My family and I have been longing for a holiday, and the English countryside is at the top of our list. As soon as travel becomes more accessible, we plan to stay at Gracie’s Cottage in Devon. Owned and decorated by Elizabeth Hay, an interior designer who trained at Colefax & Fowler and worked with Veere Grenney before relocating to Singapore. Immaculately restored and bursting with quintessential English country charm, the historic Grade II thatched cottage is surrounded by two acres of private grounds boasting orchards, a babbling brook, and a secret garden.
Leading English brands are used throughout, including Edward Bulmer paint, Pierre Frey, Soane and Vaughan fabrics, wallpapers and lighting, Kate Malone ceramics, and an Aga oven. Bookcases are filled with an extensive and eclectic mix of literary classics and essential reading. Treasured antiques are skillfully mixed with contemporary art, bespoke furniture, carpets, lamps, and eiderdowns.
The cottage sleeps five, and guests have optional access to a beautifully decorated annexe, a former livestock barn now converted to further sleeping accommodation. The annexe provides ancillary sleeping space and will house an additional four guests. You can read more about this little slice of heaven here and learn more about booking reservations. Now, let’s take a virtual tour!
And the Annexe:
Just looking at these pictures makes me happy! To learn more, please visit Gracie’s Cottage. You can follow @graciescottagedevon and @elizabethhaydesign for ongoing inspiration… And stay tuned, as Elizabeth will be joining us soon for a Style Profile interview! I love her entire portfolio!
In anticipation of the Madcap Cottage (@madcapcottage) gents launching their brand-new, printed-in-America collection of fabrics and wallpapers this Labor Day weekend, we asked the designing duo for their tips on how to mix prints and patterns. All fabrics and wallpapers are available at madcapcottage.com, and all images are from their elegant portfolio infused with whimsy and charm…. just like the gentlemen themselves! It is a delight to welcome John and Jason back to The Glam Pad today!
In the sunroom at the Madcap Cottage gents’ House of Bedlam home in High Point, North Carolina, a mix of patterns—all with various shades of green running through, from the ottoman to the tented ceiling—creates a soothing, garden-plucked oasis. “Always mix,” says John, “never match.”
Hello, friends! It’s John Loecke and Jason Oliver Nixon of Madcap Cottage… We are known for our passion for prints and patterns and find that folks are often intimidated or scared by the process of pairing florals with stripes and geometrics with scenics. We certainly hope that you are following our marvelous, Madcap adventures on Instagram at @madcapcottage, but if you aren’t, skip on over there right this very second.
Be bold, be brave, and dive into that wonderful, whimsical pool of all things prints and patterns. Who wants a world that is beige and boring. And, no, that was not a question. With that said, here are ten tips to get you started on your prints and patterns adventure.
The Hamptons Summer fabric collection from Madcap Collection
1. Choose one color and carry that hue across all of the patterns in a room. Let’s say you choose blue as a room’s dominant color. Mix turquoise stripes with navy florals, pale blue geometrics with aqua polka dots, and teal palm trees with indigo gingham. The eye will read the colors as one. Same with green. Red. And extrapolate from there.
2. Do look for prints that share common colors. This will make seemingly disparate patterns work together.
3. Don’t go halfway with your use of prints and patterns. It will look like a mistake. Instead, go all out: Mix florals, stripes, and checks. The result will appear effortless.
4. Don’t forget about scale! You want to mix big patterns with small to keep the eye engaged as it moves across a room.
5. Don’t think trendy and “of the moment.” Think timeless. Florals, stripes, and checks are classic prints that never go out of style.
6. Do look to the fashion runway for inspiration. Floral prints and embroidered details are HOT this season and the high-end fashion world offers inspiration for breaking out of mixing and matching stereotypes.
7. Look to nature for inspiration on pairing colors. For instance, every color works beautifully with green. Says John, “If it works in your garden, it will work in your home.”
8. Don’t be afraid to take a risk with a print or pattern. If you love the pattern, that’s all that matters. Understand the principles of mixing and matching but feel free to break them.
9. (Gratuitous plug alert!) Shop within a curated collection. The brand-new Madcap Cottage fabric and wallpaper collection, for instance, delivers highly curated prints and patterns in which everything within the line works together. Pair any pattern in Hamptons Summer, Postcards from Maine, Sunnylands, Up at the Lake, Viva America!, and Weekend in Palm Beach together, and watch the magic unfold.
