Cabin Or Cottage?

I have been forever dreaming about some day having a getaway up in the Adirondack's. I guess you can say it is my hobby planning for this dream. I have picked the area where I would like to have my cottage or cabin. I have designed in my head the structure, floor plan and how I will decorate the inside and out. Below are a few characteristics of a cottage style or cabin style.

The basics of a cottage style are comfort and practicality. Inside you'll find wood floors, some­times painted a cottage gray. Walk through a screen door, and you step out onto a porch...a must for enjoying summer twilight's. In the kitchen, you'll find painted cabinetry or open shelves stacked with Grandma's everyday dishes. The furnishings of cottage style are simple and include slip covered armchairs, well-loved wicker, or a set of simple painted chairs gathered around a large pine table. Lighting comes from vintage table lamps. Chenille spreads and scrap quilts top off the beds, while faded chintz floral and striped cushions add even more comfort. Signs of the outdoors are evident here. I can see accessorizing with wildflowers in a Fiestaware vase and watercolors of lakeside views adorn the walls.

Now let's take the cottage style and take away the feminine characteristics and a cabin is born. These manly retreats, built to house hunters, fishermen, and summer campers, are more rustic than cottage's. Here, log or wooden walls give a rustic background for simple, furnishings. Tools of the trade...guidebooks, maps, fishing poles and lures, rifles and mounts .... work to accessorize. Lighting may come from kerosene lamps or an antler chandelier, and a black iron wood stove or stone fireplace dries wet clothes as fish and ghost stories are swapped. The kitchen is the place to clean fish and make coffee...housed with vintage utensils like kettles and cast-iron skillets for frying up the day's catch.

Which would you prefer? Cottage or Cabin? They both sound like heaven to me. My summer getaway would incorporate a mixture of the two. I would use finishes such as wood and stone. I'd furnish my getaway with upholstered leather and floral fabrics...accented with pillows and throws made from chenille and wool. Definetly I would use open shelving in my kitchen and would lay stained wide plank flooring through out. The lighting would be a mixture of a kerosene lamp, wrought iron, Tiffany and antler lighting. A stone fireplace would be a must and be the focal point of the interior. I imagine an open floor plan...one bath, bedroom and loft...not a lot of square footage. One stipulation...my screened in porch has to be sizable with a clothes line to hang clothes from...room for a table and chairs and a few comfy sitting areas. It will be my out door living space... a continuation of the house...where I plan on spending a lot of time. I know my getaway won't be a reality this year...so I will continue...to dream and plan for that anticipated day. ~amy