Thank you, pal, my thoughts too.
I am a firm believer in decorating according to where you live and while small aspects, Jen's drapes, for instance, are fine to change, going for the whole look is off-putting to me.

sis3 - Yes, fish and chips only wrapped in newspaper. It seemed to enhance the flavor!!

I love the pictures. What a grand time you must have had. The fairies in the yard made me smile. I hope you have more outdoor pics also.

Sis, it's hard for us to put florals and patterns together because it's never been a main staple like it is in England. Very few homes use florals and prints because they're just not common here.

When we went furniture shopping a couple of years ago, finding a sofa with a print on it was hard. Now if I wanted to pay out the wazoo, I could have picked out a sofa and had the store upholster it, but that's way out of most people's budget.

Anything here with a decent print is very expensive. It's just not the norm, therefore it's hard for us to incorporate florals and prints into our homes.

I couldn't agree more, oakleyok! Then you have the problem that most of the good ones are "to the trade only"! I love the fact that the USA is open to so many styles and its people tend not to be judgemental about a person's clothes, car, house etc but boy they make it difficult to be different sometimes!
I have wasted so much time searching for decent prints.

So I guess what I'm reading here is that we American's are uptight, right? We need to loosen up and relax more. I totally agree with that! I think way too many on this forum need to worry less about "getting it right according to everyone else" and do what makes them feel good and works for their family.

We are different of course, not better or worse.
It's part of who I am to want things the way I want them and if that means searching for ages to find the exact thing, so be it.
Some of those charming European elements just look garage sale style to me.

I think there is a completely naturalistic, organically developing, accumulated look that is completely homegrown American as well. Its just varies somewhat from the English one, and it has both its adherents and detractors here.

I think it is kind of a myth that there is a better inherent sense of taste in the EU though. I have seen pretty many boring, insipid or ugly interiors on House Hunters international.

To me this looks the same as working class style in Ohio. The difference is we don't have the great architecture.

I doubt if I had posted my aunts house, which is decorated very similar to the first house, the response would of been as enthusiastic. Forty year old housed don't have the pizazz of 400 y.o. homes.

The working class of Ohio must have different sensibilities than the working class where I grew up (or where I live now for that matter)--their sensibilities lean toward a giant matched set (no more than a few years old) with built in recliners and plastic cup holders, and the biggest TV (no more than a few years old) the room can fit. And one of those RTA halogen torchieres in the corner that tend to burn your house down if you throw your underwear on them. (Thats Exactly what destroyed the house across the street).

Jen, Thank you for sharing photos of your Cotswold visit. I've really enjoyed them and hope you'll share more, once you've had a chance to go through the remaining shots.

It's been several years since I've visited England and it's brought back many wonderful memories. Thanks again for sharing!

It's funny....I returned last night from 1 month in England. I was in 7 private homes, all in large urban areas. Not a single home was decorated like the photos. All the homes except one were either Victorian, Tudor or Jacobean on the outside and sleek and modern on the inside, including the two that had also had glass conservatories. The one that was "traditional" was my aunt's, a 1936 semi-detached home that was decorated with everything from family antiques, to WWII era pieces, to 1990 pieces.

All were very tastefully decorated - and not a floral in sight! Just like anywhere, home decor varies.

I am currently enjoying scones and clotted cream with a cup of Earl Grey. Yummm.

Lesterd, do you have any pics. Those house sound like my dream house. Very old english country on the outside, contemporary on the inside.

OMG, Pal, my spit-take almost ruined my monitor.

pps, I was awful on this trip and didn't take the camera with me anywhere. Bottom line, I did a ton of walking and got sick of carrying anything that added extra weight. I wish I did have pictures. Because DH is now going there monthly, I'm going to tag along again in a few months and will take pictures next time.

Pal, no one is saying the English have better tastes, what we're saying is they use more floral than we do, by a long shot. Florals, stripes, patterend furniture, & textiles are second nature to them and I'm sure very easy to find in stores. Not for us, though.

And they're not matchy matchy like we are. To me, it's like they don't sweat the small stuff. :)

I think there is a lot of things that Europeans don't think about the same way we do and one of the reasons is that a lot of the housing stock is so old, that it was evolving before they were born and will continue to do so long after. They also don't worry about putting completely contemporary interiors in a centuries old house, or about hiding their TV. I have a book somewhere that shows a TV on a little stand in a Venetian palazzo with terrazzo floors and fresco'ed walls, no apology given Its all a bit more added to, organic, incremental, whatever you want to call it.

