This month we're visiting Sandy's charming home...

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Sandy and her family have resided in their cape cod cottage in Middleton, New Jersey for almost 10 years. When I asked Sandy where her decorating influences came from, she said "Well I was sort of born into it. My mother and aunt had the biggest influence on me in terms of my decorating style. We always shopped flea markets and antique stores and we were always working on each others houses hanging, displaying, wallpapering and decorating. Then when I got older and had a home of my own, I discovered Romantic Homes magazine and Romantic Country magazine, which were a huge source of inspiration for me for years and still are". 

 

While Sandy loves the Shabby Chic style, she prefers to describe her house as English Cottage. "I love vintage china, rose fabrics, chandeliers and the dainty figurines that come to mind when you think of an English home, says Sandy. "But then the cottage part relaxes everything, which takes the beauty and elegance and makes it casual and comfortable. You get the best of both worlds".

 

Sandy's favorite room is her living room. "To me its perfect, and I have some of my favorite and best pieces in that room" says Sandy. "I did a mix of soft pink and blue, and I find it so calming and relaxing. That's the room I go into to sit with my pug and read my decorating magazines while the guys are watching Sponge Bob or Star Wars in the family room".

 

When it comes to decorating, Sandy says "I try to think outside the box and find ways to decorate in the look I love since it's often hard to find the resources I want, especially on a budget". One of Sandy's favorite things she made is her shower curtain. The ones she'd seen in stores were so plain and Sandy wanted a fuller, fluffier look so she sewed three curtain panels together, then sewed on shirring or gather tape to the top to gather the panels to a finished size to fit the tub. She hung them high on a rod using clip rings and hemed them long. "I think the finished look is very custom, feminine and romantic" says Sandy. "I hung a second rod behind it with a plain white shower curtain for water protection and the second rod also provides a place to hang damp towels to dry and not be seen".

 

So what's Sandy on the lookout for these days? "I cant seem to get enough of vintage china and Limoge China, especially with pink roses. In the begining I bought anything with a rose on it, but I learned to be more selective and gradually replaced my not so pretty pieces with pieces I truly love".

Please visit Sandy's blog and tell her The Old Painted Cottage sent you!

 

(photographs provided by homeowner, article written by Jennifer Grey)

 

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