Book review: At Home with Country by Christian Strutt

Yes, another post on Cabbages and Roses! I was so inspired by my own blog that I popped over to Amazon, my second home, and got all spendy!

Christina Strutt, founder of Cabbages and Rose, was, once upon a time, assistant Vogue Living editor. She certainly knows what's what when it comes to styling.

Her fifth book, At Home With Country: Bringing the Comforts of Country Home arrived this morning and I am simply bursting to share it with you!

Something that really made me smile (and hop around and tell Mr Modern Country, who was most bemused!) is that the photo that I called 'genius' in my last Cabbages and Roses post, is the title picture for the chapter called 'Modern Country'! Isn't that the coolest coincidence?! Don't you love it when that happens?

One of the aims of the book is to show that the Cabbages and Roses style needn't be reserved for the classic traditional country home but can be applied, with thought, to enhance almost any look. However, it's the Modern Country Style pictures that most draw me in (this is a Modern Country Style blog, after all!).

Each chapter (Classic Country,Modern Country, Island Country and outdoor Country) contains homes that Christina has styled using her Cabbages and Roses magic. Totally gorgeous without exception.

The Modern Country chapter is, of course, especially totally gorgeous but all the sections contain stunning styling that gets you into Christina's mindset: these are fabrics that can add beauty to any setting.

The Home Style Sourcebook: inspirational decorating schemes for every home

I'll come right out and say it now: this book is heaven.

The Home Style Sourcebook is one of a million excellent books by Ryland, Peters and Small publishing. It's written by a collaboration of Leslie Geddes-Brown, Katherine Sorrell and Judith Wilson, who have all written other great interior design books in their own right. This was the first book I saw that put a name, Modern Country Style, to the look I knew I loved.

The book is divided into two main sections. The first examines a variety of different styles: Contemporary (Sleek, Mellow Modern, Scandinavian and Contemporary Modern), Country (Traditional Country and yummy Modern Country) and Period Styles (Classic Period Style and Vintage and Retro). It's not only the Modern Country section that's utterly gorgeous. All the pictures are drool-worthy, and there's some especially good ones in the Mellow Modern, Traditional Country and Vintage and Retro chapters.

The second part looks at how to apply these styles to individual rooms, with general application and a case study for each style.

The fantastic thing about this book is that it has superb pages on Modern Country Style...

...but lots of aspects of the other sections could also be adapted. For example, here are some photos of pages from Vintage and Retro (loving those taps):

Mellow Modern (far left pictures...nice!):

and Traditional Country (nothing too twee in sight!):

Home Style Sourcebook helps to narrow down specific styles so that you don't end up with a hotch-potch of different looks but, instead, have harmonious continuity throughout your home.

This book has to be one of my absolute best, a continual reference, as well as eye-candy. Definitely full marks from me.

Craft and interior books.....

I LOVE craft books and interior design books. They are my Achilles' heel. They call to me from Amazon and before I know it, the One-Cick button has been pressed....
Here is where I store my stash.....

Here are the bookends that I use - otherwise the books flop around all over the place. One end is a vintage hot-water bottle:

The other end is an old-fashioned iron:

It's one of my favourite nooks in the house, making me smile every time I look there.

I will share someof my favourites....

To be continued.....