I see lots of prints around. I don't understand why people can't get prints here.

Love the way of life and lack of angst with the English cottages. I think the old handmedowns, clutter and such are charming because they're in unpretentious historic buildings with layers of architectural detail, patina, and irregular hand-hewn character. It doesn't work so well with modern building materials like drywall, perfectly fabricated moldings and cabinetry, or vinyl and asphalt. Drippy chipping paint, stains or tattered furniture and crooked lamps just doesn't have the same appeal in more current housing. Some of the same stuff and arrangements would look sloppy and beat by comparison in different surroundings and context. The neighbors would be aghast!

Thanks for sharing photos from your trip. Makes me want to move to Europe and be done with it all, lol. They sure have a way over there and I just love the old world setting and way of life.

Actually the accessibility to vintage prints and accessories is greater than ever before because of the internet. However, many people lack one key attribute needed to decorate in the accumulated manner: Patience. And impatience seems to be a bit more American, perhaps. This is why a lot of okay, pleasant decorating in America looks like one stop shopping, because it *is* one stop shopping by comparison.

You can get things Cheap, fast, and good, but only any two out of the three. Most of my clients or friends that I help want things done Yesterday. They see my place and love my 70 candlesticks or my table of double handled green pottery or my two dozen Keane prints and say "Do something like that for me"---and mean by next month.

I could get you 70 danish modern candlesticks in a month if you give me $2800, or for a fraction of that if you give me four years. I could get you 24 oversized Keane prints if you gave me $5K--or for much less if you gave me years. I could get you my lamps tomorrow on first dibs for $5K,--or for a bit under $300 if you live without a pair for years. You can have the look for less--either less money or less time, but not both.

Most people won't do this. They opt for finding something at art.com that goes with the color scheme so its "done". I have nothing against this in particular, but its going to look fresh out of the box because it is.

What is "working class", exactly?

2. working-class - working for hourly wages rather than fixed (e.g. annual) salaries; "working-class occupations include manual as well as industrial labor"
wage-earning

n.
The socioeconomic class consisting of people who work for wages, especially low wages, including unskilled and semiskilled laborers and their families.

That is a typical definition but I think the real answer is much more complex than this especially in parts of the US with strong union presence (those that still exist), such as the area where I grew up where one of the fork lift operators at a local plant had a higher yearly income than the emergency room physician at the local hospital. I have also run into this myself at a point where I stopped working full-time and was doing clinical research and volunteer work treating patients in a public health setting while going to school. My annual income for several years was less then the cut off for the patients I was treating. So to base it either on skill level or income alone is too simple, at least in my experience.

Wonderful photos of your trip.
Thanks for sharing them with us.
I love seeing all the textiles, colors,
furniture and collections.

Yes, I'm familiar with the definition as it pertains to socio-economic status. I should have been more specific: as it pertains to decor, what exactly is it meant to describe?

Luckygal...I too grabbed the intensity we have to match colors.

The "blue couch" with various mexican pillows. Would never have done this and I love the pillow colors. I continuously forge ahead to make sure they match my couch, rug, other furniture. The arrangement in the photo works...but how?

Yes to all considering we should just keep our current furniture. I'm in awe seeing how the combination works in every room.

Thanks for posting pics. Very enjoyable and inspiring.

I read a book recommended by auntjen (in oakley's post I wish we were like the British in this regard) called Watching the English, which actually has a few chapters which describe the differences in decorating between the different classes in England. It was fascinating!

The WSJ magazine has a story about Nicky Haslam's country house--it was the home of John Fowler (of Colefax &) and it's got a similar look.

