgrading and updating ahead of us.  The lovely little Cape Cod cottage had been so cared for by its previous owners, and our mission was to "love it into the 21st century"!  Thus, the concept of "Cottage Modern" was born, and as we've worked on the house, this idea has stuck with me, and I've realized that overall, I'm drawn to this mixed-up-modern design aesthetic as a whole.  I think we're at an interesting place right now in the world of design, with the resurgence of everything rustic, "machine-age", and industrial.  Recently, its been popularized by major retailers like Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn, but I think that good designers have done a beautiful job of mixing styles for years now, and that it takes a skilled eye to execute this properly.  As I move forward in my own design pursuits, this is a skill that I'm trying to hone, because I believe that the most beautiful and treasured spaces are the ones that appear to have evolved over time as a reflection of those who live there and what is important to them.  Go over to Pure Style Home for some great perspective on the trends we're seeing out there right now.  In the meantime, here's a collection of some of my favorite "modern farmhouse" kitchen spaces.

via Elle Decor

Love how unfitted this kitchen looks--I'd have a hard time keeping that glass door refrigerator looking neat and tidy all the time!

Steven Gambrel

This space looks so inviting, and I love how the designer used this mix of furniture in the center of the room rather than a gigantic island--very inviting.

Feldman Architecture

Of course I love the ghost chairs.....there are many levels of mixing old and new, traditional with modern in this design.

Source

This kitchen belongs to Canadian design icon Lynda Reeves.  She is a mastermind at the "farmhouse modern" look, and her rooms have a wonderful tension between old and new.

Source

 image via Pure Style Home

There's a lot of mixing going on in this kitchen, and all of it works for me.  The ultra sleek gray cabinetry, GORGEOUS architectural windows, farm table and iron-work light fixtures......a daring mix of styles, but all of it seems so harmonious.....

This kitchen by Bulthaup brilliantly reinterprets the farmhouse style table as a stainless steel work center.  Love the mix of woods and warmth that it brings to the space.

And finally, this white-on-white-on-white cottage kitchen has an unfitted furniture style that isn't for everyone, but I love it, and think it is an appropriate choice for a home that was built in the 1880's.  The worn leather and wood peeking out in the bottom corner brings some warmth to the space. Read the interview with designer Myra Hoefer (and check out the rest of this fabulous home) here.