April issue of C&B

[shabbychick]

I just received the April issue of C&B. Mid-February seems early to me for an April issue and makes me wonder if I've missed some other issues in the meantime.

Has anyone else seen this issue yet? I enjoyed the curb appeal pictures and articles, and I enjoyed the "One-Hit Wonders" feature (though that wallpaper on page 64 just screams 1970's!). Other than that, the other houses in the magazine didn't appeal to me this time. I thought the homeowners made some odd choices for the materials they used and the way they decorated (like that hideous car hanging on the wall on page 38...I expected to see Stephen King pop out). The kitchen in "Easy, Breezy Cooking" was, well, functional, but other than that, it really left me cold. I wouldn't mind having that built-in window seat on page 58, though.

I went over and checked out the cottagesnetwork.com site and didn't find anything current. It looks like it's not being updated anymore. I was hoping to find some extra articles or more pictures from current and past issues. On page 8 in the magazine, it had a picture of a bedroom in a new color (Tangerine) that I might try out in my upstairs bath and something about creative containers for flowers, but I can't find them on the network site. I must be looking at the wrong page or in the wrong set of links there. Has anyone else found these features?

[Rory Bremner]

Agreed, Shabby. I don't like to complain, but this magazine has lost some of it's cottage and bungalow appeal, lately.

[allen820]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I told my wife the last issue may as well be titled, "63 Ways to use Popcycle Sticks and Construction Paper . . . "

Allen

[Bungalove]

Unfortunately, I haven't bought an issue in months and months, although I've looked through it at the newsstand. I think they have lost the "bungalow" angle completely. And there's not enough middle ground for me -- either things are $2000 lamps or they're made of popsicle sticks and construction paper, as the other poster put so succinctly. The rooms all look so junky to me. Sigh.... I'm hard to please, I know.

[Breezy]

I've been disappointed in the last few issues. There is not much there considering the cost of the magazine.
If I wanted to know about throwing birthday parties and how to make "stuff" I'd buy that type of magazine.
I want to read articles about and see photos of cottages and bungalows - I mean afterall isn't that what the magazine is supposed to be all about?

[shabbychick]

There were several things I liked in the Feb/March issue (including the little cottage with the upstairs loft). With most magazines it's hit and miss. I'll like everything in one issue and nothing in the next. I guess that's just the nature of the beast. Even the newest issue of Country Living left me cold. But it seems like it'd be a good idea to update the cottagesnetwork.com site if they are going to advertise it in each issue of the magazine. I can't find any of the stuff they say is supposed to be on there.

[Queen of Housecrazy]

I enjoyed the April issue but one thing that has been bothering me lately about C&B magazine is all the houses/rooms that I've seen in past issues. I'm all for recycling, but the pictures are often the exact same ones used in previous months and years.

It would be neat to see the same homes, or rooms, or exteriors as they evolve over time, but using the exact same pics is like using stock photos... it just seems like kind of a rip off.

Besides, there are so many great cottages and bungalows out there, I would like to see MORE of them! Not the same ones over and over again. I don't care if they are big, small, fancy, or not, I just love looking at a variety.