Would love any comments on new issues

[Hillary Black]

Many thanks in advance for sharing your comments with us on C&B issue(s)!

[Hillary Black]

bumping thread thanks

[Bungalove]

I usually talk about the current issue in one of the other threads. I really loved the April issue but didn't buy the May one. Too much cottage and hardly any bungalow. Am really, really tired of beach/nautical/living on the water themes. Not everyone lives at the beach or wants to!

[yarborough house]

I don't see them hardly at all. They just dont grab me - not my style of decor..Usually I like the cottage with its bright interiors but not so much kitchy beach. I don't like dark bungalows at all and flip past those pages in a heartbeat. Guess they depress me with their darkness.

[Bungalove]

I don't see them hardly at all. They just dont grab me - not my style of decor..Usually I like the cottage with its bright interiors but not so much kitchy beach. I don't like dark bungalows at all and flip past those pages in a heartbeat. Guess they depress me with their darkness.

I agree somewhat; I love the bungalow style but don't like the real dark interiors either. This is usually IMHO what's shown in "American Bungalow" magazine which is why I don't buy that one. I like a happy medium -- bungalow style but still bright (bright NOT meaning all white!!) and livable. I like to see lots of unpainted wood trim, and it certainly doesn't have to be dark wood.

[canadiyank]

Yeah, yeah, I don't like the "all dark" bungalows, either. I mean, so. much. dark. oak. is just too much. I guess I'm just not that authentic. Heh. Hence the "revival" in my personal style.

I like "educational" topics, like what features make something a certain era/style/etc. Why this proportion or color tends to look good. Stuff like that.

[shabbychick]

I finally got a chance to sit down and finish the May issue, and I liked it. I thought there was a little something for everybody, which is what I'd expect to see in a magazine that caters to a diverse readership. Not every article features a style I love, but I do enjoy looking at the pictures and reading about how the owners make the style they love come to life. The how-to articles are always fun. I enjoyed the xeriscaping article, too, as we are working now to select drought-tolerant native plants for our butterfly and hummingbird garden at work. The one article that put me off a little bit was Cabin Fever, not because I didn't enjoy looking at the interiors (and it's a lovely cabin) but because taking a place from 1100 to 3200 square feet doesn't strike me as particularly green, especially for a home that isn't even their primary residence. I live in the Pacific Northwest, and I know how expensive and how precious our natural resources are and how little land is available anymore, especially near the water. Many Washington beaches are hard to get to anymore because of all those gargantuan mansions that take up the beachfront property. Unlike Oregon, Washington didn't have the foresight to ensure that beaches remained accessible public property. So maybe I'm a little bitter, but trying to sell the idea that this massive expansion has a reduced carbon footprint just because they use fluorescent bulbs and used furniture doesn't work for me.

On the other hand, I did find the article about about the Nantucket cottage the couple had rebuilt instead of remodeling to be thought-provoking. Having lived in a wonderful old house that would have cost many more times the amount of money to remodel than to rebuild, I can sympathize with their plight. Scanning the article, I can't find what the square footage of the new home is, but it doesn't seem to be the size of the cabin, and at any rate, it's their primary residence, so I'm more inclined to be accepting of a somewhat larger footprint. Plus it was a very pretty home. I liked that banquette they added.

I did really like the article A Cottage Refresher. The changes were modest and seemed do-able for most people, and I liked their commitment to actually preserving the home's footprint and character. Because I live on a teacher's salary (which the state legislature has just decided to reduce by 3% in order to help balance the budget) I can't even think about a second home or a big home, and I can't afford much by way of renovation on only one salary, so articles that show how to do makeovers with a minimum of fuss, materials, and labor are the ones that speak most to me. Oh, and I just loved all the windows and natural light in that little place. Very, very cute.

The article on porches was great. I don't actually have a porch, but I still like to dream. I fell in love with the honeysuckle cushions on the lounge chairs. This summer I have to make a new cushion for my porch swing (the one on my non-existent porch) and am now inspired to find a similar fabric. Sadly, my cushion was eaten by something over the winter. Something with teeth and claws, I think, because the cover is damaged beyond repair. But, hey, it was beige, anyway, and I'm not a fan of beige, so I'm looking at this as an opportunity.

I also liked the Idea Notebook that showed how homes were repainted to add charm without having to do extensive remodeling on the outside. It was amazing to see the transformation.

I like the featured floorplan. I've always enjoyed looking at floorplans even for places I wouldn't necessarily want to live. When the floorplan is paired with pictures of the actual constructed house, that's even better. I wouldn't mind seeing more of these floorplan/picture features for the companies that make small, small houses like the Katrina Cottages.

Finally, the Hospitable Home article was fun. I might go look for that book just for the heck of it. Living in a condo, my options are limited, but that doesn't stop me from looking at pictures and dreaming of what I'd do if I won the lottery or if someone built one of those giveaway house-of-the-year places in my neck of the woods instead of across the continent where they are usually built. I'd enter a contest to win a home in my area. :)

All in all, I like C&B. I'm lucky to make a decent enough salary (at least until next school year) that I can afford to subscribe to several magazines. They're all a little different, and they all have at least something in each issue that speaks to me even if not every article does. I love to sit down on a weekend morning with my coffee and my cat and just leaf through my magazines and dream of being Martha Stewart (except for that whole going to jail thing) or to pull out ideas for arranging furniture or creating artwork or decorations that I can do with things I already have on hand. It's a less expensive indulgence, in the long run, than going to the movies or the soul-killing experience of shopping for new jeans that actually fit everywhere, so if there's an issue that doesn't really do it for me, I know there's another one coming along that will.

I'm glad that C&B started publishing monthly, and I think the subscription saves me money over buying the occasional issue at the cover price, so for me, it was worth it to subscribe. There are very few magazines I subscribe to that have so little in them that I stop the subscription.

Maybe someday the sun will come out up here in Washington where it hasn't cracked the 55 degree mark since spring began, and I'll be able to start gardening and rearranging the furniture in my little courtyard, and when I do, it'll be off to the store for some honeysuckle fabric for my porch swing! And a patio heater. :)

[canadiyank]

Maybe someday the sun will come out up here in Washington where it hasn't cracked the 55 degree mark since spring began,

Hey now! Speak for yourself, Wet-sider. ;) Gorgeous week here in the desert, and today the wind seems calm. (I really, really detest the wind. Makes my allergies go nuts, hurts my ears, makes me cold, and now is windburning my plants - bah!!)

[shabbychick]

My most vivid memory of Ellensburg from the summer college classes I took there was that it was hotter than Hades and the wind NEVER stopped blowing. But I sure did like the Perkins. :)

It was snowing at my house this morning. Maybe I'd better move to the other side of the mountains.




Hey now! Speak for yourself, Wet-sider. ;) Gorgeous week here in the desert, and today the wind seems calm. (I really, really detest the wind. Makes my allergies go nuts, hurts my ears, makes me cold, and now is windburning my plants - bah!!)

[canadiyank]

Oh yeah, Eburg is way windier. <shudder> Snow? Wow!

[br549]

In the June 2011 issue on page 66 there is a swing featured but the resources page does not list where this swing can be ordered or purchased. Could you please list a source for this swing? Thanks.

[Hillary Black]

We're checking for you ...

[Jickie]

Hi br549,

Bonnie Forkner the homeowner tells us she purchased the swing at Kmart. Happy shopping!

[br549]

Thanks so much!