To many of us, the cottage suggests home at its most delightful, but its character must depend upon a wise choice of comparatively few and simple furnishings. The author examines the craftsmanship of the joiner and turner, and the beauty of the wooden chair, chest, and gate-leg table, and deals not only with the basics, but also with the details. She reviews the importance of china wares, the blue of willow pattern or the still rarely appreciated mocha ware, which would have adorned the essential kitchen dresser, with its sturdy but practical elegance. The chapters concerning cottage metal work cover collectable antiques from firedogs and rushlight holders, to trivets and tea urns, and the impact of their gleaming metal, be it brass, copper or copper-lustred earthenware. Pewter and the widely serviceable Britannia metal are also discussed. Therle Hughes shares with her readers a personal, knowledgeable delight in a variety of crafts, such as quilting and patchwork, prints for cottage walls, the heritage of old maps, and the joy of simply collecting small items from horse brasses and earthenware figures to picture pot-lids.
This book provides the essential guide for perfecting the appeal of the English cottage in the modern home.
- ISBN10 0718891643
- ISBN13 9780718891640
- Publish Date 1 November 2004 (first published 1 March 1967)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 1 January 1900
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Lutterworth Press
- Format Paperback
- Pages 268
- Language English