Be Our Guest - Concept Cottage

I am a home body.  I love being home, in my nest, surrounded by the people and spaces that mean the most to me.  I am such a home body that I reside in the home that my dad grew up in, that I spent my summers in, that I modeled aspects of each of my prior homes after.  Yes, I live in that quintessential comfort place:  my grandmother's house.

It is here, at Clifton on the Monocacy (yes, every truyly beloved property must have a name), that I began and grew what you know as Chartreuse & co, our iconic Barn Sales.  Visitors often comment on how warm and welcoming the whole property is.  I always reply that it's my grandmother's spirit still permeating the place.

But in truth, I think it's more than that.  It's that Chartreuse & co is not just a commercial place and  enterprise.  When we invite you here each month, we are opening our home and grounds to you.  And we do see each of you as a guest. 

Back in the early days - before we moved into the Barn - events were only occassional, and held in and around our Cottage (which was always The Bike House when I was growing up - it's where the bikes were kept, of course).   We would collect and decorate, re-imagining the rooms with furnishing, art, etc. for you to enjoy and take home with you when we'd accumulated enough to fill the little house.

It's been years since we've done that, and so, as we go back to our roots - we're welcoming you up to our tiny home:  The Concept Cottage.

This adventure - from removing years of storage and squirrel residents to scrubbing, painting, envisioning, and acquiring an entire house-worth of curated, unique, pieces - has alternately thrilled, overwhelmed, exhausted, and inspired me.  

You will get to come visit, be our guest in this deliciously comfortable and inviting home without the overwhelming and exhausting parts.  It is our hope that you find this enchanting cottage a pleasure to experience, and that it both thrills and inspires you. 

Come in, sit down, enjoy the space.  Tell us what you lke, and what you don't.  There will only be a handful of you in at one time, so you'll be able to really enjoy it.  You can even purchase the pieces you like from the cottage (they just can't be removed til after the last scheduled tour on Saturday afternoon).  

Here's a bit about what we've created:

INSPIRATION:  

If Oscar Wilde had a little cottage in the woods, what might it look and feel like?

COLOR STORY:

Inspiration - 19thC oil painting of a stream traveling through the woods

Inspiration - Mind the Gap wallpaper, "The Deer Slayer"

All paint used in the Concept Cottage is Sherwin Williams:

First Floor - main room walls "Plantation Shutters" matte finish

First Floor - kitchen "Pier" matte finish, inside kitchen cupboard "Pier" semi-gloss

Second Floor - bedroom walls "Niebla Azul" matte

Second Floor - study walls "Sashay Sand" matte

All rooms were painted with the saturation technique we're loving right now: walls and trim all the same color.  In a small space, espeically when you're using dark colors, this technique eliminates the breaking up of visual lines from contrast trim, creating a clean background that makes it feel more spacious.

This is our first outing with the Concept Cottage, and we have such a vision for it over time.  Eventually we plan to make the second floor a vaulted ceiling (so we've done nothing with those ceilings this outing).

There's also something you should know about me:  I am not a tidy person.  While I love order, I don't like things too clipped and tame.  I like a bit of wild, where nature and those who live here are free to put their mark on this place where we live.  And the closer you get to our home, where and how we live, the more you'll see of the untamed nature of our property.

We live here, and we welcome you to enjoy the comfort, natural beauty, history, and familial connection our home, and this tiny cottage in particular, provide. 

Don't have your tickets yet?  Visit Eventbrite to get yours.  They're going fast, and not many spots are available for each time slot.  Also, get more details on our website event page.

I hope to see you this weekend, April 4-6.

Thanks for reading,

 Virginia