good bye Cottage Living, I will miss you

 

Cottage Living is closing their doors.

I wish it wasn't true, but look it's here too. And here.

I LOVED Cottage Living... unpretentious and real interiors.  Homes you could actually see yourself living in.

November / December (on newstands now) is their last issue.

This durn economy killed them, they couldn't sell enough ad space. 

I wish my friends at Cottage Living nothing but the best.  What an amazing group of talented, kind, professional, and passionate people. 

My heart really hurts for them today.

And just incase you missed this comment when I posted this interview with my friend Anne Turner Carroll... I thought I'd re-post it... from Ginny in California:

A wonderful interview and a thrill to find your blog on this very rainy day in SoCal. Since moving into my 1920's cottage(after my husbands unexpected passing), I found a new life. It was my monthly "Cottage Livings" that inspired me to buy a small bungalow instead of a condo. The large homes of my past never gave me the pleasure that this bungalow has. With a design education, my eyes are always quick to pick up fresh ideas from this great mag. I have even started some redoes on the block with pics from "Cottage Living". Thank you, Ginny

If you will miss Cottage Living, leave them a little note here in the comment section, I'll make sure that they see them.

::image above from Cottage Living::

Comments

[Darby]

Dear CL:
I can only imagine that I am one of many who are grieving this news. Like Erika said, you are a magazine for real people with ideas that real people can implement. I really am so sad. When my CL comes in the mail I get giddy, I don't even peek inside until I have time to set aside to really ENJOY what's on every page. I savor every page. I also am grieving for those of you who will potentially be losing your jobs. You all have done an incredible job at putting together a FANTASTIC publication and I can only hope that someone out there sees the "NEED" for a magazine like Cottage Living. I see that they intend to add "cottage theme" to other publications and while I think that is a good "try" it will not fill the void for a seperate publication. I really hope that when economic times change that CL will be brought back. Thank you for your inspiration. Thank you for the many hours I've spent pouring over your pages. Thank you for all that you have done for the "cottage lovers"!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are MY FAVORITE!!!!!!! And I am grieving with you!
Darby Stickler

[karlene]

very much a bummer. On a cheerier note, there is so much creative talent there that I know we will see many of them come back somewhere, somehow and hopefully it will even be more than they could possibly hope or think. Get their blogs on, so we can keep watch for their next projects. :-)

[Rita]

what??!!(sorry, you don't know me i read your blog regularly, but i've never commented before) I can't believe this - my favorite magazine! I am very emotional right now... when my last issue arrived I tried to explain to my husband(i'm not sure he understood) how it made me feel to hold the new unopened mag in my hands and to anticipate what would be inside - 'cause every issue was so good. No other magazine was as exciting to get as this one! thanks for your fun blog, by the way - it's full of great ideas and tips.

[paula]

i feel like such a dork, but i have tears in my eyes. it was the first magazine that led me to my love of design, which in turn has led me to where i am today. they are an amazing group and local to me. i sure will miss this little magazine.

[Heather]

I loved Cottage Living. That makes me very sad...

They will be missed!

Heather

[Pink Wallpaper]

SHUT UP!!! say it's not so...that is so sad. i can't believe it....REALLY???

[Camila]

Omg! That is so sad. It was one of my favorite magazines to receive. I've always loved Cottage style and I actually ended up buying a small little Cottage. I love that Cottage Living was a great mix of cottage/country life with bits of modern thrown in. It's exactly how my home is.

Since you are passing our messages along to C.L. then I just want to let them know that they made this wanna be Interior Designer a very happy camper every month. They will be missed.

Boo. I'm so sad now.

[MappingKat]

Oh! This is such sad news. This was one of the good ones.

kat

[Shar]

Cottage Living,

Say it isn't so. I am so very sad for you and for all of us readers. I must go and collect all of the issues that I have always saved and put them in a most special place.

Good luck and God bless you...

[Jen r sanctuary arts at home]

Oh that's sad, i loved Cottage living.

[Courtney]

This is awful news for their staff and readers! So many magazines feature sterile rooms made for people with housekeepers, cooks, drivers and assistants. It's so nice to open a mag and envision your life in a space - how you'd entertain in it, how you'd prepare dinner, how you want to redesign your garden next Spring, etc. That's the kind of approachable design and inspiration CL offered. It will certainly be missed and as Darby said, can't be recreated by adding "cottage" touches to already standing mags.

I even had a CL subscription on my Christmas list this year.

