From Library Journal The cottage， as defined in Cottage Style， is "a usually small vacation home"; however， both books show how cottage style can be used for a permanent home as well. Tolpin covers the history of cottages as they evolved from serfs' homes in England to the Cape Cod style in the United States and on into the 20th century. The main purpose is to show how contemporary architects， using modern design techniques， have developed the cottage style for contemporary living. Architects， interior designers， and students will find this book especially useful for its last chapter on designing a cottage home. Amateurs， meanwhile， will find Cottage Style a more accessible volume for personal home design. As usual， the publisher provides numerous photographs to illustrate how to create a cottage look， with examples of window treatments， flooring， and wall coverings， as well as individual examples of various cottage styles from beach house to mountain cabin for every room of the home.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information， Inc. Book Description Breaks one of the hottest categories of decorating into doable increments with chapters on furnishings， fabrics， floor coverings， window treatments， and choosing and arranging accessories.Ideas include whole-room schemes， as well as dozens of small ideas readers can adapt to warm—and charm—their homes.Covers the range of styles from rustic to refined.Helps readers find ideas and adapt them to create the cottage-style of their dreams， no matter where they live."Finding Your Style" tip boxes throughout the book move readers from inspiration to action.