Working class, not so much. These days, I think working class style is the "wife of a footballer" style.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nicky Haslam

I don't know what its meant to describe in terms of decor because apparently the working class in Ohio has some pretty decent, accumulated looking taste. The working class where I grew up tended to go for matching sets of furniture replaced every so often, and I have been in working class apartments and houses here with someone who was looking for investment properties. I was surprised by the number of apartments and houses that had almost no furnishings at all. Several of the houses had beds or mattresses in the bedrooms, and nothing else except a giant TV. One apartment had seven TVs that I could count including one on a chair in the bathroom. One had a TV a mattress and a large amount of weight lifting equiptment. The perimeter of one room was lined with several dozen neatly arranged pairs of sneakers. The rents are relatively high so I would imagine furniture beyond the basics is not a high priority, although electronics seemed to be as well as portable displays of wealth such as clothing. That has been my experience, and I am sure it varies by region.

Pal, fascinating post on working class. I think the salary 'inversion' you experienced is or will soon be a thing of the past...

lesterd, it would be wonderful to see any pics you would like to share--would you consider, please, starting a thread with some of them? I personally *love* a good contrast of inherited architecture and modern interior design.

Wow, I'm surprised to see all of the conversation that my photos fostered! :-D Very interesting discussion indeed, and I appreciate all of the input!

The "blue couch" with various mexican pillows. Would never have done this and I love the pillow colors. I continuously forge ahead to make sure they match my couch, rug, other furniture. The arrangement in the photo works...but how?

Isn't that cool! I believe those are actually Kilim (rug) pillow covers, and I absolutely love them! I can't recall if I mentioned it above (and quite frankly, I'm too lazy to go back and look) but the countess had just returned from a tour of South America with her adult daughter a few days before Mom and I arrived for our visit. She had brought back wonderful textiles and as she showed them to us at the dining room table beneath 14th century beams, they didn't seem out of place; rather they invoked further thoughts of a fascinating life filled with travel to exotic places. (I should add that the countess also owns a gorgeous villa in Spain - this too available for holiday rental. She planned to use many of her South American elements to add to the decor in that home.)

I have especially enjoyed reading in this thread the words of those who have lived in England. I keep chuckling over the comment along the lines that no English person has ever uttered the phrase, "a spot of tea." That's very true, and makes one wonder where we come up with our long-held assumptions and stereotypes!

Mom (or perhaps I should start calling her "Mum" now? ;-)) and I spoke yesterday and just might be starting to hatch another travel plan - this next time to the Lake District, or perhaps Cornwall or Devon.

Interesting thread.I am British and still have an old cottage( 16 the century) there with the beams and everything but it has all the conveniences that I have come to expect since living in the US for a long time.
One thing i can say with certainty is that I'm not sure that there is a particular style in the homes in the UK but perhaps various stereotypical themes like Agas and green wellies.
One thing that is common there that you don't see so much of in the US is heated towel rails. I don't know why they are not so popular in the US. We put one in our US house. We love the opportunity to be in the UK in summer and in the US the rest of the year and we think that there are advantages and disadvantages to both ways of life.

One thing that is common there that you don't see so much of in the US is heated towel rails.

OK, now that right there would be a slice of heaven. Especially this year with the Winter That Will Not End.

Auntjen....I have always admired your pics/decor. Yes those are kilim pillows. I make my own from rugs when there are some good sales. So easy to hand stitch. Those shown do not look like there is any blue in them...hence my awe that they worked so well with the couch. Think I am too cautious in decorating and should look at your pics again. Free my wings.

I ran across these houses and kitchens looking at real estate listings and thought that these come closest to 'authentic English style' in America since these are new world variants of the house the settlers lived before they came here.

Here is a link that might be useful: 200+ year old house kitchens

I think what's really missing from these photo's is a big arse wall of giant blueberries frankly. But I suppose other than that they're ok :oP

FWIW my gardener is from generations of english gardeners. He's a lovely man with that charming english accent you just want to hear reading the dictionary if that's all you have handy.

He has invited me into his home for a "spot of tea" more than once and he and his wife both have served me cucumber sandwiches.

Like I said they're a long line of english gardeners, and I know the brother inherited the family estate (a 40 room "lodge" from the mid 1400's) so perhaps they're more upper class gardeners...but as far as I know they're pretty regular folks...and they love their cuc sandwiches. Perhaps it's a regional thing???? I also used to work with a lovely gal...Kathleen who also used to say she'd love a "spot of tea" when we were getting coffee. She used to also say.."Sure as eggs are eggs" and her husband was constantly "knocking up" the neighbors....