[katie]

What devastating news! This was my fav! I've gotten at least three others hooked on such a good read. What a sad day!

[shar]

I am so sad.I have saved every issue because there was too much great information to tear the pages out.First Blueprint now Cottage Living it is really depressing.Good Luck to all the staff.

[sandra/tx]

I had no idea till I read your post. First Home Companion and now Cottage Living. Both are great magazines with lots and lots of eye candy and inspiration. :-(

[jane]

no! i refuse to lose another good magazine! i am spending the rest of the morning in denial.

[Martha B.]

What a shame! I'll be sure to get their last copy.

Martha B.

[Hallie]

How awful! That was such a great magazine. What's next, Domino? Cottage Living was such a fantastic resource.

Thank you for posting the photos of the house you did--those are beautiful and inspiring shots!

[alston]

oh my goodness - what sadness...my magazine world is dwindling and i don't like it one bit!

[Saye]

So sad! Nothing goes better with a glass of wine than CL!! The amazing team behind the pages is so talented. I can't wait to see their influence in some other publications. I'll miss you in my mailbox, but the inspiration remains. THANKS and GOOD LUCK to each of you!

[Mudrick]

Ugh! This was one of the few magazines I subscribed to. I loved that their featured houses and showhouse projects weren't McMansions and that they seemed to emphasize a "live small" mantra both in the size of the houses they pictured and the environmental impact. I loved CL and hope their talent pool surfaces somewhere else soon.

I think decor blogs are taking the place of shelter magazines but the two have always been interdependent. Blogs exist in part because they can spread the images that these talented editors, stylists and photographers create. Fewer magazines mean fewer great images and ideas to share both in print and online.

[Michelle]

No!!! I can't believe it! I think I just renewed my subscription, too. I'm really going to miss CL. Wow, first my subscription to Blueprint went down and now this. What's next...Domino??? What a bummer.

[Dianne]

I am in shock. It was my favorite magazine!
My daughter's boyfriend and I used to go over it page by page and have such a good time when they visited. He owns a mountain cottage. This is one magazine that will be missed by many different age groups and types.

[Paloma of La Dolce Vita]

What a sad day. I admit that I haven't been reading CL for very long, but I have been in love with it since I picked up my first issue. I was planning on subscribing soon. I wish all of the talented people at the magazine the absolute best.

[Kelly W.]

Gees. Thanks for making me want to cry this morning. If there were ever a magazine that pin-pointed my own personal style, that magazine was Cottage Living. I will miss the sweet sight of a new cover on the grocery check out aisle.
Best of luck to all of you at CL.
May you move forward and be blessed.

[Marianne]

This is a sad, sad day. I am here in Birmingham and so many people are being affected by this. Cottage Living was one of my favorite magazines, I can't believe it is gone....

[Jennifer]

oh it's just awful. I think they had one of the most innovative and creative staffs and it is such a shame. They were doing things that no one else did, and not many shelter mags can say that!

I'm loving reading all of this support, it's just too bad that the readers can't do much to stop things like this. I hope you do forward this on to ATC -- I'm sure they could all stand to hear it. We'll miss you, Cottage!

[Jen]

No! Cottage Living is my favorite magazine! What are we going to read now? This is so sad.

[Jenn]

CL: I am so sad You were one of my favs!

My sister got me hooked on you as a gift one year and since then I have savored pouring over every page. So many of them I've clipped and filed away for future "dreamy" projects. Not to mention the fun of calling fellow subscribers with exclamations of "did you see page such and such?"

Thanks for always bringing do-able pics and ideas to your pages. You were the one magazine who consistently featured homes that I felt were "attainable" - as in, one day, my house might look like that. Thanks for such a great run! I will miss you!

And best wishes on the job hunts! You're a talented group and I hope you'll find work quickly.

[renee finberg]

this economy is destroying all the good things.

where oh where is the bail out for the business' worth saving !

and i know one thing, everything passes, everything.

just hold on and be open minded with the 'open doors.'

ps. maybe now you can take a little down time that you probably need desperately. ( the stress from all this )

follow your bliss &
re-group, and re-create...you will come back even better and stronger.

what is that they say.......it's not the destination, it is the journey.

very best wishes

[megan]

Oh no! CL is one of mine and my husbands favorites! I am so sad to hear this and for the people who may be out of a job now. It will be greatly missed and I hope to see it again!