10. Details make a difference. Just as that special piece of jewelry or pair of shoes can make an outfit, the right window treatments or decorative pillows can really transform a room. And window treatments and pillows are a great place to start your prints and pattern journey.
And there you have it! Ten tall, tan, terrific tips…
And if you have any questions about how to become true mix masters, you can always reach out to us on Instagram. And be sure to check out our brand-new fabric and wallpaper collections on the Madcap Cottage website—all printed in America.
Most importantly, have fun!
John Loecke and Jason Oliver Nixon
Thank you John and Jason for these fabulous tips! The Madcap Cottage gents are truly masters of the mix. Would you like to learn more design lessons and tips from this dynamic duo? They have graciously offered to return to The Glam Pad to answer your decorating dilemmas… Please email me with your questions or concerns!
For additional information on Madcap Cottage, please visit their website and follow @madcapcottage on Instagram for ongoing inspiration.
Located just over an hour away from Dallas, Athens is a beautiful East Texas town and a popular city getaway. When repeat Dallas-based clients of designer Cathy Kincaid purchased an Athens farm in need of TLC, they asked her to create a true weekend family retreat. The bucolic setting boasts winding roads, bridges, a lake, and barns, and the oak trees and red soil reminded the husband of Virginia, where he is from. The couple has collaborated with Cathy on multiple projects and love creating beautiful homes. Both husband and wife were very involved in the creative process. With a mix of soft florals, antiques, painted furniture, and rustic accents, I cannot imagine a more perfect country home! Let’s take a look inside…
To read more about this home, I highly recommend Cathy Kincaid’s book, The Well Adorned Home. You can also see more of her work by visiting the following features by The Glam Pad:
Last week, a reader sent me the most fascinating real estate listing, and I just had to share! Located in Atlanta, Texas (I never knew there was such a town) “The Brooks Mansion” was built in 1960 as a replica of Marie Antoinette’s country escape, Petit Trianon. The late Mrs. Virginia Brooks, homeowner, traveled extensively and fell in love with the château during one of her visits to France. She prided herself in the fact that her house design has two more windows than Marie Antoinette’s. Italian stone was shipped in “kit form” and each stone was numbered to be put in an exact place. The home has marble and hand-crafted wood floors, 12-foot ceilings, three fireplaces, and multiple living areas. There are 7 bedrooms, 7 baths and 2 half baths (not including the maid’s quarters). All bathrooms are marble, some with sunken tubs and separate showers. The large bedrooms are all en suite and equipped with an array of closets, several with built-in drawers. Every room has double French doors adorned with exquisite vintage hardware. The kitchen was state-of-the-art for the 1960s style and equipped with an island, indoor grill, double oven, and a huge food prep pantry room.
Robert Searcy, the realtor who sent me the listing, thinks it might have been built by renowned architect, John Staub… If anyone knows anything about this incredible manse, please send me a note! Located on 48 acres, this 12,000+ square foot château can be yours for under $800K!! So you can have your cake and eat it too! 🙂 Let’s take a peek inside… (I do wish there were furnished images available.)
If you love collected interiors with vibrant color and unique, yet timeless style, you are going to love Brittany Bromley Interiors. Brittany’s eponymous design studio and retail store is located in The Jackson House, a historic building built in 1857 on the green in Bedford, New York.
“I really try to make sure that all of the rooms I design have a sense of history and feel as though they’ve been curated over time. I’m not a fan of instant decorating,” she said. ” So while I get a lot of my inspiration from classic design and symmetry, I try to infuse it with modernity, so at the end of the day it has a more eclectic feel.
Known for her ability to combine classic design with modem style and sensibility, Brittany began designing when friends admired her own home and asked her to help them design theirs. Word spread and Brittany Bromley Interiors began. Brittany’s work has been featured in numerous publications, including Veranda, Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Luxe and Cottages & Gardens. Today we will share some favorite highlights from her portfolio… Enjoy!
Brittany lives in a 290 year old historic home (tour here) with her husband, Matthew, a landscape designer, and their two daughters. To learn more, please visit Brittany Bromley Interiors. You can also follow @bittybromley on Instagram for ongoing inspiration.
