Warm, Cozy, Beautiful England

My love affair with English decor continued for several years.  As with my previous posts revisiting Pennsylvania decor, revisiting English homes make me love it all over again.  It's like revisiting your favorite aunt and finding her with outstretched arms waiting to embrace you.  Just see if you don't think England could embrace you.  Works for me.

The following images are from the lovely book, English Country Interiors, by Mitchell Beazley, published in 2004.  It contains beautiful pictures and text about Cotswold homes.  I just love the name "Cotswold."

I can just see Jane Marple answering the phone here only to learn of the body in her friend's library.

The English so love their dogs, and I so love their antique grandfather clocks.  (Rosemary, does this remind you of anyone?  Webster perhaps?)

Note the view out the window.

Another great window - this time note the blue and white transfer ware on its sill.

From the same book, several kitchens are shown containing AGA stoves because they are so prevalent in Britain.  Their burners and ovens stay warm all the time which is why so many pets stay close to them - attractive in damp Britain.  My husband and I really considered purchasing an AGA during one of our kitchen renovations, but that black venting pipe in the back of the stove was a deterrent.

So here the pipe is white, yet still a distraction, for me anyway.

Still from Beazley's book, onto an antique dealer's home .

What beautiful molding surrounds the fireplace, and the pottery jugs atop the mantel are antique as are most of the items in this home.

Great window, shutters, and vegetable-laden trug.

Another AGA, but minus the rear venting pipe.   Back stairs always seems like such a good idea because one might need a cup of tea in the middle of the night.

Can kindles or i-pads ever replace a library like this?  Never, I hope.

  Sweet jugs on leaded window sill.

How do I love this room?  Let me count the ways.

That wonderful molding again.

Wasn't this a great house??  The entire book is a treat and makes a great addition to our own libraries.


Now onto an English home from a February 2006 issue of The English Home.

That ubiquitous venting pipe rears its head again.

Do you feel embraced by England?  Their decor is so warm and inviting.  As I said earlier, revisiting the English design aesthetic makes me love it all over again and makes me want to go watch Howard's End. or Emma, or Jane Eyre, or reach for one of these novels in my own library.

Next time, it's more of England with a bit of Pennsylvania thrown in (I discovered yet another article in my latest search for English influences).
Till then, stay warm, stay in a library, stay in a garden, stay English-
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