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I’ve been a follower of Courtney Allison’s blog, French Country Cottage, for several years. Have you? It’s the type of blog where the photos just make me sigh out of pure appreciation for their beauty. Of course, following Courtney’s blog also means I have followed her personal journey as a home-maker and photographer, and I was so excited and thrilled for her when I learned she was publishing a book – aptly named, French Country Cottage!

I just acquired my copy, and I wanted to share just a tiny bit of it with you in hopes that you would seek it out and likewise enjoy the beauty of Courtney’s home and stunning photographs.

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What’s most delightful about French Country Cottage, apart  from the sumptuous photos, is the fact that Courtney is not only the writer, she’s also the photographer. And if you know her backstory, you know that Courtney is a self-taught photographer whose goal at one time was simply to have her photos published in decorating magazines. Well, she has achieved all of that and more, as she is now the editor of one of my favorite magazines, Romantic Homes!

The book chronicles Courtney’s style, known as French Country Cottage, which is anchored by her judiciuous use of fresh flowers, rustic patina, and chrystal chandeliers. She has an eye for combining beautifully imperfect French-inspired pieces, armloads of fresh roses, ranunculus, and peonies, and rusty, chippy, faded  furniture and accessories.

Now please understand that this is not a how-to book… it doesn’t give you action steps, “life hacks,” or five easy ways to arrange a gallery wall. It’s a book to be enjoyed for its beauty, and for the enthusiasm exuded through its text. It is delightfully written, as Courtney takes you through the key moments of her childhood where her love of flowers, the imperfections found in time-worn objects, and dream-inspiring home interiors (and secret gardens) were born. She also speaks lovingly about the cottage home pictured throughout the book, which she and her husband purchased in California while their children were still young. She illustrates how they put their mark on it over time and how it came to be so much more than a home.

And all the while, on every page, those swoon-worthy photographs that I look forward to seeing on her blog. In fact, I think that’s what I love most about this book – I do enjoy the blog, but it is so hard to get lost in it because like any blog, you have to keep clicking from post to post and it just breaks up the experience into small chunks. But the book – oh the book is one to simply page through slowly! It’s like taking a tour through the house and having time to note of all the beautiful details, while understanding at last how it all fits together.

I can’t think of any other home style book quite like French Country Cottage – for the reader it is an experience to savor. And for the author, truly a labor of love and a long-held dream come true!

In case you don’t wish to purchase the book now, please Pin this image of French Country Cottage by Courtney Allison for later reference!

Living in a small house (625 square feet on the main floor) can be a challenge for a gal like me who loves to collect vintage and antique everything. Therefore, I am constantly looking for ways to make the most of the available space. The fact that my rental house has an open floorplan is a big plus: when you walk in, the combined kitchen/dining/living room doesn’t feel as small as it really is (312 square feet).

In today’s post I really only set out to share my dining room table… I love setting it with pretty dishes, but I also really like the way it looks on a typical day. I also enjoy my collection of dining chairs – more on all of this in a moment!

As I was taking pictures, it occurred to me that the placement of the table has helped to create two distinct spaces out of one larger one while still keeping that feeling of openness. So I want to talk about that too in case it’s helpful for others!

When placing the living room furniture, we started with the biggest piece – the sofa. We put it across the width of the room for a couple of reasons: one, it allowed for watching television while laying down. And two, it established the boundary of the living room in relation to the eat-in kitchen without creating an actual wall of any kind. This was essential – the space is small enough without being “cut up” visually by tall objects! Here’s the room in April of this year:

With the dinner table placed directly behind the couch, it defines the dining space within the eat-in kitchen without blocking the view into the living room. And placing it here allows me to have a much bigger table than I could have if I had opted for a drop-leaf style over by the window.

Now back to the actual table and chairs… they have evolved over the few years I’ve lived here! We started out like this, having found the whole set for free just prior to moving. This photo was taken right after I recovered a couple of the chairs. The table sat four, but the top was only 30 inches by 40 inches – barely room for TWO people to eat, let alone four!

So when I asked Greg to make me a harvest-style top for the existing base, he made it much bigger: 36 x 60 inches. It now seats six people.

My “inspiration chair” is this one from my great-aunt Hazel’s home – she painted it in this crazy color scheme decades ago, and I don’t have the heart to repaint it! I love its shape and style, and so I keep an eye out for these everywhere.

I have found three others that I use inside, and two others that I have outside in the garden. The red one is the newest acquisition – both it and the green one are curb picks. The taupe one was a flea market find.

I don’t know if this exact style has a name – it may be a variation of the Windsor style – but I just call them Hazel chairs! I think they have a lot of cottage charm, especially in their different colors, and their smaller scale makes them perfect for a small house.

The other two chairs are a different style altogether with cane seats and pretty detailing across the backs. I found these on Facebook Marketplace and repainted them, plus painted and aged the detailing. I call these my storybook chairs because the detailing now looks like an illustration you might find in a fairytale book.

Overall I like the way the specific furniture pieces have evolved, and I think their placement contributes to (rather than hinders) the open feel of the room.

What are your thoughts? What’s your biggest furniture placement issue at home? If you are also living in a small house, how do you make the most of the available space?

Pin this post for future inspiration!