7.7.09

Tuesday's Design: Cottage Love


Ever since last Thursday when I read about this cottage in the NYTimes, I've literally had cottage on my brain! I'm so all about the cute and quaintness of it all. In an attempt to distract myself from that cottage, I got to thinking about what cottages in Africa look like.


The Cape Dutch style found in many historic towns throughout South Africa definitely does the distraction trick. Before I could think twice, I was turning my search of cottages in the Catskills to the Cape area of South Africa. The Cape Dutch architectural style was taken by the Dutch to South Africa and was initially very basic and utilitarian (see the penultimate image).


Throughout the 18th century, these building gradually involved in style and function to accommodate new realities. Increasing in social income led owners to build bigger homes. Families would often build multiple cottages on the same property to accommodate their children's families or for other functions such as wine cellars, slave housing, stables, etc. As cities grew these types of housing could no longer accommodate a growing population and new architectural styles also became popular.


Here is a mini collection (as I'll certainly have to do this again) of some of my favorite cottage finds via Flickr.


Each exudes the comfort of a cosy space, an afternoon relaxing on a porch and looking over a few miles of greenery followed by an evening by the fireplace.


Cecil John Rhodes Cottage

So....do you have any favorites? I especially love the first green one, although I would certainly not turn any of these down!

You can read more about Cape Dutch architecture on the Encounter South Africa site, here.

{Photos from Flickr including Slack12, Eden, Paul Tosio, Jrozwado}

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I love the design of cottages and bungalows. We looked at quite a few bungalows in St. Petersburg FL and realized that unless they are expanded in the back, they are no longer practical for a family of four. My love for their look is trumped by their simple lack of square footage.

Brandie said...

JK - thanks for your comment. It reminded me of how differently various cultures think about space. For example, I was quite surprised at how tiny many family apartments were in urban spaces throughout Europe, and even many apartments in Manhattan shock me at how small they are for such a huge ticker price and housing multiple people.

None of the apartments/huts I have lived in over the past 7 have been bigger than your average cottage so I guess I'm use to that type of square footage. I also say this from a single person's perspective, so I doubt my opinion would be the same if were part of a family of four. :)

FROM THE RIGHT BANK said...

I've had that Catskills cottage on my mind too! Wouldn't you love to have a place like that for the weekends?

I found the houses in Franschoek and Stellenbosch totally charming. But if I had to pick one of these, I think I'd go for the third one. There's something really appealing to me about it. Maybe it's more rustic than the others?

This was a fantastic post!

Unknown said...

love all these. I think the iron one is my fave. Lovely choice.