I like an evolved style but I also think it is possible to buy an evolved style if you want one :) Yes pal you'll pay more maybe, but I've been purchasing silver plate and china from the goodwill for only six months and everyone comments on the fact that they love my collection and has it been handed down from the family, so cheap and evolved elegance is now available to all :) You just have to work at it a bit. I think back 20 years you couldn't get fast, cheap and whatever...but now a days, you can, you just have to look in the right places. My silver cabinet looks like it would take years and bundles of dough and really, it's not an expensive collection at all!

Florals....girls where do you shop? They are everywhere. I personally don't adore them...and can't get away from them quite often!

If you think you'll find this style in investment properties that you don't understand this style at all. It's collected over time by people who own their homes and stay put. My block has seven houses on it, We have been here twenty years this June, and yet there's only been one family to move in after us. We're all people who stick. My neighbor just replaced the sofa she bought when she moved here as a newlywed in 1976.

Although it's not my style, I do use vintage and antiques. Thinking about it just now I realized with the exception of mattresses and upholstered furniture I only own one piece that I bought new. Even some of my window coverings are vintage. We don't have enough discretionary income to follow fads that come and go but it doesn't mean that we don't want our homes comfortable.

Pal, English transferware which is highly collectible here, was made for the working class in England when the wealthy could afford the handpainted plates. So even they had access to pretty things.

Sure you can buy anything on the Internet, but it's not all that available in furniture stores, exept the very high end one's that many can't afford. So prints are really not all that available to us unless we have a lot of money or the money to reupholster.

usgirl, Here's why you see heated towel racks in England...in my experience, it's because Brits have historically heated only that which needed to be warm. I've seen plenty of British bathrooms that didn't have another heating source so warm towels were key.

Speaking from my family's experience and, yes, my mom/aunts/grandparents lived through the rationing of WWII, when you entered a room, you shut the door behind you and heated only that room. No great rooms, open plan or cathedral type ceilings in those houses. They never heated spaces that they weren't in at the time. And they did what they had to (lined drapes, for example) to keep heat in. It's changed now as homeowners gut and remodel their homes, but not too long ago, it was very different for the average family.

The same thing held for heating water, particularly for bathing...the hot water heater was turned on shortly before the bathing started. And then the hot water stopped. The length of your shower was defined for you. 25 gal hot water heaters were the norm 20-30 yrs ago.

We currently use some of those practices in our daily living with our current old house.

Looks like a wonderful time and wonderful pics! That's what I associate real life English Style w/. Probably so many years of watching BBC!

The picture of the teapot in the window is PERFECTION and I'm very excited to share the picture of the woodland faeries w/ my mom!

quote "and her husband was constantly "knocking up" the neighbors.... LOL Haven't heard that phrase in decades. For those who wonder, it means waking up the neighbors. A distant relative from England visited us years ago and said the priest in the monastery they stayed in would "knock them up in the morning"! We all had a good laugh over this very British phrase.

My DH's GM was from England and decorated in this style. She lived in a small 2 bedroom bungalow and used a few things she brought from England and many others she found in 2nd hand stores. Floral chintz drapes, sunny yellow walls, polished walnut wood, and a few china collectibles made a lovely room that I now know could have been in a home in the UK. She lived in an area in Canada that seems to attract people from England probably because of the mild climate. So I think it can be successfully done in a home in North America. My efforts to replicate this style will not be as exact because I'm doing it in a modern farmhouse. However, I only need to please myself so it works for me.

As Igloochic has mentioned silver plated items and china are not expensive if you shop in the right places. I've found many bone china teacups for $2 or less, and have paid 10 cents to $10. for silver plated items. I've never paid more than $5 for large silver plated trays at yard sales. Have even seen an identical one to one I have online for hundreds of dollars. Even transferware can be found fairly reasonably. Yard sales and thrift stores (occasionally antique shops) are the places to shop for the collected look. It always amazes me the treasures to be found. I think this is a good time to buy some of these items as many retired people are downsizing and this style is not trendy with most younger people. I've told my kids they can just give it all away when I no longer have need of it.

Just as there is no one American (or Canadian) style IMO there is no one UK (or English) style. The style of many of the above pics would probably be English Cottage style.

