Romantic Country Style: Creating the English Country Look in Your Home

by Victoria Magazine, Judy Spours (Text)

The idea of English country style may conjure many images -- from cottages snug in flower-strewn gardens to rustic homes furnished with all the signs of peaceful country life to grander houses presiding over rolling vistas of fields and meadows. What all these visions share is the image of the country retreat as a romantic rural idyll.

This is why we find English country decorating style to be so attractive -- and so romantic. This book shows how the look can be achieved by anyone with a desire to create a charming and intimate country home. This style has evolved slowly over the centuries and continues to do so, refined and adapted according to practical and decorative considerations. And its great advantage is that it can work as well in a small apartment as in a large country house.

In this book you will find classic kitchens, relaxed family living rooms, cozy bedrooms with quilted comforters, cool summer retreats draped with muslin, country-style gardens, ideas for outdoor living, and much more.

Produced in association with Victoria magazine, Romantic Country Style shows how to create and enjoy the essence of English country style in your home.

Introduced in 1987 and enjoyed by four million readers every month, Victoria magazine devotes its articles to fashion, home, and cooking, including beautiful features on home decorating and style.

Genres: Nonfiction, Interior Design, Design, Reference, Coffee Table Books

176 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 2001

About the author

The Editors of Victoria Magazine

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice description of colors, how they fit together and change due to light, furniture choices, and some wall treatments. But I didn't really see anything that made me think "English" and not enough how to for things like furniture styles and layout.

[Jennifer Mitchell-Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. Photos are so inspiring and beautiful. I love redoing my home and this year has been a great year of reading books about decorating. This one is one of the top of this year as I live in a cottage and I have so many items that I can recreate the settings they show in the photos. Great Book!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The furnishings are lovely - but the architecture is WONDERFUL!

[G · Rating 3 out of 5]

A refreshing view of older country style, something that seems almost impossible to find in today’s world of HGTV and modern farmhouses. The pictures are lovely and a balm for the imagination, however there is nothing very instructive about creating the English country look in one’s own home. Plenty of tips on color theory and what to do with knickknacks, but nothing substantial about finding pieces, arranging furniture or ensuring one room flows into the next. The implication here seems to be that the first step is to buy an English cottage, which is not very helpful when that is not the case. Great for photo inspiration! Just not exactly a “how-to” guide.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely photographs!!! Inspiring. (From the makers of Victoria! magazine)

[Bronwyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truly lovely photography!

[Stephen]

A cozy book with lovely pictures and nice descriptions.

[Susan Liston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sigh. I want to move into this book.