[vanessa]

SOOOO sad right now. I am tearing up writing this. Cottage Living you are the best magazine ever!!!!!!! Nothing is better than wondering what a wall color is and turning to the back to find out all of the sources for a room. What a wonderful help you were. Please come back. RIP best magazine ever!

[vanessa]

Also my husband promised when we got married that every Christmas I would have a subscription to CL in my stocking. How depressing, what will fill it now?!

[Melissa]

So sad...it's like I'm losing one of my design mentors. I got such great ideas and inspiration from CL. It was truly a great publication. What will I do without the Fresh Ideas pages?!?

[villapacis@blogspot.com]

This is just super sad news. I didn't imagine the loss of another magazine would make me so upset. I loved Cottage living with all my heart. It was a different kind of mag. Like some have said, it was more real... but still beautiful. Inspiring ideas, interiors, and gardens. The kind of homes we all dream of living in, that seem reachable but still aspirational. Cozy, warm, fresh, clean, beautiful, current but classic, Cottage Living was a wonderful review of all of the above. May all the talented people who made this publication so great go on to find equally wonderful outlets that we can continue to admire and be inspired by!

[Courtney]

I'm not sure I can accept this news, and I can only imagine how the staff of Cottage Living feels. I always look forward to reading a new issue, and what you said about the magazine is so true. Cottage Living showed beautiful "real" homes- homes that actually seemed attainable. This is a publication I will remember and miss long after it is gone.

[amy]

oh no! this is very sad news. i loved this magazine and will miss it.

[Jackie]

Cottage Living has been my favorite magazine from their very first issue. I am sooo very sad to hear this. It has pretty much ruined my day :( CL has always been so consistent in delivering beautiful, inspiring, fresh ideas in each and every issue. It was the only magazine I really looked forward to getting each month. I will hold out hope that some day it might come back.

[Kim Sunee]

Dear Readers,

I am the food editor of Cottage Living and we are all so very sad to be closing our pages. (We have tears in our eyes as well.) The only reason we were at Cottage Living was for our readers. The staff here is truly passionate about our mission.
We thank you all for your loyalty and we hope you will look for us in the future.

With warmest wishes,

Kim Sunee (food editor)
http://www.kimsunee.com

and Kate Karam (senior gardens editor)

[annmarie]

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kara]

I am so sad and angry. I love this magazine! Damn economy.

[Jennifer]

No no no! I am SO SAD! What a bum piece of news; Cottage Living is my absolute favorite magazine. Prayers absolutely going out to all who will be affected.

[Joyce]

No say it isn't so about Cottage Living?!! I'm even a little choked writing this... not only that I LOVE, LOVE this magazine, but all the wonderful people tied into making the pages dance in our hearts and home and having us running to our mailbox.

OK I have no clue about the hows, whys and whats of running a magazine, but I'm going to through this crazy idea out there- just maybe it will trigger another idea.
You know how companies are employee owned full/portion is there anyway becoming a reader own company?

I wish many blessings ahead for all involved with Cottage Living!! I hope as the saying goes when one door closes another opens is true to all.

[The Rauths]

i just spent a plane ride ripping apart that magazine for my home files. when i read the news online this am, i was so bummed. the inspiration was always real, doable and could be budget-friendly. i am going to miss my monthly date with my couch and cottage living.

[ryepye]

A very sad day indeed. It's in my top two magazines - I enjoyed every page and their recipes were great too! Good luck to all at CL.

[erin@elementsofstyle]

Simply- this blows.

[Shannon]

CottageLiving is my favorite magazine and I will miss it so much. I also had several friends who worked there and my heart goes out to them as well.

[AnnaHancy]

Are you kidding? I cannot believe that - especially with the huge amount of talent they have. I will miss my monthly perk in the mailbox!!!

[Kristy - Where's My Damn Answer]

That's sad. There have been so many great magazines that have closed up shop and it really does sadden me. They will surely be missed.

[Adrianne W.]

So sad! I am so bummed to see cottage living go. It was my absolute favorite because every month had the most perfect ideas from REAL homes. I never clipped my cottage living magazines because they were better whole - I would go through them each season and find something new. Nothing like cottage living. Hands down my (and even my husband's) favorite mag. Best wishes to all of you at CL!

[lisa]

I am so sad to hear this news. I had to re read the words...I thought I was mistaken...not THE Cottage Living....I am so sad. I will agree with everyone else, its my favorite. It is a magazine that is real...unpretentious and comfortable...the way people really live....beautifully. I do hope that the magazine is able to come back...I will be waiting and watching!