This thread has again impressed upon me that I do not need to buy into some of the strict rules of decor. I have 2 floral prints in my bedroom that I've wondered about the scale. One is large scale (on the wing-back chairs) and the curtains are med-lg scale. They have similar colors but different background colors and I like both so will no longer be concerned whether they are 'correct'. In fact I'll be looking for another print in a smaller scale to add to the mix.

Thanks Jen for starting this fascinating thread.

Really?

::heavy sigh::

I was gonna buy a weeeeee...now i think I'll get another brand (not sold by idiot spammers) but Jen his starting line was so nice....(eyes rolling) nice spammers...a new revolution is about to commence....I'm gonna quit being nice to "nice" people just to avoid the pack of ham filled by products!

If anyone knows where to find woodland faeries for sale like the above, please let me know. I have a place in my garden I would love to add them. They are just great.

lesterd, my dh's uncle worked in England for many years and his only complaint was lack of heat. lol

Obviously, I adore England. I'm planning my next trip back (hope it will be next year, just "Mum and me" again). I find England's culture and history intriguing, and her people, by and large, to be charming and unfailingly polite.

That said, there are two things that I don't like about England, silly though at least one of them may be:

1. I hate the "non-mixing" faucets and can't understand why these are still even in existence. It's like washing your hands in an airplane lavatory. Bah!

2. Tiny little lanes that are heavily traveled by vehicles, coming and going, but there's only room for one car in the lane. I have never in my life done so much frantic reversing and backing into barely-there little turnouts so that an oncoming vehicle (usually a very fast-moving oncoming vehicle!) could get by. One instance in particular had me face-to-face with a speeding lorry, and nowhere to go! He finally reversed and backed for yards and yards, so that I could go by. I understand it's a relatively small island, but jeez - if you're going to allow vehicles to travel down lanes in both directions, at least make them wide enough so vehicles can actually travel down lanes in both directions!

OK, so that was completely unsolicited and non-decor-related. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.
;-D

I just want to say thank you for sharing your trip pictures. Wonderful chance to see how they really live among their treasures.

auntjen, You just have to practice driving more over there! The 1 lane roads with 2 oncoming vehicles is great fun! If you think the Cotswolds are bad, get into Scotland's Borders region. The 1 lane is even narrower!

You don't think anyone went out yesterday and bought the non-mixing faucets, do you? They're old, most likely. Why replace something that is perfectly functional????

When you mention "silly though at least one of them may be" - I'm assuming silly applies to the faucets?

LOL! Yes, "silly" is applicable to my opinion of the faucets. In the overall scheme of things, it wasn't of grave importance - but just an observation of something that I felt could be improved upon! I have to disagree with the notion that all of the non-mixing faucets are old, however; we were in several new and completely renovated spaces that boasted new non-mixers. Maybe it's a case of getting used to something being a certain way, and just replacing the old with similarly-styled new hardware. At any rate, one does get used to just plugging the drain and mixing up a little basin of warm water, I suppose.

The 1 lane roads with 2 oncoming vehicles is great fun! -- Yeah, if you have a death wish!
;-D

I'm laughing because I just replaced a non-mixing faucet in a tiny guest bathroom. Do you know how hard it is to find a non-mixing faucet to buy? Unfortunately, to change to a mixing faucet, I would have to replace the sink which would mean repositioning the shelf and towel ring which would require repairing and repainting the wall...all after finding another sink that would fit into the tiny space. MUCH easier to just replace the faucet with the same design. Luckily, most people only need hot water to wash their hands so it's not such an issue. Good thing, too, because now that I think about it, there's no way to stopper that sink...

As a side note...you can change a non mixing set up to a mixing set up with a bridge faucet, though they're wickedly expensive unfortunately. But not as expensive as replacing the sink, and it allows you to use an antique sink as well.

I have several non mixing faucets and have to say I dislike them, but have gotten so used to them I was having trouble with regular faucets this weekend on our little get away. :) I don't like using just hot and don't like that it's dangerous with children in the house so we're going to keep some of our antique sinks, probably buy a few more cuz they're cool...but we're going with the bridge faucet (which can be made to any size gap).

So don't throw out your cool old sinks :) There is a fix.

Thanks for the reference to the bridge faucet, Igloochic. I suspect the new faucet will last longer than I live in the house, but it's good to know that there is a product out there that makes a conversion possible. I guess I should have done some research before buying the replacement, eh?